Please include what kind of event it was, game/match results for every round, and the deck/play quality of your opponents. Also, it would be helpful if you could explain how you sideboarded for each match.
G1 was rough. I mull to 5 have perfect draws and manage to get him to 6 or so before he seals it. -2 Experiment One +2 Nearheath Pilgrim
G2 is close, he has a buffed Stromkirk Noble and I sneak in for the win while at 4 life, I had 5 or 6 lands out and was holding a lightning mauler hoping he'd overextend and that I'd draw a creature which I did
G3 is also close, I have him next turn but he top decks a blasphemous act which pretty much shuts me down. It was the only card he sided in against me, as a 1 of. We're both in topdeck mode for a long time, I answer 12 hellrider but find nothing for the second and he takes the round.
R2: Golgari Zombies 2-1
G1 is a blow out for me. Not much else to say. I don't side anything
G2 involved a lot of recurring zombies and nighthawks. I put up a fight but I draw into too many lands and lose too much steam. -3 Boros Elite -1 Lightning Mauler +2 Flames of the Firebrand +2 Nearheath Pilgrim
G3 is in my favor. I curve out nicely and get a super value flames of the firebrand by killing 2 gravecrawlers and a lotleth troll while he was tapped out. He never sees his sb
R3: GW/r 2-0
G1 I have a blowout hand but he stalls by making tokens and using that indestructible/populate card. I lose a lot of dudes and am a bit worried. Mikaeus saves me here as he gives my dudes enough of a boost that the tokens don't matter and I find a frontline medic. He never sees his big creatures thankfully, or I would have been in trouble. -3 Boros Elite +3 Thalia
G2 I open with T1 champ, t2 thalia, t3 experiment one, burning tree+mayor. The game drags on longer than it should have but Thalia trips him up enough for me to win without much difficulty. He never sees his sb or his main answer (that overload bonfire type card with street in the name)
R3: Naya Blitz (mirror) 2-0
G1 I have burn to kill his threats before they get too hard to manage while he can't answer mine. -4 Boros Elite -2 Lightning Mauler +2 Nearheath Pilgrim +2 Flames of the Firebrand +2 Fiend Hunter. I almost add pacifism but decide not to, wanted to stay aggressive
G2 I open with a hand of champ, emissary, cavern, searing spear x2, mayor, fiend hunter. Too much good stuff to pass up, I draw a land and from there it's cruise control. We both start with champions, his t2 is emissary-mauler while mine is burning tree-searing spear his champion. He drops a smiter that he boarded in and I fiend hunter it next turn. He drops a mayor and I burn it, next turn I get a frontline medic and that was it from there.
So, I really like Mikaeus. He is a great mana sink, a human, and it scared the crap out of my opponent when I dropped him turn 3 using the floating mana from emissary while not skipping a beat on my champion's counters. I think he's there to stay.
Other decks that I recognized that I didn't play against were humanimator and junk rites, which I was glad for because I didn't bring any anti-gy hate. If I did, it would be Rest in Peace and nut dryad militant. I also saw esper control and a UWR deck, both of which I was ready for
The lone Ghor-Clan was a mistake, it was supposed to be a boros charm but I messed it up when I was getting things ready before FNM.
I never missed giant growth, and I was never unhappy to have a boros charm in hand. I like the surprise factor of GG, but boros charm is just such a good tool to have. Mana to cast it was never an issue.
I didn't use gruul charm once, I brought it to combat jund or aristocrats. I thought about bringing it in vs the mirror, but decided not to because I wanted to go the controllish route and figured it'd end up as a dead card.
I almost want domri in here somewhere. Personally speaking I *hate* having no way to pick up steam when my hand is running dry, and most times I'd rather my opponent spent resources on him than on my better creatures. I don't know where I'd put him though, probably in the sb in place of gruul charm.
I don't like Experiment One very much. He was never a 3/3 the whole night. I think I would rather wolfbitten captive. He gives something for your opponents to think about if you attack with 2 mana open and is easier to rely on him being bigger when you need it. I was never that hard up for mana; maybe I'll do a split.
I played the first list posted in the blitz primer, except with a jank sideboard because well I suck at SBing anyway and this is just my third FNM since coming back to the game. Will also take this list to a win a box thing at the LGS tomorrow.
For future reference Magical Christmas Land Hand (MCLH) is a t1 drop into t2 BTE+ whatever else
Went 2-2.
First round, BR zombies. I win 2-0 off MCLH both games. Dude is a horrible player. I think he mulled to 5 game 1 as well. I could have filed my taxes in the down time. I sided in 3 pillars of flame for 3 searing spears in g2 but didn't see them or need them.
Second round, UW control. I win 2-0. Owner of the shop, always playing weird decks because hey he already has your money. G1 I got MCLH. G2 I boarded in Thalia's and took out Spears since I never saw a creature. T2 Thalia completely hoses him and I'm 4-0 to start
Third round. Jund Midrange I lose 1-2. One of the best players at the shop, basically wins all the win a box things. First game he mulls to 5. Next game I mull to 6 and can't get MCLH. Third game no MCLH again, he lives long enough to bring out thrag and olivia and it's gg soon after.
4th round Jund aggro I lose 1-2. Not sure if it's the "pro" list as I played this guy last week too and haven't seen Mogg Flunkies or Rakdos Cackler. I don't remember specifics because this is winding down a long day at this point. No MCLH, I mulled in the third game and just stall out.
My thoughts: It seems like the only plan for this deck is get MCLH 8 times a night, which is not really a good plan. Against any kind of good deck if you don't get MCLH you just don't cook with enough gas to compete, and once you hit the mid game top decking dorks when they are playing big threats you're toast. To top it off, they didn't even have the decency to just reprint Incinerate, we get a strictly worse version of that so our burn package is gimped too. I think I agree with the this seasons Kudoltha red sentiments. Half the time you get MCLH and it's a beautiful thing. The other half you're dropping a 1/1 on t5 knowing you're already dead.
I'll try it out at the win a box tourney tomorrow because I have nothing else though.
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I don't fear the man who has played 10,000 decks once. I fear the man who played one deck 10,000 times.
you don't need a MCLH hand. You do need to have at least 5 points worth of power on the field on turn 2, which isn't that difficult and you need to SB correctly. The deck isn't designed to go into mid game, if it is then obviously you'll be in trouble. After turn 4 if they're not within burn reach chances are you won't be winning
Went to win a box thing, top 8'd but that was it. Put some pacifism's in the SB, SB still not ideal though. Deck was again the same list as the first list posted in the Blitz primer. Brad Nelson's deck I believe.
