Dredge noob question here! Is the rainbow manabase still a viable option post ban? I'm assuming it is viable, just not as popular as the fetch/shock manabase. I'm shopping around for a new deck since I'm not enjoying Grixis Delver all that much, and Dredge seems like a fun deck that would make a good addition to the other deck I'm working on.
Hey Lantern just one thing the technical play section is not updated to the GGT banning, specifically the parts 2,4, the "mulligan aggresively", the "remember you can hardcast your cards" and the "don't kill yourself by milling too much" parts. It's a minor thing but new players could be confused when they read that the plan C is hardcasting the GGT. You are doing a great job updating the primer .
Thanks. Yeah, that bit was mostly copy pasta. Izzet was on point there. I will update it.
Affinity 0-2: With the GGT ban this is definitely one matchup we lost the edge we used to have in imo. G1 I mulliganed down to 5 and kept a fine hand with thug, looting and lands, but failed to dredge deep enough to apply any pressure so I was overrun in typical Affinity fashion.
In: 2x Lightning Axe, 2x Ancient Grudge, 1x Nature's Claim
G2 I keep a hand with ancient grudge, a fetchland, dakmor salvage, looting, and a couple of other cards and after I play looting, my opponent plays t1 Grafdigger's Cage so the earliest I can blow it up is turn 3 if I don't hit another land. By t3 my opponent has played a steel overseer, an ornithopter and an inkmoth nexus and on his turn after I destroy cage, he plays an Arcbound Ravager. In response to him activating overseer I flashback grudge to kill the ravager, but on the following turn I wasn't able to find enough lands with loam + conflag to kill enough of his creatures to stay alive after he plays cranial plating on the following turn. He told me after the match that he missed lethal with inkmoth nexus on the 2nd last turn of the game anyway
Werewolves 2-0: Standard dredge stuff. Conflagrate cleans up the board on turn 3 and my opponent scoops pretty quickly :/
Eldrazi Tron 2-0: G1 was standard dredge stuff - got lucky and was able to chain my dredgers together cleanly. Ran him over on turn 4 with a scourge devil when his only play for the game was spellskite.
In: 1x Ghost Quarter, 1x Vengeful Pharaoh, 2x Ancient Grudge
G2 I kept a reasonable hand with lands, dredgers and a looting and I manage to put a couple of creatures onto the board before my opponent plays grafdigger's cage, and the ancient grudge in my hand can't destroy it because he also controls a spellskite. So at this point I decided to kill his spellskite with grudge and dredge until I found ghost quarter so I can loam + quarter to lock him off his mana. (The other grudge I sided in was in the graveyard by being dredged btw) Without access to flashback looting I was pretty slow at finding it, so in the meantime I was getting in for 2 damage a turn with my narcomoeba's. Along the way he plays a TKS and exiles a thug, and when he attacked with it next turn I killed it with vengeful pharaoh. However the unfortunate part of this interaction is pharaoh goes on top then I draw the card from TKS leaving the battlefield, and I didn't have another way to bin it again immediately, but I was able to loam up to 10 cards in hand and bin the pharaoh and a couple of dredgers. Next turn he plays and cracks a relic of progenitus after I'd only managed to ghost quarter him once, but by this point he's at 5 life and can't deal with my two Narcomoeba's so I managed to take the game from there
RG Titan Breach 2-0: G1 I kept the all-enabler hand with two lands, two neonates, two lootings and a reunion and managed to find an imp and a loam in the top three cards. Solid T4 kill with minimal interaction from my opponent
In: 1x Life from the Loam, 1x Collective Brutality
G2: I kept a solid hand with looting, neonate, shriekhorn, imp, two lands and an amalgam and play the looting on t1. My opponent then plays chalice on x=1 on turn 2 so I'm forced into an awkward position at this point. My only shot at winning is by dredging naturally and hoping to find gnaw to the bone before he casts scapeshift (at this point I wasn't sure what variant of RG valakut he was playing) so I start filling my graveyard while he ramps. After a few turns I put out a couple of amalgams / bloodghasts and hardcast a thug, since I have a stack of dredgers rotting in my hand, and he plays anger of the gods. Since I'm putting a decent amount of pressure on him at this point to find his combo and kill me with valakut, I keep dredging and casting dredgers and get him down to 10 or so life before anger #2 drops. In the following turns I flip a few narcomoeba's off a lucky dredge, cast my remaining 1 power dredge creatures and eventually get there with my board presence and a small ish conflagrate
I'm keen to pick up a 3rd copy of loam to replace one of the shriekhorns but otherwise I'm pretty happy with where my list is at. Not sure if 19 is the correct land count but time will tell. Also not sure about the sideboard - does anyone else find that between ancient grudge and nature's claim, we have enough ways to deal with anti hate cards so abrupt decay is rarely relevant? The 2cmc BG casting cost is hard in a deck whose manabase is so deep into red. The main utility for it from my perspective is that it kills scooze or cage in jund and is uncounterable in the control matchup when they've played rest in peace, but I feel like 2 slots is overkill and one can be safely removed. To replace it I'm super keen to pick up a 2nd gnaw to the bone for the aggro matchup - since our deck is slower now than it previously was at filling the graveyard, given that we still need to find a copy of gnaw by the same point in the aggro matchup, it seems like an easy inclusion to me
Between my 1 darkblast, 3 conflags, 4 artifact kill spells, and 2 axes, I pretty much can kill anything but the fastest hands, and since Im aware that I am not the aggro deck, I dont need to have the race parts of my deck. Its worked out for me so far. Sometimes I add gnaw.
Overall, I keep the 1 of decay. I know its never amazing, but its never dead, and its never bad. It has a lot of hats, so I can use it as a 1 of, instead of having to run 3 different cards in the board in its place.
Dredge noob question here! Is the rainbow manabase still a viable option post ban? I'm assuming it is viable, just not as popular as the fetch/shock manabase. I'm shopping around for a new deck since I'm not enjoying Grixis Delver all that much, and Dredge seems like a fun deck that would make a good addition to the other deck I'm working on.
Im assuming as the years go on dredge will eventually be 5 colored, like in legacy and vintage. But for now, the general consistence is that jund fetch base is better because of anger and pain. Rainbow is by no means NOT viable, but its likely NOT optimal. Post ban might have changed things, but so far most bigger results coming in arent rainbow.
Is there a consensus on Natural State VS Nature's Claim in the sideboard? What jumps out to me is that Claim can hit Leylines and Night of Soul'a Betrayal. But since people are generally dialing back on hate I'd expect to see Leyline of the Void a lot less often, as the more primary forms of hate require way less commitment. Leyline seems to only come around in extreme circumstances where people feel they absolutely *need* 3-6 grave hate slots to begin with – in any other circumstances, Leylines seem to take up too much valuable sideboard space.