Round 1. Kid was playing some Orzhov infinite lose life/gain life combo deck. I completely misplayed game 1 as well as not knowing what the heck he was doing and lose G1 when he gets the combo. I get it together and win the next 2.
1-0
Round 2. Another Orzhov deck. Dude was packing 4 main deck mutilates. He gets one T4. GG soon after. Next game I mull to 5 and it's never close. He top 8'd though.
1-1
Round 3. Some sort of Jund deck. Guess he got bad hands because I barely saw him do anything. I win 2-0
2-1
Round 4. The Aristocrats. MCL g1. I mull and get nothing g2. MCL g3. I win 2-1
3-1
Top 8
Some sort of Rakdos aggro with some white, I think for Boros charm. He wins game 1 with key removal. I win g2 with consistent pressure. G3 it looked like I would win while at 6 life. If I untapped I would win. He top decks Boros Charm. He had another in his hand. I take 8 to the dome and lose.
So 3-2 overall. I get 4 packs for that, which let me draft after. I go 2-1 and end up with an Aurelia's Fury and Godless Shrine for my efforts. So not too bad.
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I don't fear the man who has played 10,000 decks once. I fear the man who played one deck 10,000 times.
Guess I'm the only one playing. Same list as the last two. Ended up top 4 which got me some credit and thus my first Thragtusk. 3 of the top 4 were resto/tusk focused decks. What a diverse format! I actually didn't end up playing anything all that good
Round 1 1-2. Orzhov zombies and other stuff. Not sure the specifics. Game 1 I got screwed, g2 was MCL, g3 flooded
0-1
Round 2 bye as a guy dropped
1-1
Round 3 mirrorish
G1 I had a faster hand. G2 I guess she got mana screwed and didn't play much. I sided in Thalia's thinking she would bring in her cheap removal and play control so I decided I would be the beat down. She sided in Fiend Hunters at least...
2-1
Round 4. Some guy just had some mods to an event deck. How he was 2-1 at this point is beyond me. He got roflstomped and this was a waste of 5 minutes.
3-1
Round 5, top 8. Mono G. This dude ended up second in the win a box from last week so the deck must be all right. G1 I'm too fast. G2 I get crap and he ends up with huge creatures (increasing savagery and wolfir soulbound). G3 I sided in pillars for his mana dorks and t2 blow out his dork. Proves to be what I needed and I win
4-1
Split top 4.
I didn't play any top decks at all, so not much to learn from tonight.
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I don't fear the man who has played 10,000 decks once. I fear the man who played one deck 10,000 times.
Game 1,
He plays 2 Lili's and a tusk that is no match for my Ex.One into
voice, smiter, smiter, Advent.
Game 2,
Removal coming out of his but lol and he just slowly kills me
(Triple pillar, Double Abrupt decay, Putrefy and Bonfire.)
Game 3,
I keep a suspect hand but top deck into an awesome curve of Ex.One,
Voice, Boar, Boar for very fast win.
Round 2: RBW Rabdom (1-2)
He is playing a form of jund I'd say. With Blood Baron, Olivia and
desecrator demon. This match is only winnable if we are lightning
fast.
Game 1,
Dryad into BTE/Boar into rancor Ghor clan = GG every time
Game 2,
get him to 3 and he plays a Blood Baron and whipes my board he wins
Game 3,
He lucks out with me mulling to 5 then top decking zero land.
That ends it. Not happy with this event only playing on if you win?
terrible.
Thoughts on the deck... well it was good I just hit a random deck that
got a little lucky and I was un prepared for. Will be doing another of
these tonight as I feel that I didnt get enough testing in.
Game 2,
I dont know what to say his deck was terrible. He played victim of
night, tragoc slip, Abrupt decay and gates. Easy win with two voice
making his removal even worse.
Round 2: RDW(G) (2-1)
Game 1,
I mull to 5 with 1 land, and get no land he bashes my face.
Game 2,
I have x2 Centaur Healer and a bunch of creatures. GG
Game 3,
we trade creatures back and forth while he beats me with a stromkirk noble.
I cant draw removal and he wins.
Round 3: Re-animator (0-2)
Game 1,
He turn 4's an AoS and I lose.
Game 2,
He destroys me again (I hate this match-up) Didnt draw a single hate
card.
I have this posted in the Midrange forum too. It seems to be sitting between aggro and midrange as my 4-5 drops are much more aggressive than Naya Midrange tends to use, and I use BTE in the early game. And that forum is quite dead. Hoping to actually get discussion over here.
Ran this at our last standard tournament. A couple explanations on a few iffy choices:
Restoration Angel - Pre-Ordered Advent of the Wurms, didnt arrive in time. It still performed well even with only one creature with an enter the battlefield effect. While rare, can be used with Silverheart for combat tricks by changing who he's soulbound with. Would still prefer Advent for the aggression, but Resto still works fine as a flash blocker, and having a flyer was actually quite relevant, especially while running Silverheart.
Centaur Healer - I wanted to try it maindeck over Reckoner for the BTE Synergy with Gyre Sage. Play Gyre Sage on turn 2, then follow up with BTE + Boar, Healer, or Smiter for two counters on Gyre Sage on turn 3. With Pig you can attack for 6 that turn (3/4 Sage, Pig with haste). The life buffer was somewhat relevant. Im going to try it with Reckoner this week, and in testing when I can. It's the question of Synergy or Better Creature. I never once whiffed on a turn 3 BTE Chain after a turn 2 Gyre Sage, and that consistent turn 3 pressure felt better than having a Reckoner in play (I have used Reckoner a lot in the past).
Round 1 - Aristocrats
Game 1 I keep a hand of Land, Land, Gyre Sage, 2 Centaur Healer, 2 Loxodon Smiter. Play turn 2 Gyre Sage, which gets Orzhov Charmed. I never see land #3. Game 2 I nut draw him with turn 2 Gyre Sage, turn 3 BTE and Smiter. Follow that with a Volcanic Strenth, and I win shortly after. Game 3 I get an Unflinching Courage on a Pig and go to town. He gets a solid draw and negates the life gain. I keep my creature count low to dodge a Blasphemous Act blowout. He ends up Lingering Souls with flashback, followed with Mark of Mutiny on my Pig, then Blasphemous Act with a Reckoner out. I lose next turn. This is the only match I would have liked to have seen Reckoner to block the Blashpemous Act.