I've seen way more of Grafdigger's Cage and Scavenging Ooze, which makes me more keen on Natural State, Lightning Axe and Thoughtseize than Nature's Claim and Collective Brutality.
Edit to avoid a double post: Is Ground Seal just way too cute to see any real sideboard play? I dig how it lets us dredge upon entering, but it seems narrow compared to the rest of our options, and it turns off Loam. Just making sure writing off the card isn't a mistake on my part because I could see it being useful against Jund and Abzan Coco, as they don't have much in the way of good non-targeting hate.
Match 1 vs Tron
The guy was pretty new to Modern and was borrowing the deck. Game 1 he has natural turn 3 Tron, and plays 2 Spellskite and an Oblivion Stone. I punch through and bring back Ghasts & Amalgams after he cracks Stone, and he scoops.
Sideboard: Out 1 Darkblast, 1 Cathartic Reunion. In 2 Ancient Grudge.
Second game he sets up for turn 3 Tron with a turn 2 Expedition Map, but I have Ancient Grudge for it. This leaves him stuck on 2 lands for the rest of the game, and I beat him down.
2-0, 1-0 in matches.
Match 2 vs 4-Colour Bird Brain
Basically an Esper Gfts Ungiven deck splashing green with Brain in a Jar and Beck // Call. Game 1 I have a really slow hand, but his is not very fast either. He is stuck with Unburial Rites in hand, and cannot find the 5h land to reanimate Elesh Norn, grand cenobite. He uses Lingering Souls to buy time, but my engine eventually picks up and I'm able to finish him of.
Sideboard: Out 1 Darkblast, 2 Cathartic Reunion, 1 Conflagrate. In 2 Abrupt Decay, 2 Collective Brutality.
Game 2 is pretty straight forward. I get my engine running from the start. He uses Lingering Souls and Damnation to buy time, but it is not enough.
2-0, 2-0 in matches.
Match 3 vs Kiki-Chord
Game 1 goes long. A super-grindy affair where he plays Chord of calling for Scavenging Ooze and starts to eat Conflagrates, Scourge Devil and Amalgams. In the end I'm down to 6-7 cards in library against his 10 life, Ooze and one open mana. I need one more Bloodghast to have a lethal attack in case he has a removal spell, and debate how deep I should dredge. I end up going 3 cards deep, and flip the last Bloodghast, giving me exactly lethal as he reveals the Path to Exile. Close call!
Sideboard: Out 1 Life from the Loam, 1 Cathartic Reunion, 2 Insolent Neonate In 2 Lightning Axe, 2 Collective Brutality
Game 2 is also very grindy. He staves of early attacks with Wall of Hope EDIT: Wall of Omens and Wall of Roots, and I use Conflagrate to clean up. Conflagrate is the real MVP in the match, making his blocks bad and forcing him on the back foot. He resolves a Restoration Angel, and I sit back on a Lightning Axe, waiting for Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. He cannot block my attackers with his angel, since he needs the combo to win, and I can easily finish it of with Conflagrate if he blocks. At one point I Conflagrate all his creatures except the Angel, and realise a second to late that I've discarded too low, and the only card in my hand is Lightning Axe. He is on 4 lands with 2 red sources, and I cannot interact with his combo this turn. Punt! He untaps and plays a Horizon Canopy, no Kiki-Jiki. Sometimes you get lucky. For the rest of the game I hold up Axe, with an extra card, and eventually grind him down.
2-0, 3-0 in matches.
The grindy games with the deck are amazing. Usually you have the solution in front of you, and you have to find the right line of play to win. It really feels like solving a complex puzzle. I've been liking Abrupt Decay in the board a lot, and not Nature's Claim very much. It may be because of my meta, which has a lot of control decks (especially since Fatal Push) and Jund, Decay is great. Bascially no one runs Leyline of the Void, so Decay hits all the permanent hate I expect to see. The only thing is that some people play Worship, which could be an issue. Getting Bant Eldrazi on a clear board with only Conflagrate could be tough.
Another nifty trick we can pull out since Golgari Thug joined the deck: When playing Tron, if they resolve an Ulamog, the ceaseless hunger and attack, we'll usually be on an empty library after one attack trigger. However, if we cast a Thug to block and have another one in our graveyard, we can use its trigger to put another Thug on top of our library, which we draw and cast next turn and loop the two. This can prevent us from milling out. Not likely to be relevant in many games, but it has come up for me in playtesting and actually won me some close games. Something to be aware of.
Is there a consensus on Natural State VS Nature's Claim in the sideboard? What jumps out to me is that Claim can hit Leylines and Night of Soul'a Betrayal. But since people are generally dialing back on hate I'd expect to see Leyline of the Void a lot less often, as the more primary forms of hate require way less commitment. Leyline seems to only come around in extreme circumstances where people feel they absolutely *need* 3-6 grave hate slots to begin with – in any other circumstances, Leylines seem to take up too much valuable sideboard space.
I've seen way more of Grafdigger's Cage and Scavenging Ooze, which makes me more keen on Natural State, Lightning Axe and Thoughtseize than Nature's Claim and Collective Brutality.
Edit to avoid a double post: Is Ground Seal just way too cute to see any real sideboard play? I dig how it lets us dredge upon entering, but it seems narrow compared to the rest of our options, and it turns off Loam. Just making sure writing off the card isn't a mistake on my part because I could see it being useful against Jund and Abzan Coco, as they don't have much in the way of good non-targeting hate.
Were pretty tight on sideboard slots since the banning, but I think thats why claim gets the nod. Right now, unless you are playing 5 colors, claim is the best, followed by state. If we ever take 5 colors, which I think we are close to but not there yet, fragmentize is a leading reason.
What I'm getting at is you need to be able to hit any enchantment or artifact right now. Leylines are a big reason, sure, but there are a couple other. Most are 4 cmc with the execution of like wurmcoil, which is why fragmentize is actually the bees knees. Instant speed has very little to do with it. The 4 life DOES matter more than people realize, because sometimes against combo, that bought turn is all they need to win the game. Natture's claim is best used in control, ramp and combo. State is best used in midrange, aggro and tempo. We happen to be combo aggro, so it puts us in a weird spot.
As far as ground seal goes? That tech was dead when Relic was printed. I was around then, and watched how fast that thing invalidated ground seal, as the go to hate was faerie macabre. Grave hate has gotten a lot worse for us since alara.
Match 1 vs Tron
The guy was pretty new to Modern and was borrowing the deck. Game 1 he has natural turn 3 Tron, and plays 2 Spellskite and an Oblivion Stone. I punch through and bring back Ghasts & Amalgams after he cracks Stone, and he scoops.
Sideboard: Out 1 Darkblast, 1 Cathartic Reunion. In 2 Ancient Grudge.
Second game he sets up for turn 3 Tron with a turn 2 Expedition Map, but I have Ancient Grudge for it. This leaves him stuck on 2 lands for the rest of the game, and I beat him down.
2-0, 1-0 in matches.
Match 2 vs 4-Colour Bird Brain
Basically an Esper Gfts Ungiven deck splashing green with Brain in a Jar and Beck // Call. Game 1 I have a really slow hand, but his is not very fast either. He is stuck with Unburial Rites in hand, and cannot find the 5h land to reanimate Elesh Norn, grand cenobite. He uses Lingering Souls to buy time, but my engine eventually picks up and I'm able to finish him of.
Sideboard: Out 1 Darkblast, 2 Cathartic Reunion, 1 Conflagrate. In 2 Abrupt Decay, 2 Collective Brutality.
Game 2 is pretty straight forward. I get my engine running from the start. He uses Lingering Souls and Damnation to buy time, but it is not enough.
2-0, 2-0 in matches.
Match 3 vs Kiki-Chord
Game 1 goes long. A super-grindy affair where he plays Chord of calling for Scavenging Ooze and starts to eat Conflagrates, Scourge Devil and Amalgams. In the end I'm down to 6-7 cards in library against his 10 life, Ooze and one open mana. I need one more Bloodghast to have a lethal attack in case he has a removal spell, and debate how deep I should dredge. I end up going 3 cards deep, and flip the last Bloodghast, giving me exactly lethal as he reveals the Path to Exile. Close call!
Sideboard: Out 1 Life from the Loam, 1 Cathartic Reunion, 2 Insolent Neonate In 2 Lightning Axe, 2 Collective Brutality
Game 2 is also very grindy. He staves of early attacks with Wall of Hope and Wall of Roots, and I use Conflagrate to clean up. Conflagrate is the real MVP in the match, making his blocks bad and forcing him on the back foot. He resolves a Restoration Angel, and I sit back on a Lightning Axe, waiting for Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. He cannot block my attackers with his angel, since he needs the combo to win, and I can easily finish it of with Conflagrate if he blocks. At one point I Conflagrate all his creatures except the Angel, and realise a second to late that I've discarded too low, and the only card in my hand is Lightning Axe. He is on 4 lands with 2 red sources, and I cannot interact with his combo this turn. Punt! He untaps and plays a Horizon Canopy, no Kiki-Jiki. Sometimes you get lucky. For the rest of the game I hold up Axe, with an extra card, and eventually grind him down.
2-0, 3-0 in matches.
The grindy games with the deck are amazing. Usually you have the solution in front of you, and you have to find the right line of play to win. It really feels like solving a complex puzzle. I've been liking Abrupt Decay in the board a lot, and not Nature's Claim very much. It may be because of my meta, which has a lot of control decks (especially since Fatal Push) and Jund, Decay is great. Bascially no one runs Leyline of the Void, so Decay hits all the permanent hate I expect to see. The only thing is that some people play Worship, which could be an issue. Getting Bant Eldrazi on a clear board with only Conflagrate could be tough.
Another nifty trick we can pull out since Golgari Thug joined the deck: When playing Tron, if they resolve an Ulamog, the ceaseless hunger and attack, we'll usually be on an empty library after one attack trigger. However, if we cast a Thug to block and have another one in our graveyard, we can use its trigger to put another Thug on top of our library, which we draw and cast next turn and loop the two. This can prevent us from milling out. Not likely to be relevant in many games, but it has come up for me in playtesting and actually won me some close games. Something to be aware of.
Yeah, we have more or less the same list. I've been trending away from haunted dead. Infect is much less played, so my need for it is reduced a ton. If I die to eldrazi, haunted dead wasnt doing anything anyways. I actually used the thug tech the other day to win the game. Combo guy milled me down to nothing with thoughtscour of all things and I had him at 1 life. So I kept thugging, and forcing him to block with his eletrolizer, since I took out the rest of his win cons, leaving him with a bunch of rituals and peek effects and nothing to do with it. Any who I did that for about 20 turns until I won and milled him out.
I think one of the problems us dredge players see, myself included, is our little slice of the meta. When we play a ton of tron, we wonder why we have a 1 of decay in the board, then we play a ton of jund and where like "Oh yeah, thats why." We either have to cut the slots our local meta doesnt seem to use, or leave us board in case. I usually do broad because I play online alot too.
Would any of you experienced Dredge guys be up for playing Dredge against me on XMage? I'm trying to learn to play Dredge better. Sometimes I feel like I played great and other times I go back and realized all the stuff I should have done. Would be cool to see how it's played when it's against me.
Edit: I'm also having a VERY hard time getting good draws on xmage. The last game I played I had three Bloodghasts, mulliganed to 6, again drew three Bloodghasts. Seems like every hand I get every game is full of narcs, amalgams, and Bloodghasts. Never seems to happen like that when I'm playing paper cards.
Well I finished the primer... finally. Only took around 70 hours and 101 Edits on my end. haha.
Anywho, the sideboard part, which was the last and most tricky part is done. I wont be making any major changes to it, least for a while, but you can all tell me if theres anything that should or shouldnt be there. Its got a literally metric crap ton of information. The wall of text might be scary, but it should be enough that literally anyone reading it, should know the ins and outs of the deck pretty well, and intermediates can take this info with them when they play and test and become advanced pilots.
Do me a favor ya'll and look it over. Then if its good, give it a like so I can track the approval rating of it. Also so I can validate the way too many hours I spent on it.
Well I finished the primer... finally. Only took around 70 hours and 101 Edits on my end. haha.
Anywho, the sideboard part, which was the last and most tricky part is done. I wont be making any major changes to it, least for a while, but you can all tell me if theres anything that should or shouldnt be there. Its got a literally metric crap ton of information. The wall of text might be scary, but it should be enough that literally anyone reading it, should know the ins and outs of the deck pretty well, and intermediates can take this info with them when they play and test and become advanced pilots.
Do me a favor ya'll and look it over. Then if its good, give it a like so I can track the approval rating of it. Also so I can validate the way too many hours I spent on it.
Awesome! the Primer is fantastic - there's so much great info there. Small nitpicks, you spelled Lotleth Troll "Lotloth" and Smallpox "Small Pox" so the card image doesn't show up
Also, I'd argue that Surgical is a 100% a top impact hate card. Just hitting amalgams makes it significantly more difficult to win, and getting ghast + malg makes it nearly impossible to win if they have literally anything going on.
Well I finished the primer... finally. Only took around 70 hours and 101 Edits on my end. haha.