Round 2 - Simic
Really not much of a match. I get the nut draw game 1. Game two he mulls to 5 and gets mana flooded. I dont see this being bad anyways. Im far too aggressive early on for them to do much.
Round 3 - Bant Control
Kind of feared this matchup as Im used to running Dos Rakis or Jund Aggro, so I wasnt really sure what to expect without a ton of haste creatures. Do I go all out and cross my fingers and force them to have a turn 4 Supreme Verdict or lose? Do I go a little slower so I still have game after a Verdict? I wasnt sure, but with only 8 people showing up I figured a first round loss put me out of the top 3 no matter what, so no prize. I decided to go all out. It paid off. He had no Verdict turn 4, and the aggression was too much for his blockers/Azorius Charm to deal with. Ran 2 Plummet in Sideboard for Angel of Serenity since half of the store runs Rites, and it also hits Resto Angel. It was pretty fantastic killing a flashed Resto before it was declared a blocker. I can see losing pretty easily to a turn 4 Verdict, but trying to duck under it seemed right.
Centaur Healers synergy with BTE after a Gyre Sage was really really powerful. Still not sure if I prefer it over having Reckoner. Reckoner would have been fantastic against Aristocrats, but chaining off of BTE every time I had it (Ran 11 creatures that he can chain on turn 3, almost guaranteed to have one in hand if I have a BTE) wins games.
Mizzium was worthless. This deck feels more like "My creatures are bigger than others for their cost, just attack and trade/force chumps to kill their creatures". Played 20 or so games last night with Advent over Resto, and Boros Charm over Mizzium Mortars. Boros Charm was never bad. Combining it with Ghor-Clan Bloodlust wins games by itself. Saving creatures from Bonfire, Blas Act, Verdict wins games too. Advent feels about equal with Resto Angel. It's bigger, but it doesnt fly, and it dies to Azorius Charm. It's definitely weaker against control, but stronger against beatdown.
Im also thinking about Hellkite at the 5drop. It's def amazing against control with it's haste. It's killing of spirit tokens, and guaranteed 5 to the face against Serenity is amazing too. Flying is amazing against aggro board stalls. There are soooo many options to choose from in Naya.
Pilgrim added to nut draws too. Should be obvious with basically 11 3 drops that he's good. Turn 1 pilgrim, turn 2 Gyre Sage, turn 3 BTE+ pig means if I have a third land, I can tap gyre for 2 and land another 3 drop. If its smiter, ill go into turn 4 with a 4/5 gyre sage.
Extra Testing edit - Most of my testing is against Jund Aggro variants, and Dos Rakis.
Boros Reckoner - I actually wasn't impressed with Reckoner too much. Sure the possible two for ones are fantastic, but he really stuffed up my BTE chain. If I wasn't running the deck to abuse BTE+whatever to pump Gyre Sage, then yeah, he's an auto include. I went from almost never missing a drop with BTE after a turn 2 Gyre Sage, to whiffing every few games. It REALLY slowed down the deck. As amazing as Reckoner is, I think he's sitting in the Sideboard for now. A lot of Abrupt Decay and Dreadbore still going around at my shop too. May as well get the 3 life and better consistency with BTE.
Boros Charm - Amazing. Im pretty sure I still haven't lost a game when Ive cast at least one Boros Charm. Using it with Ghor Clan Bloodlust seems to happen at least once a match, and usually leads to a scoop. It also allows me to overextend with BTE chain early game against control, sitting on those creatures with Charm against Verdict.
Advent of the Wurm - Should be pretty obvious, but it's pretty amazing. Cant really argue about a 5/5 creature with Flash. Sucks that it dies to Azorius Charm, but at least you don't get Time Walked by it. It's rare, but I do miss Resto Angel once in a while. Having a flyer really does matter some times. My losses to Jund Aggro are usually due to their flyers (Falkenrath Aristocrat, Thundermaw Hellkite). Sure she doesn't block and live, but buying time is nice. once they have those down, I tend to just lose. They chump block with other stuff, and fly over my team.
Silverheart - Im pretty torn. There are SOOOO many times this guy shines. But just like above, I really want a flyer. And I want to be more aggressive. Ive used both him and Thundermaw, and both have been fantastic. Though their uses are much different. Thundermaw is much better against Aristocrats (Flys over Reckoner, kills spirit tokens), Junk Rites (Haste, taps Serenity for guaranteed 5), and control (Haste obv, and Silverheart is often just a 4/4 against them), Silverheart is amazing against all forms of aggro. The wall factor is huge in those matchups, and turns Smiters and such into chump blockers. It really feels meta dependant, but I think Hellkite is the better call. I really want the aggression with a hasty flyer.
Ive been tossing around other ideas to try out too. Some are way out there, and will probably fail, but things need to be tested to be sure. I tried to go the "All Creature" curve route. Turned the 4 spell slot into another land, another 5 drop, and 2 Ruric Thar. That obviously goes waaay Midrangey with a 6 drop. But he can be dropped turn 4 with a turn 2 Gyre Sage, and turn 3 BTE+3power drop. Against some decks, he's probably as close to an auto win as you can get on turn 4. Even dropping turn 5, or his normal turn 6, he's still really hard to deal with. Guess what? No Boros Charm had me losing much more frequently. Ruric is pretty freakin good in the right matches, so Ill prob leave him to the side.
More than likely, if I were to go to a bigger event (And what Ill run the next time I can go to my local), my list will look like the one up top with these changes:
-4 Restoration Angel
-3 Wolfir Silverheart
-4 Mizium Mortars
+4 Advent of the Wurm
+3 Thundermaw Hellkite
+4 Boros Charm
Sideboard is ever changing as it should be due to players always changing decks.
hopefully this sub-forum has more discussion than the Naya Midrange does. It's virtually dead over there.
hey guys i finally put my blitz deck together and took it to and FNM (i know, not a major tournament, but i dont get a chance to go to many) there's some very tough competition at this store, as its one of three fnm competitions on the delmarva peninsula. it was 4 rounds, 28 players (first one under 30 in a long time, big storm was rolling through kept a lot of people at home)
R1- WG tokens
round one is when your likely to get someone who's really there for casual play. thats a little mean, this was a good deck, but simply didnt have the removal to keep up with blitz. g2 i kept a slow hand on the draw and almost lost, but she dropped 2 parallel lives and got no token creators after that. mayor of averbruck let my power over her centuar tokens.