Anywho, the sideboard part, which was the last and most tricky part is done. I wont be making any major changes to it, least for a while, but you can all tell me if theres anything that should or shouldnt be there. Its got a literally metric crap ton of information. The wall of text might be scary, but it should be enough that literally anyone reading it, should know the ins and outs of the deck pretty well, and intermediates can take this info with them when they play and test and become advanced pilots.
Do me a favor ya'll and look it over. Then if its good, give it a like so I can track the approval rating of it. Also so I can validate the way too many hours I spent on it.
Awesome! the Primer is fantastic - there's so much great info there. Small nitpicks, you spelled Lotleth Troll "Lotloth" and Smallpox "Small Pox" so the card image doesn't show up
Also, I'd argue that Surgical is a 100% a top impact hate card. Just hitting amalgams makes it significantly more difficult to win, and getting ghast + malg makes it nearly impossible to win if they have literally anything going on.
It does, your right, and origonally I put it as a 5.0 card, but the more I thought about it the more I realized it was 5.0 with snapcaster. Some decks however, just use that and not snap. Sometimes you can make them discard the snap and it's only a half cage. So on the card alone, I put it at 4.0. 5.0 is for when you just get completely wrecked. Stuff like crypt incursion is just gg the minute its cast. Extraction is still fightable.
Thanks for finding those minor edits. Its hard to keep track of all of em when the primers so big. I forgot a few graf rather than graff too.
Hey guys,
I usually just look here, to keep me update (as a dredge player), but i log in just to thank you all, especially you, Lantern (amazing primer).
Thank guys ! Keep it up !
The new primer is sweet! Really digging the content's organization and use of graphics to spice it up.
The yellow text in the sideboarding section is a little hard to read without highlighting, but that's my only - very minor - gripe. The time and effort is hugely appreciated and I know it will be immensely helpful for any new players who want to dredge. It's a comprehensive guide but you'd done a great job of breaking up the information into digestible chunks. Thank you!
The new primer is sweet! Really digging the content's organization and use of graphics to spice it up.
The yellow text in the sideboarding section is a little hard to read without highlighting, but that's my only - very minor - gripe. The time and effort is hugely appreciated and I know it will be immensely helpful for any new players who want to dredge. It's a comprehensive guide but you'd done a great job of breaking up the information into digestible chunks. Thank you!
Yeah... I thought that might be the case. Let me see if orange is better and different enough to red its still usable.
@Mompelomp : vs Kiki-Chord you mentioning Wall of Hope but it non legal modern card.
@Heenock: You are very correct, I meant to say Wall of Omens.
Lantern, the new Primer looks and reads amazing, you did a fantastic job!
A couple of nitpick points:
The "Team Pump Package" cards are not hyperlinkedannotated, they don't show up when you move the mouse over them.
Under "Single Flex Cards" Shriekhorn is written Shriek Horn, so it does not pop up.
Under Sideboard for Step 1, Graffdigger's Cage is written as Graffdiggers Cage, so it does not pop up.
Those are very minor points though. I hardly think I've seen a primer with this good layout and abundance of information.
@Mompelomp : vs Kiki-Chord you mentioning Wall of Hope but it non legal modern card.
@Heenock: You are very correct, I meant to say Wall of Omens.
Lantern, the new Primer looks and reads amazing, you did a fantastic job!
A couple of nitpick points:
The "Team Pump Package" cards are not hyperlinkedannotated, they don't show up when you move the mouse over them.
Under "Single Flex Cards" Shriekhorn is written Shriek Horn, so it does not pop up.
Under Sideboard for Step 1, Graffdigger's Cage is written as Graffdiggers Cage, so it does not pop up.
Those are very minor points though. I hardly think I've seen a primer with this good layout and abundance of information.
Tournament Report time!
Went 5-1 at a GPT yesterday, winning $80, but sadly losing to Ad Nauseum in the quarter finals. There was 3 Ad Nauseum decks in the top 8, so bad times for me.
Some words about the list:
I like Rally a lot, as it can steal games when the board is about even.
And in the board, I changed one of the Grudges to a Gnaw before the event
Round 1 vs 4c Gifts
His list is slightly odd, playing 1 Griselbrand as his only reanimator target. Game 1 I have a slow start and he Griselbrands me to death.
In: 2 Thoughtsieze, 2 Collective Brutality
Out: 2 Cathartic Reunion, 1 Conflagrate, 1 Darkblast
Games 2 and 3 all the hate he has is a single Surgical, with no snapcaster until it's too late.
1-0, 2-1 in games.
Round 2 vs GB Tron
Game 1 my hand was fine, if a little bit slow. He had turn 3 karn into Ugin.
Game 2 I can't remember what happened, except that I lost. I think I just boarded in Thoughtsiezes.
1-1, 2-3 in games.
Round 3 vs UW Control
Dredge is good against control, he doesn't have RIP in his sideboard. Not much more to say here.
In: 2 Thoughtsieze, 2 Collective Brutality
Out: 1 Conflagrate, 2 Cathartic Reunion, 1 Darkblast
2-1, 4-3 in games.
Round 4 vs Affinity
Game 1 I'm on the play, for the first time all day. Get a series of unkeepable hands, end up mulliganing to a 3 of Forest, Amalgam, Looting
I don't cast a spell game 1.
In: 2 Ancient Grudge, 2 Collective Brutality, 1 Darkblast
Out: 2 Cathartic Reunion, 1 Faithless Looting, 1 Bloodghast, 1 Narcomoeba
Game 2 he has a slow-ish hand and I have both Grudges, one dredged and one in hand. I establish 8ish power, and destroy his 3 creatures. He's empty-handed, and dies quickly.
Game 3 was closer, on his turn 2 I dredge 5 off of a Neonate, and hit the Narcomoeba to eat his Signal Pest. He plays a couple of threats, I conflagrate his board and kill him the next turn.
3-1, 6-4 in games.
Round 5 vs UB Mill
We both play FNM at the same store, so we know what we're playing against as soon as we see pairings.
The key thing to do in this matchup is to not dredge much, otherwise a couple of mill-spells will finish off your deck.
In: 2 Thoughtsieze, 2 Collective Brutality
Out: 2 Cathartic Reunion, 1 Faithless Looting, 1 Narcomoeba (Siding out Narcomoeba against mill feels wrong, in hindsight)
Game 2 I play 1/1s for a couple of turns, and he finally decides to start milling me. He taps out on turn 4 or 5 to mill me about 25 cards and surgical my Amalgams. I put Haunted Dead into play, untap and Rally for 1 point of damage more than he has life.
4-1, 8-4 in games.
Round 6 vs Grixis Control
Opponent already has byes for the GP, and is only playing for prizes, so he declines to ID.
Dredge continues to be good against control, but Tasigur and Anger do manage to steal a game.
In: 2 Thoughtsieze, 2 Collective Brutality
Out: 2 Cathartic Reunion, 1 Narcomoeba, 1 Insolent Neonate
5-1, 10-5 in games.
I ended up as third seed, playing against one of the 3 Ad Nauseum decks in top 8. He's a turn faster than me, and I lose 0-2.
Match 1 GW Tron 2-1
I can't believe I beat GW Tron! Game 1 he plays 2 Relics on me, and I assumed I was toast.
Side out
1 Conflagrate
1 Life from the Loam
1 Shriekhorn
1 Insolent Neonate
1 Dakmor Salvage
1 Cathartic Reunion
In
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Natural State
2 Ghost Quarter
The next game, I beat him in spite of his mull to Relic because I have Cathartic Reunion to amass a board after he pops it.
Game 3 I beat Relic and Rest in Peace by having about seven power on board before he plays them. He's at 1 life when I'm casting dorks and hoping to rip a Conflagrate, but a dork gets through before he's able to do something busted.
Match 2: 2-1 versus mono red Ponza
Well what can we say, it's the friendly league. He beats me game 1 after casting 2 Monastery Swiftspear, Lava Spike, Lightning Bolt, Stone Rain, Crumble to Dust, and Goblin Charbelcher. I had mulled to five and couldn't hit anything.
Games 2 and 3 were easy, especially 3 because he had one land. He did play Slagstorm off 2 Simian Spirit Guides and exiled my graveyard with Crypt, but it wasn't enough to hold me during his next several turns of whiffing landdrops.
Match 3: 2-0 easy match versus Jeskai Black push deck
Yay the reason I think this deck is still good! They're playing Snaps so they don't want Rest in Peace, and I'm good against the removal. It's easy.
Match 4: 2-1 versus Martyr Proc
This was a grind. I won game 3 with 0:00 showing on my clock from a Conflagrate. He cast Ghostly Prison game 3, and that card is so annoying on Modo. I bet he wins about 5% of his matches just off the clock alone with that. He beat me game 2 with about 57 life and some Serra Ascendants out.
Match 5: 2-1 versus Goryo's Vengeance
I can't blame the guy for what he's doing, but I was glad to win and show that consistency can be better than brokenness.
I didn't side anything.
My sideboard had too many Lightning Axes. I was ready to play a bunch of Cheerios kids. I want Thoughtseizes and Abrupt Decays. I don't think I'll bother with Nature's Claim for a while. We'll try this next league:
EDIT: May be even better if the new sb is legal: -1 Brutality, -1 Decay/Thoughtseize/Axe
The Ghost Quarters were actually relevant in the Tron match, so I'll keep trying them.
The Shriekhorn was really awesome when I cast it. If I had a dredger in the graveyard, it gave me an Amalgam or Bloodghast. If I didn't have a dredger, it gave me one. I know this is the good side of variance, but it was a really great card.
Another GPT report, essentially the same deck, just changed a Gnaw back to a Grudge, and ended up needing the third grudge. Feels good to be right.
It was a long day, so this one won't be as detailed.
Round 1 vs U Tron
Game 1 he's 1 mana off of mindslaver lock, has a platinum angel and -1 life. I hit a Conflag off of dredge for turn, and kill his Angel.
Game 2 he doesn't assemble Tron, and I dredge at him.
1-0
Round 2 vs Merfolk
Game 1 I'm on the play, t1 neonate into t2 reunion, milling 3 narcos and 3 amalgams.
I lose the next two games.
1-1
Round 3 vs BW Tokens
Aggro starts, conflagrates and Rally out of nowhere are all good things. Hand hate showing it's power against RIP
2-1
Round 4 vs Grixis Control
Dredge is good against control. Both games were close though. He's a good player.
3-1
Round 5 vs Mono-White Death and Taxes?
He's a friend from the store, we ID into top 8.
3-1-1
Quarterfinals vs Living End
Game 1 I lose by not Conflagrating precombat, so he blows up my fourth land (I had one in hand) after I Rally.
Games 2 and 3 were both very close, game three ending with him on 1 and me topdecking a Conflagrate to cast from hand.
Semifinals vs U Tron (Same person as round 1)
Closer games than last time, he took a game with Ugin ult the turn I could've conflagrated for lethal. U Tron is still a very good matchup for us.
Finals vs Mono-White Death and Taxes? (Round 5 opponent)
Friendly game with much banter. Game 1 I keep a semi-questionable hand on the draw of Stomping Ground, Looting, Cathartic, Bloodghast, Conflagrate, Amalgam, Bloodghast. I don't find a dredger until turn 3, and he closes out the game while I'm still getting started.
Game 2 he plays turn 1 vial, I play turn 1 looting. he plays turn 2 Cage. I realise I left my Grudges in the board. I eventually draw a Decay, but by then I need to use it on Thalia so I don't die, and a turn or 2 later I'm killed by a Resto.
All in all a good day, lots of fun games. Nearly snagged byes for GP Brisbane. At least a friend of mine got the byes.
I think there'll be a win a box modern during the week, and then GP on the weekend. Might remember to do tournament reports for them.
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UBRGDredge
Under Construction
WUBAd Nauseam
Thanks. Yeah, that bit was mostly copy pasta. Izzet was on point there. I will update it.
So my general Affinity siding is:
In: 2 state/claim, 2 grudge, 2 axe
Out: 2 neonate, 1 ghast, 1 haunted/scourge, 1 amaglam.
Between my 1 darkblast, 3 conflags, 4 artifact kill spells, and 2 axes, I pretty much can kill anything but the fastest hands, and since Im aware that I am not the aggro deck, I dont need to have the race parts of my deck. Its worked out for me so far. Sometimes I add gnaw.
Overall, I keep the 1 of decay. I know its never amazing, but its never dead, and its never bad. It has a lot of hats, so I can use it as a 1 of, instead of having to run 3 different cards in the board in its place.
Im assuming as the years go on dredge will eventually be 5 colored, like in legacy and vintage. But for now, the general consistence is that jund fetch base is better because of anger and pain. Rainbow is by no means NOT viable, but its likely NOT optimal. Post ban might have changed things, but so far most bigger results coming in arent rainbow.
I've seen way more of Grafdigger's Cage and Scavenging Ooze, which makes me more keen on Natural State, Lightning Axe and Thoughtseize than Nature's Claim and Collective Brutality.