1-0
R2- UWR aggro
ahh we punned we punned. me and this guy had been playtesting for an hour before the tournament started, so we knew exactly what this matchup was. i pretended he was playing jund aggro and he pretended i was playing esper control much to the confusion of those around us) g1 my deck was simply to fast (it helped that he had mulled down to 5) it sounds like i say "my deck was simply to fast" a lot. but we all love blitz because of the frequancy of those nut draws that cause t3 scoops. game 2 i was on the draw and he was continually burning my creatures, but thats why i have a man crush on splinterfright. t5 hes got 6 creatures in my graveyard and a smile when i drop a 6/6 with trample that grow every turn, then next turn i dropped another one... needless to say he scooped there.
2-0
R3- esper control
game one was a nightmare, i mean we are talking t3 miracled terminous, and then my next 3 creatures caught detention sphere, so i scooped when his blood baron hit critical mass. game 2 i was to fast (see above comments) and he scooped turn 3. game three was a long tough grind, but giant growth and ghor clan blood rush, along with a few boros chamrs let me stick around long enough to grind it out.
R3- bant control.
g1 was sitting perfectly, and i made my fatal mistake. me t4 i hope you dont have verdict" as i play my last two creatures to make an overwhelming board statement. she wmiles, untapped, plays a fourth land, and drops supreme verdict. me "escuse me while i go outside and scream" and then scoops. g2 and 3 i learned from my mistake, and keep up a steady pressure while holding back some cards to avoid sweeps. g3 was more due to the fact that she really didnt hit any removal.
4-0
2nd place by tie breakers, because god refuses to let me win for once.
overall this deck was as awesome as i thought it would be, you just have to avoid that urge to drop it all at hope they cry. if you have 10 damage on the board to their empty one, you really don't need to play the other 7 damage worth of creatures in your hand. you win with whats on the board. that applies twofold if one of the cards in your hand is a mauler. my rule of thumb is the first mauler gets played for early pressure, the other one gets saved for surprise pressure late.
i feel like one of the most important parts of blitz is having the right sideboard. mess around and see what works well. one change i might make is war priest of the thune over ray of revaluation
FNM Report 4-0 1st Place - 6/7/13
Battleground Gaming
Cullman, AL
Somewhere between 15-20 people, not a huge crowd by any means but we don't often have large standard tournaments in this part of Alabama.
I basically started with Aaron Birch's Naya Aggro and made a few changes. I removed 2 Rancor, for some reason it just didn't come in handy often enough. I added 2 Unflinching Courage because I REALLY wanted to pull off the infinite life combo with Reckoner / Unflinching Courage / Boros Charm, but it never happened. Also removed 1 Forest and added 1 Gavony Township, and it was a good addition in my opinion.
Note: Sideboard needs a little work, but I forgot my Ray of Revelations and Naturalizes, so I was hoping I didn't run into any Bant Hexproof.
Onto the matches..
Match 1 vs. 4 Color Enchantment
I've played against this deck several times, and I absolutely hate it. Basically my opponent just drops a bunch of cheap enchantments and then drops several Sphere of Safetys and an Assemble the Legion to slowly kill me.
Plan is to attack quickly before he can drop a Sphere of Safety.
Game 1: Get in early beats with Strangleroot Geists, Voice of Resurgence, Loxodon Smiter. He eventually gets a Sphere of Safety on the table and I have to pay 6 for each attacking creature. He's at 6 life and I'm holding Boros Charm, and draw Searing Spear, 7 to the dome and we're onto game 2.
Game 2: Turn 4 I attack with a Loxodon Smiter, bloodrush with Ghor-Clan Rampager (+4), then use Boros Charm to give him double strike for 16 damage, and another 2 damage from Strangleroot Geist ends the game.
Match 2 vs. B/R Rakdos
Game 1: Get in some early beats with Geists, and Militants, and Loxodon Smiter, until he drops a Rakdos Lord of Riots. That's not good. Attack with Loxodon Smiter, he blocks with Rakdos, bloodrush with Ghor-Clan Rampager, and onto game 2.
Sideboard:
-2 Dryad Militant
+2 Volcanic Strength
Game 2: The second game was a lot closer than the first. He gets in some early beatdown, while killing my early creatures with spot removal. I had a Geist and VoR in play, and he used Pillar of Flame on my Geist. Huh, really? Yep I didn't understand that one either, oh well.
Eventually I get Loxodon Smiter and Boros Reckoner on the board, put Unflinching Courage on Loxodon Smiter, and that about wraps it up. He Pillars me and then plays Rakdos. I attack with Smiter and Reckoner and rampage into victory.
Match 3 vs. Chris running R/G Aggro
Chris is an awesome guy and we play together just about every week. I know his deck pretty well and it's very similar to my R/G, so I know exactly what to play around.
Game 1: He rushes me with Rakdos Cackler, Lightning Mauler, BTE, and Hellrider. I have 2 x Loxodon Smiters and Boros Reckoner on board, he has 4 creatures and plays Hellrider. I'm at 10 and he attacks with everything. Hellrider trigger puts me at 5, I block very effectively and go down to 3 life.
Next turn, I attack with 2 Loxodon Smiters, bloodrush with Ghor-Clan and Boros Charm for double strike on Smiter for 20 damage. Whew..close game.
Game 2: I know Chris boarded in Volcanic Strength and Fog, so I have to be wary of those. This game wasn't fair for him, he drew like 5 land in a row and played 2 creatures. I dropped Trostani and with the lifegain + populate, I quickly ran away with the game.
Match 4 vs. Junk Aristocrats
I had watched this deck earlier in the night and I know he's running Skirrsdag High Preist, Cartel Aristocrat, Doomed Traveler, and Blood Artist. So I have a pretty good idea on what to target to slow him down.
Game 1: T2 he plays Skirsdag High Preist, I Searing Spear it, no 5/5 tokens for you. Then I play some pressure with Loxodon Smiter and rampager shenanigans and it's onto game 2.