Edit to avoid a double post: Is Ground Seal just way too cute to see any real sideboard play? I dig how it lets us dredge upon entering, but it seems narrow compared to the rest of our options, and it turns off Loam. Just making sure writing off the card isn't a mistake on my part because I could see it being useful against Jund and Abzan Coco, as they don't have much in the way of good non-targeting hate.
3x Wooded Foothills
3x Bloodstained Mire
1x Verdant Castacomb
2x Stomping Ground
1x Blood Crypt
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Steam Vents
2x Blackcleave Cliffs
2x Copperline Gorge
2x Dakmor Salvage
1x Mountain
1x Forest
4x Stinkweed Imp
4x Golgari Thug
4x Insolent Neonate
4x Narcomoeba
4x Bloodghast
4x Prized Amalgam
1x Scourge Devil
15 Noncreature spells:
4x Faithless Looting
4x Cathartic Reunion
3x Life from the Loam
3x Conflagrate
1x Darkblast
3x Abrupt Decay
2x Gnaw to the Bone
2x Lightning Axe
2x Collective Brutality
2x Nature's Claim
2x Ancient Grudge
1x Vengeful Pharaoh
1x Bojuka Bog
Match 1 vs Tron
The guy was pretty new to Modern and was borrowing the deck. Game 1 he has natural turn 3 Tron, and plays 2 Spellskite and an Oblivion Stone. I punch through and bring back Ghasts & Amalgams after he cracks Stone, and he scoops.
Sideboard: Out 1 Darkblast, 1 Cathartic Reunion. In 2 Ancient Grudge.
Second game he sets up for turn 3 Tron with a turn 2 Expedition Map, but I have Ancient Grudge for it. This leaves him stuck on 2 lands for the rest of the game, and I beat him down.
2-0, 1-0 in matches.
Match 2 vs 4-Colour Bird Brain
Basically an Esper Gfts Ungiven deck splashing green with Brain in a Jar and Beck // Call. Game 1 I have a really slow hand, but his is not very fast either. He is stuck with Unburial Rites in hand, and cannot find the 5h land to reanimate Elesh Norn, grand cenobite. He uses Lingering Souls to buy time, but my engine eventually picks up and I'm able to finish him of.
Sideboard: Out 1 Darkblast, 2 Cathartic Reunion, 1 Conflagrate. In 2 Abrupt Decay, 2 Collective Brutality.
Game 2 is pretty straight forward. I get my engine running from the start. He uses Lingering Souls and Damnation to buy time, but it is not enough.
2-0, 2-0 in matches.
Match 3 vs Kiki-Chord
Game 1 goes long. A super-grindy affair where he plays Chord of calling for Scavenging Ooze and starts to eat Conflagrates, Scourge Devil and Amalgams. In the end I'm down to 6-7 cards in library against his 10 life, Ooze and one open mana. I need one more Bloodghast to have a lethal attack in case he has a removal spell, and debate how deep I should dredge. I end up going 3 cards deep, and flip the last Bloodghast, giving me exactly lethal as he reveals the Path to Exile. Close call!
Sideboard: Out 1 Life from the Loam, 1 Cathartic Reunion, 2 Insolent Neonate In 2 Lightning Axe, 2 Collective Brutality
Game 2 is also very grindy. He staves of early attacks with
Wall of HopeEDIT: Wall of Omens and Wall of Roots, and I use Conflagrate to clean up. Conflagrate is the real MVP in the match, making his blocks bad and forcing him on the back foot. He resolves a Restoration Angel, and I sit back on a Lightning Axe, waiting for Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker. He cannot block my attackers with his angel, since he needs the combo to win, and I can easily finish it of with Conflagrate if he blocks. At one point I Conflagrate all his creatures except the Angel, and realise a second to late that I've discarded too low, and the only card in my hand is Lightning Axe. He is on 4 lands with 2 red sources, and I cannot interact with his combo this turn. Punt! He untaps and plays a Horizon Canopy, no Kiki-Jiki. Sometimes you get lucky. For the rest of the game I hold up Axe, with an extra card, and eventually grind him down.2-0, 3-0 in matches.
The grindy games with the deck are amazing. Usually you have the solution in front of you, and you have to find the right line of play to win. It really feels like solving a complex puzzle. I've been liking Abrupt Decay in the board a lot, and not Nature's Claim very much. It may be because of my meta, which has a lot of control decks (especially since Fatal Push) and Jund, Decay is great. Bascially no one runs Leyline of the Void, so Decay hits all the permanent hate I expect to see. The only thing is that some people play Worship, which could be an issue. Getting Bant Eldrazi on a clear board with only Conflagrate could be tough.
Another nifty trick we can pull out since Golgari Thug joined the deck: When playing Tron, if they resolve an Ulamog, the ceaseless hunger and attack, we'll usually be on an empty library after one attack trigger. However, if we cast a Thug to block and have another one in our graveyard, we can use its trigger to put another Thug on top of our library, which we draw and cast next turn and loop the two. This can prevent us from milling out. Not likely to be relevant in many games, but it has come up for me in playtesting and actually won me some close games. Something to be aware of.
Were pretty tight on sideboard slots since the banning, but I think thats why claim gets the nod. Right now, unless you are playing 5 colors, claim is the best, followed by state. If we ever take 5 colors, which I think we are close to but not there yet, fragmentize is a leading reason.
What I'm getting at is you need to be able to hit any enchantment or artifact right now. Leylines are a big reason, sure, but there are a couple other. Most are 4 cmc with the execution of like wurmcoil, which is why fragmentize is actually the bees knees. Instant speed has very little to do with it. The 4 life DOES matter more than people realize, because sometimes against combo, that bought turn is all they need to win the game. Natture's claim is best used in control, ramp and combo. State is best used in midrange, aggro and tempo. We happen to be combo aggro, so it puts us in a weird spot.
As far as ground seal goes? That tech was dead when Relic was printed. I was around then, and watched how fast that thing invalidated ground seal, as the go to hate was faerie macabre. Grave hate has gotten a lot worse for us since alara.
Yeah, we have more or less the same list. I've been trending away from haunted dead. Infect is much less played, so my need for it is reduced a ton. If I die to eldrazi, haunted dead wasnt doing anything anyways. I actually used the thug tech the other day to win the game. Combo guy milled me down to nothing with thoughtscour of all things and I had him at 1 life. So I kept thugging, and forcing him to block with his eletrolizer, since I took out the rest of his win cons, leaving him with a bunch of rituals and peek effects and nothing to do with it. Any who I did that for about 20 turns until I won and milled him out.
I think one of the problems us dredge players see, myself included, is our little slice of the meta. When we play a ton of tron, we wonder why we have a 1 of decay in the board, then we play a ton of jund and where like "Oh yeah, thats why." We either have to cut the slots our local meta doesnt seem to use, or leave us board in case. I usually do broad because I play online alot too.
Edit: I'm also having a VERY hard time getting good draws on xmage. The last game I played I had three Bloodghasts, mulliganed to 6, again drew three Bloodghasts. Seems like every hand I get every game is full of narcs, amalgams, and Bloodghasts. Never seems to happen like that when I'm playing paper cards.
Dredge (117-70 W/L in games) (Pre-GGT ban: 103-70 W/L in games)
Anywho, the sideboard part, which was the last and most tricky part is done. I wont be making any major changes to it, least for a while, but you can all tell me if theres anything that should or shouldnt be there. Its got a literally metric crap ton of information. The wall of text might be scary, but it should be enough that literally anyone reading it, should know the ins and outs of the deck pretty well, and intermediates can take this info with them when they play and test and become advanced pilots.
Do me a favor ya'll and look it over. Then if its good, give it a like so I can track the approval rating of it. Also so I can validate the way too many hours I spent on it.
Awesome! the Primer is fantastic - there's so much great info there. Small nitpicks, you spelled Lotleth Troll "Lotloth" and Smallpox "Small Pox" so the card image doesn't show up
Also, I'd argue that Surgical is a 100% a top impact hate card. Just hitting amalgams makes it significantly more difficult to win, and getting ghast + malg makes it nearly impossible to win if they have literally anything going on.
GB Graveyard(Rip Copter)Modern:
Dredge RBGU (AND WE BACK)
Suicide BlooUR(WotC Why )Living End RBG
Bloo MoonUR
Legacy:
Aluren BGU
It does, your right, and origonally I put it as a 5.0 card, but the more I thought about it the more I realized it was 5.0 with snapcaster. Some decks however, just use that and not snap. Sometimes you can make them discard the snap and it's only a half cage. So on the card alone, I put it at 4.0. 5.0 is for when you just get completely wrecked. Stuff like crypt incursion is just gg the minute its cast. Extraction is still fightable.
Thanks for finding those minor edits. Its hard to keep track of all of em when the primers so big. I forgot a few graf rather than graff too.
Thanks yall, means a lot.
Lantern Thanks and congratulations for your hard work !
RG Titan Scapeshift GR
UBWAd Nauseam WBU
CEldrazi TronC
The yellow text in the sideboarding section is a little hard to read without highlighting, but that's my only - very minor - gripe. The time and effort is hugely appreciated and I know it will be immensely helpful for any new players who want to dredge. It's a comprehensive guide but you'd done a great job of breaking up the information into digestible chunks. Thank you!
Modern:
Dredge | Restore Balance | Titanshift
My [360][Unpowered][Modern-Frame] Cube
Yeah... I thought that might be the case. Let me see if orange is better and different enough to red its still usable.
@Heenock: You are very correct, I meant to say Wall of Omens.
Lantern, the new Primer looks and reads amazing, you did a fantastic job!
A couple of nitpick points:
The "Team Pump Package" cards are not
hyperlinkedannotated, they don't show up when you move the mouse over them.Under "Single Flex Cards" Shriekhorn is written Shriek Horn, so it does not pop up.
Under Sideboard for Step 1, Graffdigger's Cage is written as Graffdiggers Cage, so it does not pop up.
Those are very minor points though. I hardly think I've seen a primer with this good layout and abundance of information.
and done. Thanks for those
Went 5-1 at a GPT yesterday, winning $80, but sadly losing to Ad Nauseum in the quarter finals. There was 3 Ad Nauseum decks in the top 8, so bad times for me.
2 Stomping Ground
2 Blood Crypt
1 Steam Vents
1 Mountain
1 Forest
2 Dakmor Salvage
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Copperline Gorge
2 Mana Confluence
4 Insolent Neonate
4 Faithless Looting
4 Cathartic Reunion
1 Darkblast
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Golgari Thug
3 Life From The Loam
3 Conflagrate
4 Bloodghast
4 Prized Amalgam
4 Narcomoeba
1 Haunted Dead
1 Rally the Peasants
2 Thoughtsieze
2 Collective Brutality
1 Darkblast
2 Lightning Axe
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Bojuka Bog
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Gnaw to the Bone
Some words about the list:
I like Rally a lot, as it can steal games when the board is about even.
And in the board, I changed one of the Grudges to a Gnaw before the event
Round 1 vs 4c Gifts
His list is slightly odd, playing 1 Griselbrand as his only reanimator target. Game 1 I have a slow start and he Griselbrands me to death.
In: 2 Thoughtsieze, 2 Collective Brutality
Out: 2 Cathartic Reunion, 1 Conflagrate, 1 Darkblast
Games 2 and 3 all the hate he has is a single Surgical, with no snapcaster until it's too late.
1-0, 2-1 in games.
Round 2 vs GB Tron
Game 1 my hand was fine, if a little bit slow. He had turn 3 karn into Ugin.
Game 2 I can't remember what happened, except that I lost. I think I just boarded in Thoughtsiezes.
1-1, 2-3 in games.
Round 3 vs UW Control
Dredge is good against control, he doesn't have RIP in his sideboard. Not much more to say here.
In: 2 Thoughtsieze, 2 Collective Brutality
Out: 1 Conflagrate, 2 Cathartic Reunion, 1 Darkblast
2-1, 4-3 in games.
Round 4 vs Affinity
Game 1 I'm on the play, for the first time all day. Get a series of unkeepable hands, end up mulliganing to a 3 of Forest, Amalgam, Looting
I don't cast a spell game 1.
In: 2 Ancient Grudge, 2 Collective Brutality, 1 Darkblast
Out: 2 Cathartic Reunion, 1 Faithless Looting, 1 Bloodghast, 1 Narcomoeba
Game 2 he has a slow-ish hand and I have both Grudges, one dredged and one in hand. I establish 8ish power, and destroy his 3 creatures. He's empty-handed, and dies quickly.
Game 3 was closer, on his turn 2 I dredge 5 off of a Neonate, and hit the Narcomoeba to eat his Signal Pest. He plays a couple of threats, I conflagrate his board and kill him the next turn.
3-1, 6-4 in games.
Round 5 vs UB Mill
We both play FNM at the same store, so we know what we're playing against as soon as we see pairings.
The key thing to do in this matchup is to not dredge much, otherwise a couple of mill-spells will finish off your deck.
In: 2 Thoughtsieze, 2 Collective Brutality
Out: 2 Cathartic Reunion, 1 Faithless Looting, 1 Narcomoeba (Siding out Narcomoeba against mill feels wrong, in hindsight)
Game 2 I play 1/1s for a couple of turns, and he finally decides to start milling me. He taps out on turn 4 or 5 to mill me about 25 cards and surgical my Amalgams. I put Haunted Dead into play, untap and Rally for 1 point of damage more than he has life.