Sideboard
-2 Strangleroot Geists
+2 Trostani
(I keep in Dryad Militants this time to fight Lingering Souls)
Game 2: I play a lot slower, accidentally drop a Loxodon Smiter instead of a Voice of Resurgence for 2 mana, oops! Play Voice, his turn, he plays Voice. My turn, I attack with Voice and Dryad Militant. He blocks Voice with Voice, and I am ecstatic to get an elemental token. Turn 4 I drop Trostani, and I completely control the game from there on out. Turn 5, make an Elemental token, gain 4, T6 Populate Elemental token, gain 5, T7 Populate Elemental token, gain 6. I think I was somewhere near 33 life (taking 2 from pain lands) and the game was far out of his reach. I think he got mana screwed, but I'll take what I can get. Eventually I attack for 25 and it's over.
Summary: I had a blast playing this deck. This deck just has so many ways to go over the top and I never felt like I didn't have a good card or spell to play. Boros Charm is MVP in the main deck. Being able to throw 4 at the dome, or give any creature double strike was extremely versatile and good way to end the game quickly. Sideboard MVP was Trostani. Being able to get lifegain and create more elemental or wurm tokens at instant speed was awesome.
Thanks for reading and if you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to reply
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Please include what kind of event it was, game/match results for every round, and the deck/play quality of your opponents. Also, it would be helpful if you could explain how you sideboarded for each match.
BGStandard Green AggroGB
UWRGModern Saheeli CobraGRWU
UBRGLegacy StormGRBU
Wizards Certified Rules Advisor
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple Garden
4 Stomping Ground
3 Sunpetal Grove
1 Rootbound Crag
Creatures
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Boros Elite
4 Experiment One
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Mayor of Avrabuck
4 Frontline Medic
1 Ghor-Clan Rampager
1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
4 Searing Spear
2 Boros Charm
2 Nearheath Pilgrim
1 Boros Charm
3 Pacifism
2 Gruul Charm
2 Flames of the Firebrand
2 Fiend Hunter
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
R1: Boros Agro 1-2
G1 was rough. I mull to 5 have perfect draws and manage to get him to 6 or so before he seals it. -2 Experiment One +2 Nearheath Pilgrim
G2 is close, he has a buffed Stromkirk Noble and I sneak in for the win while at 4 life, I had 5 or 6 lands out and was holding a lightning mauler hoping he'd overextend and that I'd draw a creature which I did
G3 is also close, I have him next turn but he top decks a blasphemous act which pretty much shuts me down. It was the only card he sided in against me, as a 1 of. We're both in topdeck mode for a long time, I answer 12 hellrider but find nothing for the second and he takes the round.
R2: Golgari Zombies 2-1
G1 is a blow out for me. Not much else to say. I don't side anything
G2 involved a lot of recurring zombies and nighthawks. I put up a fight but I draw into too many lands and lose too much steam. -3 Boros Elite -1 Lightning Mauler +2 Flames of the Firebrand +2 Nearheath Pilgrim
G3 is in my favor. I curve out nicely and get a super value flames of the firebrand by killing 2 gravecrawlers and a lotleth troll while he was tapped out. He never sees his sb
R3: GW/r 2-0
G1 I have a blowout hand but he stalls by making tokens and using that indestructible/populate card. I lose a lot of dudes and am a bit worried. Mikaeus saves me here as he gives my dudes enough of a boost that the tokens don't matter and I find a frontline medic. He never sees his big creatures thankfully, or I would have been in trouble. -3 Boros Elite +3 Thalia
G2 I open with T1 champ, t2 thalia, t3 experiment one, burning tree+mayor. The game drags on longer than it should have but Thalia trips him up enough for me to win without much difficulty. He never sees his sb or his main answer (that overload bonfire type card with street in the name)
R3: Naya Blitz (mirror) 2-0
G1 I have burn to kill his threats before they get too hard to manage while he can't answer mine. -4 Boros Elite -2 Lightning Mauler +2 Nearheath Pilgrim +2 Flames of the Firebrand +2 Fiend Hunter. I almost add pacifism but decide not to, wanted to stay aggressive
G2 I open with a hand of champ, emissary, cavern, searing spear x2, mayor, fiend hunter. Too much good stuff to pass up, I draw a land and from there it's cruise control. We both start with champions, his t2 is emissary-mauler while mine is burning tree-searing spear his champion. He drops a smiter that he boarded in and I fiend hunter it next turn. He drops a mayor and I burn it, next turn I get a frontline medic and that was it from there.
So, I really like Mikaeus. He is a great mana sink, a human, and it scared the crap out of my opponent when I dropped him turn 3 using the floating mana from emissary while not skipping a beat on my champion's counters. I think he's there to stay.
Other decks that I recognized that I didn't play against were humanimator and junk rites, which I was glad for because I didn't bring any anti-gy hate. If I did, it would be Rest in Peace and nut dryad militant. I also saw esper control and a UWR deck, both of which I was ready for
The lone Ghor-Clan was a mistake, it was supposed to be a boros charm but I messed it up when I was getting things ready before FNM.
I never missed giant growth, and I was never unhappy to have a boros charm in hand. I like the surprise factor of GG, but boros charm is just such a good tool to have. Mana to cast it was never an issue.
I didn't use gruul charm once, I brought it to combat jund or aristocrats. I thought about bringing it in vs the mirror, but decided not to because I wanted to go the controllish route and figured it'd end up as a dead card.
I almost want domri in here somewhere. Personally speaking I *hate* having no way to pick up steam when my hand is running dry, and most times I'd rather my opponent spent resources on him than on my better creatures. I don't know where I'd put him though, probably in the sb in place of gruul charm.
I don't like Experiment One very much. He was never a 3/3 the whole night. I think I would rather wolfbitten captive. He gives something for your opponents to think about if you attack with 2 mana open and is easier to rely on him being bigger when you need it. I was never that hard up for mana; maybe I'll do a split.
Anyways, hope this info helps somebody
For future reference Magical Christmas Land Hand (MCLH) is a t1 drop into t2 BTE+ whatever else
Went 2-2.
First round, BR zombies. I win 2-0 off MCLH both games. Dude is a horrible player. I think he mulled to 5 game 1 as well. I could have filed my taxes in the down time. I sided in 3 pillars of flame for 3 searing spears in g2 but didn't see them or need them.