4-1, 8-4 in games.
Round 6 vs Grixis Control
Opponent already has byes for the GP, and is only playing for prizes, so he declines to ID.
Dredge continues to be good against control, but Tasigur and Anger do manage to steal a game.
In: 2 Thoughtsieze, 2 Collective Brutality
Out: 2 Cathartic Reunion, 1 Narcomoeba, 1 Insolent Neonate
5-1, 10-5 in games.
I ended up as third seed, playing against one of the 3 Ad Nauseum decks in top 8. He's a turn faster than me, and I lose 0-2.
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Wooded Foothills
4 Copperline Gorge
3 Mountain
1 Steam Vents
2 Blood Crypt
2 Stomping Ground
2 Dakmor Salvage
Creatures
4 Insolent Neonate
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Golgari Thug
4 Prized Amalgam
4 Narcomoeba
4 Bloodghast
1 Scourge Devil
1 Shriekhorn
3 Conflagrate
3 Life from the Loam
4 Faithless Looting
4 Cathartic Reunion
4 Lightning Axe
2 Nature's Claim
2 Natural State
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Darkblast
1 Gnaw to the Bone
2 Ghost Quarter
Match 1 GW Tron 2-1
I can't believe I beat GW Tron! Game 1 he plays 2 Relics on me, and I assumed I was toast.
Side out
1 Conflagrate
1 Life from the Loam
1 Shriekhorn
1 Insolent Neonate
1 Dakmor Salvage
1 Cathartic Reunion
In
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Natural State
2 Ghost Quarter
The next game, I beat him in spite of his mull to Relic because I have Cathartic Reunion to amass a board after he pops it.
Game 3 I beat Relic and Rest in Peace by having about seven power on board before he plays them. He's at 1 life when I'm casting dorks and hoping to rip a Conflagrate, but a dork gets through before he's able to do something busted.
Match 2: 2-1 versus mono red Ponza
Well what can we say, it's the friendly league. He beats me game 1 after casting 2 Monastery Swiftspear, Lava Spike, Lightning Bolt, Stone Rain, Crumble to Dust, and Goblin Charbelcher. I had mulled to five and couldn't hit anything.
Games 2 and 3 were easy, especially 3 because he had one land. He did play Slagstorm off 2 Simian Spirit Guides and exiled my graveyard with Crypt, but it wasn't enough to hold me during his next several turns of whiffing landdrops.
Match 3: 2-0 easy match versus Jeskai Black push deck
Yay the reason I think this deck is still good! They're playing Snaps so they don't want Rest in Peace, and I'm good against the removal. It's easy.
Match 4: 2-1 versus Martyr Proc
This was a grind. I won game 3 with 0:00 showing on my clock from a Conflagrate. He cast Ghostly Prison game 3, and that card is so annoying on Modo. I bet he wins about 5% of his matches just off the clock alone with that. He beat me game 2 with about 57 life and some Serra Ascendants out.
Match 5: 2-1 versus Goryo's Vengeance
I can't blame the guy for what he's doing, but I was glad to win and show that consistency can be better than brokenness.
I didn't side anything.
My sideboard had too many Lightning Axes. I was ready to play a bunch of Cheerios kids. I want Thoughtseizes and Abrupt Decays. I don't think I'll bother with Nature's Claim for a while. We'll try this next league:
3 Thoughtseize
2 Lightning Axe
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Ghost Quarter
2 Natural State
2 Darkblast
1 Gnaw to the Bone
1 Collective Brutality
EDIT: May be even better if the new sb is legal: -1 Brutality, -1 Decay/Thoughtseize/Axe
The Ghost Quarters were actually relevant in the Tron match, so I'll keep trying them.
The Shriekhorn was really awesome when I cast it. If I had a dredger in the graveyard, it gave me an Amalgam or Bloodghast. If I didn't have a dredger, it gave me one. I know this is the good side of variance, but it was a really great card.
It was a long day, so this one won't be as detailed.
2 Stomping Ground
2 Blood Crypt
1 Steam Vents
1 Mountain
1 Forest
2 Dakmor Salvage
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Copperline Gorge
2 Mana Confluence
4 Insolent Neonate
4 Faithless Looting
4 Cathartic Reunion
1 Darkblast
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Golgari Thug
3 Life From The Loam
3 Conflagrate
4 Bloodghast
4 Prized Amalgam
4 Narcomoeba
1 Haunted Dead
1 Rally the Peasants
2 Thoughtsieze
2 Collective Brutality
1 Darkblast
2 Lightning Axe
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Bojuka Bog
3 Ancient Grudge
1 Gnaw to the Bone
Round 1 vs U Tron
Game 1 he's 1 mana off of mindslaver lock, has a platinum angel and -1 life. I hit a Conflag off of dredge for turn, and kill his Angel.
Game 2 he doesn't assemble Tron, and I dredge at him.
1-0
Round 2 vs Merfolk
Game 1 I'm on the play, t1 neonate into t2 reunion, milling 3 narcos and 3 amalgams.
I lose the next two games.
1-1
Round 3 vs BW Tokens
Aggro starts, conflagrates and Rally out of nowhere are all good things. Hand hate showing it's power against RIP
2-1
Round 4 vs Grixis Control
Dredge is good against control. Both games were close though. He's a good player.
3-1
Round 5 vs Mono-White Death and Taxes?
He's a friend from the store, we ID into top 8.
3-1-1
Quarterfinals vs Living End
Game 1 I lose by not Conflagrating precombat, so he blows up my fourth land (I had one in hand) after I Rally.
Games 2 and 3 were both very close, game three ending with him on 1 and me topdecking a Conflagrate to cast from hand.
Semifinals vs U Tron (Same person as round 1)
Closer games than last time, he took a game with Ugin ult the turn I could've conflagrated for lethal. U Tron is still a very good matchup for us.
Finals vs Mono-White Death and Taxes? (Round 5 opponent)
Friendly game with much banter. Game 1 I keep a semi-questionable hand on the draw of Stomping Ground, Looting, Cathartic, Bloodghast, Conflagrate, Amalgam, Bloodghast. I don't find a dredger until turn 3, and he closes out the game while I'm still getting started.
Game 2 he plays turn 1 vial, I play turn 1 looting. he plays turn 2 Cage. I realise I left my Grudges in the board. I eventually draw a Decay, but by then I need to use it on Thalia so I don't die, and a turn or 2 later I'm killed by a Resto.
All in all a good day, lots of fun games. Nearly snagged byes for GP Brisbane. At least a friend of mine got the byes.
I think there'll be a win a box modern during the week, and then GP on the weekend. Might remember to do tournament reports for them.