Second round, UW control. I win 2-0. Owner of the shop, always playing weird decks because hey he already has your money. G1 I got MCLH. G2 I boarded in Thalia's and took out Spears since I never saw a creature. T2 Thalia completely hoses him and I'm 4-0 to start
Third round. Jund Midrange I lose 1-2. One of the best players at the shop, basically wins all the win a box things. First game he mulls to 5. Next game I mull to 6 and can't get MCLH. Third game no MCLH again, he lives long enough to bring out thrag and olivia and it's gg soon after.
4th round Jund aggro I lose 1-2. Not sure if it's the "pro" list as I played this guy last week too and haven't seen Mogg Flunkies or Rakdos Cackler. I don't remember specifics because this is winding down a long day at this point. No MCLH, I mulled in the third game and just stall out.
My thoughts: It seems like the only plan for this deck is get MCLH 8 times a night, which is not really a good plan. Against any kind of good deck if you don't get MCLH you just don't cook with enough gas to compete, and once you hit the mid game top decking dorks when they are playing big threats you're toast. To top it off, they didn't even have the decency to just reprint Incinerate, we get a strictly worse version of that so our burn package is gimped too. I think I agree with the this seasons Kudoltha red sentiments. Half the time you get MCLH and it's a beautiful thing. The other half you're dropping a 1/1 on t5 knowing you're already dead.
I'll try it out at the win a box tourney tomorrow because I have nothing else though.
Round 1. Kid was playing some Orzhov infinite lose life/gain life combo deck. I completely misplayed game 1 as well as not knowing what the heck he was doing and lose G1 when he gets the combo. I get it together and win the next 2.
1-0
Round 2. Another Orzhov deck. Dude was packing 4 main deck mutilates. He gets one T4. GG soon after. Next game I mull to 5 and it's never close. He top 8'd though.
1-1
Round 3. Some sort of Jund deck. Guess he got bad hands because I barely saw him do anything. I win 2-0
2-1
Round 4. The Aristocrats. MCL g1. I mull and get nothing g2. MCL g3. I win 2-1
3-1
Top 8
Some sort of Rakdos aggro with some white, I think for Boros charm. He wins game 1 with key removal. I win g2 with consistent pressure. G3 it looked like I would win while at 6 life. If I untapped I would win. He top decks Boros Charm. He had another in his hand. I take 8 to the dome and lose.
So 3-2 overall. I get 4 packs for that, which let me draft after. I go 2-1 and end up with an Aurelia's Fury and Godless Shrine for my efforts. So not too bad.
Round 1 1-2. Orzhov zombies and other stuff. Not sure the specifics. Game 1 I got screwed, g2 was MCL, g3 flooded
0-1
Round 2 bye as a guy dropped
1-1
Round 3 mirrorish
G1 I had a faster hand. G2 I guess she got mana screwed and didn't play much. I sided in Thalia's thinking she would bring in her cheap removal and play control so I decided I would be the beat down. She sided in Fiend Hunters at least...
2-1
Round 4. Some guy just had some mods to an event deck. How he was 2-1 at this point is beyond me. He got roflstomped and this was a waste of 5 minutes.
3-1
Round 5, top 8. Mono G. This dude ended up second in the win a box from last week so the deck must be all right. G1 I'm too fast. G2 I get crap and he ends up with huge creatures (increasing savagery and wolfir soulbound). G3 I sided in pillars for his mana dorks and t2 blow out his dork. Proves to be what I needed and I win
4-1
Split top 4.
I didn't play any top decks at all, so not much to learn from tonight.
Ex.One x4
Dryad x4
BTE x4
Flinthoof x4
Voice x4
Reckoner x4
Smiter x3
Ghor-clan x2
Rancor x3
Boros Charm x3
Domri x3
Advent x2
Sideboard
O.Ring x2
Rest in Peace x2
Thalia x3
Searing Spear x2
Pillar x2 Centaur Healer x3
Boros Charm x1
MTGO 8 Player Constructed Que (1-1)
Round 1: Jund (2-1)
Game 1,
He plays 2 Lili's and a tusk that is no match for my Ex.One into
voice, smiter, smiter, Advent.
Game 2,
Removal coming out of his but lol and he just slowly kills me
(Triple pillar, Double Abrupt decay, Putrefy and Bonfire.)
Game 3,
I keep a suspect hand but top deck into an awesome curve of Ex.One,
Voice, Boar, Boar for very fast win.
Round 2: RBW Rabdom (1-2)
He is playing a form of jund I'd say. With Blood Baron, Olivia and
desecrator demon. This match is only winnable if we are lightning
fast.
Game 1,
Dryad into BTE/Boar into rancor Ghor clan = GG every time
Game 2,
get him to 3 and he plays a Blood Baron and whipes my board he wins
Game 3,
He lucks out with me mulling to 5 then top decking zero land.
That ends it. Not happy with this event only playing on if you win?
terrible.
Thoughts on the deck... well it was good I just hit a random deck that
got a little lucky and I was un prepared for. Will be doing another of
these tonight as I feel that I didnt get enough testing in.
Ex.One x4
Dryad x4
BTE x4
Flinthoof x4
Voice x4
Reckoner x4
Smiter x3
Ghor-clan x2
Rancor x3
Boros Charm x3
Domri x3
Advent x2
Sideboard
O.Ring x2
Rest in Peace x2
Thalia x3
Searing Spear x2
Pillar x2 Centaur Healer x3
Boros Charm x1
Constructed Daily
Round 1: Golgari? (2-0)
Game 1,
he gets stuck on two lands and I win.
Game 2,
I dont know what to say his deck was terrible. He played victim of
night, tragoc slip, Abrupt decay and gates. Easy win with two voice
making his removal even worse.
Round 2: RDW(G) (2-1)
Game 1,
I mull to 5 with 1 land, and get no land he bashes my face.
Game 2,
I have x2 Centaur Healer and a bunch of creatures. GG
Game 3,
we trade creatures back and forth while he beats me with a stromkirk noble.
I cant draw removal and he wins.
Round 3: Re-animator (0-2)
Game 1,
He turn 4's an AoS and I lose.
Game 2,
He destroys me again (I hate this match-up) Didnt draw a single hate
card.
Drop.
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Flinthoof Boar
4 Gyre Sage
3 Centaur Healer
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Restoration Angel
3 Ghor-Clan Rampager
3 Wolfir Silverheart
4 Mizzium Mortars
Lands: 23
4 Temple Garden
4 Stomping Grounds
4 Sacred Foundry
3 Sunpetal Grove
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Rootbound Crag
2 Forest
2 Mountain
Ran this at our last standard tournament. A couple explanations on a few iffy choices:
Restoration Angel - Pre-Ordered Advent of the Wurms, didnt arrive in time. It still performed well even with only one creature with an enter the battlefield effect. While rare, can be used with Silverheart for combat tricks by changing who he's soulbound with. Would still prefer Advent for the aggression, but Resto still works fine as a flash blocker, and having a flyer was actually quite relevant, especially while running Silverheart.
Centaur Healer - I wanted to try it maindeck over Reckoner for the BTE Synergy with Gyre Sage. Play Gyre Sage on turn 2, then follow up with BTE + Boar, Healer, or Smiter for two counters on Gyre Sage on turn 3. With Pig you can attack for 6 that turn (3/4 Sage, Pig with haste). The life buffer was somewhat relevant. Im going to try it with Reckoner this week, and in testing when I can. It's the question of Synergy or Better Creature. I never once whiffed on a turn 3 BTE Chain after a turn 2 Gyre Sage, and that consistent turn 3 pressure felt better than having a Reckoner in play (I have used Reckoner a lot in the past).
Round 1 - Aristocrats
Game 1 I keep a hand of Land, Land, Gyre Sage, 2 Centaur Healer, 2 Loxodon Smiter. Play turn 2 Gyre Sage, which gets Orzhov Charmed. I never see land #3. Game 2 I nut draw him with turn 2 Gyre Sage, turn 3 BTE and Smiter. Follow that with a Volcanic Strenth, and I win shortly after. Game 3 I get an Unflinching Courage on a Pig and go to town. He gets a solid draw and negates the life gain. I keep my creature count low to dodge a Blasphemous Act blowout. He ends up Lingering Souls with flashback, followed with Mark of Mutiny on my Pig, then Blasphemous Act with a Reckoner out. I lose next turn. This is the only match I would have liked to have seen Reckoner to block the Blashpemous Act.
Round 2 - Simic
Really not much of a match. I get the nut draw game 1. Game two he mulls to 5 and gets mana flooded. I dont see this being bad anyways. Im far too aggressive early on for them to do much.
Round 3 - Bant Control
Kind of feared this matchup as Im used to running Dos Rakis or Jund Aggro, so I wasnt really sure what to expect without a ton of haste creatures. Do I go all out and cross my fingers and force them to have a turn 4 Supreme Verdict or lose? Do I go a little slower so I still have game after a Verdict? I wasnt sure, but with only 8 people showing up I figured a first round loss put me out of the top 3 no matter what, so no prize. I decided to go all out. It paid off. He had no Verdict turn 4, and the aggression was too much for his blockers/Azorius Charm to deal with. Ran 2 Plummet in Sideboard for Angel of Serenity since half of the store runs Rites, and it also hits Resto Angel. It was pretty fantastic killing a flashed Resto before it was declared a blocker. I can see losing pretty easily to a turn 4 Verdict, but trying to duck under it seemed right.
Centaur Healers synergy with BTE after a Gyre Sage was really really powerful. Still not sure if I prefer it over having Reckoner. Reckoner would have been fantastic against Aristocrats, but chaining off of BTE every time I had it (Ran 11 creatures that he can chain on turn 3, almost guaranteed to have one in hand if I have a BTE) wins games.
Mizzium was worthless. This deck feels more like "My creatures are bigger than others for their cost, just attack and trade/force chumps to kill their creatures". Played 20 or so games last night with Advent over Resto, and Boros Charm over Mizzium Mortars. Boros Charm was never bad. Combining it with Ghor-Clan Bloodlust wins games by itself. Saving creatures from Bonfire, Blas Act, Verdict wins games too. Advent feels about equal with Resto Angel. It's bigger, but it doesnt fly, and it dies to Azorius Charm. It's definitely weaker against control, but stronger against beatdown.
Im also thinking about Hellkite at the 5drop. It's def amazing against control with it's haste. It's killing of spirit tokens, and guaranteed 5 to the face against Serenity is amazing too. Flying is amazing against aggro board stalls. There are soooo many options to choose from in Naya.
Pilgrim added to nut draws too. Should be obvious with basically 11 3 drops that he's good. Turn 1 pilgrim, turn 2 Gyre Sage, turn 3 BTE+ pig means if I have a third land, I can tap gyre for 2 and land another 3 drop. If its smiter, ill go into turn 4 with a 4/5 gyre sage.
Extra Testing edit - Most of my testing is against Jund Aggro variants, and Dos Rakis.
Boros Reckoner - I actually wasn't impressed with Reckoner too much. Sure the possible two for ones are fantastic, but he really stuffed up my BTE chain. If I wasn't running the deck to abuse BTE+whatever to pump Gyre Sage, then yeah, he's an auto include. I went from almost never missing a drop with BTE after a turn 2 Gyre Sage, to whiffing every few games. It REALLY slowed down the deck. As amazing as Reckoner is, I think he's sitting in the Sideboard for now. A lot of Abrupt Decay and Dreadbore still going around at my shop too. May as well get the 3 life and better consistency with BTE.
Boros Charm - Amazing. Im pretty sure I still haven't lost a game when Ive cast at least one Boros Charm. Using it with Ghor Clan Bloodlust seems to happen at least once a match, and usually leads to a scoop. It also allows me to overextend with BTE chain early game against control, sitting on those creatures with Charm against Verdict.
Advent of the Wurm - Should be pretty obvious, but it's pretty amazing. Cant really argue about a 5/5 creature with Flash. Sucks that it dies to Azorius Charm, but at least you don't get Time Walked by it. It's rare, but I do miss Resto Angel once in a while. Having a flyer really does matter some times. My losses to Jund Aggro are usually due to their flyers (Falkenrath Aristocrat, Thundermaw Hellkite). Sure she doesn't block and live, but buying time is nice. once they have those down, I tend to just lose. They chump block with other stuff, and fly over my team.
Silverheart - Im pretty torn. There are SOOOO many times this guy shines. But just like above, I really want a flyer. And I want to be more aggressive. Ive used both him and Thundermaw, and both have been fantastic. Though their uses are much different. Thundermaw is much better against Aristocrats (Flys over Reckoner, kills spirit tokens), Junk Rites (Haste, taps Serenity for guaranteed 5), and control (Haste obv, and Silverheart is often just a 4/4 against them), Silverheart is amazing against all forms of aggro. The wall factor is huge in those matchups, and turns Smiters and such into chump blockers. It really feels meta dependant, but I think Hellkite is the better call. I really want the aggression with a hasty flyer.
Ive been tossing around other ideas to try out too. Some are way out there, and will probably fail, but things need to be tested to be sure. I tried to go the "All Creature" curve route. Turned the 4 spell slot into another land, another 5 drop, and 2 Ruric Thar. That obviously goes waaay Midrangey with a 6 drop. But he can be dropped turn 4 with a turn 2 Gyre Sage, and turn 3 BTE+3power drop. Against some decks, he's probably as close to an auto win as you can get on turn 4. Even dropping turn 5, or his normal turn 6, he's still really hard to deal with. Guess what? No Boros Charm had me losing much more frequently. Ruric is pretty freakin good in the right matches, so Ill prob leave him to the side.
More than likely, if I were to go to a bigger event (And what Ill run the next time I can go to my local), my list will look like the one up top with these changes:
-4 Restoration Angel
-3 Wolfir Silverheart
-4 Mizium Mortars
+4 Advent of the Wurm
+3 Thundermaw Hellkite
+4 Boros Charm
Sideboard is ever changing as it should be due to players always changing decks.
hopefully this sub-forum has more discussion than the Naya Midrange does. It's virtually dead over there.
4 Boros Elite
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Experiment One
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Mayor of Avabruck
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Flinthoof Boar
4 Frontline Medic
1 Ghor-Clan Rampager
3 Giant Growth
2 Searing Spear
Lands
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Stomping Ground
4 Temple Garden
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Rootbound Crag
2 Sunpetal Grove
2 Pacifism
3 splinterfright
3 Fiend Hunter
3 Boros Charm
3 Ray of Revelation
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
hey guys i finally put my blitz deck together and took it to and FNM (i know, not a major tournament, but i dont get a chance to go to many) there's some very tough competition at this store, as its one of three fnm competitions on the delmarva peninsula. it was 4 rounds, 28 players (first one under 30 in a long time, big storm was rolling through kept a lot of people at home)
R1- WG tokens
round one is when your likely to get someone who's really there for casual play. thats a little mean, this was a good deck, but simply didnt have the removal to keep up with blitz. g2 i kept a slow hand on the draw and almost lost, but she dropped 2 parallel lives and got no token creators after that. mayor of averbruck let my power over her centuar tokens.
1-0
R2- UWR aggro
ahh we punned we punned. me and this guy had been playtesting for an hour before the tournament started, so we knew exactly what this matchup was. i pretended he was playing jund aggro and he pretended i was playing esper control much to the confusion of those around us) g1 my deck was simply to fast (it helped that he had mulled down to 5) it sounds like i say "my deck was simply to fast" a lot. but we all love blitz because of the frequancy of those nut draws that cause t3 scoops. game 2 i was on the draw and he was continually burning my creatures, but thats why i have a man crush on splinterfright. t5 hes got 6 creatures in my graveyard and a smile when i drop a 6/6 with trample that grow every turn, then next turn i dropped another one... needless to say he scooped there.
2-0
R3- esper control
game one was a nightmare, i mean we are talking t3 miracled terminous, and then my next 3 creatures caught detention sphere, so i scooped when his blood baron hit critical mass. game 2 i was to fast (see above comments) and he scooped turn 3. game three was a long tough grind, but giant growth and ghor clan blood rush, along with a few boros chamrs let me stick around long enough to grind it out.
R3- bant control.
g1 was sitting perfectly, and i made my fatal mistake. me t4 i hope you dont have verdict" as i play my last two creatures to make an overwhelming board statement. she wmiles, untapped, plays a fourth land, and drops supreme verdict. me "escuse me while i go outside and scream" and then scoops. g2 and 3 i learned from my mistake, and keep up a steady pressure while holding back some cards to avoid sweeps. g3 was more due to the fact that she really didnt hit any removal.
4-0
2nd place by tie breakers, because god refuses to let me win for once.
overall this deck was as awesome as i thought it would be, you just have to avoid that urge to drop it all at hope they cry. if you have 10 damage on the board to their empty one, you really don't need to play the other 7 damage worth of creatures in your hand. you win with whats on the board. that applies twofold if one of the cards in your hand is a mauler. my rule of thumb is the first mauler gets played for early pressure, the other one gets saved for surprise pressure late.
i feel like one of the most important parts of blitz is having the right sideboard. mess around and see what works well. one change i might make is war priest of the thune over ray of revaluation
thanks for reading
4 Experiment One
3 Dryad Militant
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Voice of Resurgence
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
Spells
3 Boros Charm
4 Searing Spear
2 Unflinching Courage
2 Advent of the Wurm
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Stomping Ground
4 Temple Garden
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Sunpetal Grove
1 Forest
1 Gavony Township
2 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
1 Domri Rade
2 Volcanic Strength
1 Thragtusk
1 Boros Charm
2 Ground Seal
3 Skullcrack
3 Pacifism
FNM Report 4-0 1st Place - 6/7/13
Battleground Gaming
Cullman, AL
Somewhere between 15-20 people, not a huge crowd by any means but we don't often have large standard tournaments in this part of Alabama.
I basically started with Aaron Birch's Naya Aggro and made a few changes. I removed 2 Rancor, for some reason it just didn't come in handy often enough. I added 2 Unflinching Courage because I REALLY wanted to pull off the infinite life combo with Reckoner / Unflinching Courage / Boros Charm, but it never happened. Also removed 1 Forest and added 1 Gavony Township, and it was a good addition in my opinion.
Note: Sideboard needs a little work, but I forgot my Ray of Revelations and Naturalizes, so I was hoping I didn't run into any Bant Hexproof.
Onto the matches..
Match 1 vs. 4 Color Enchantment
I've played against this deck several times, and I absolutely hate it. Basically my opponent just drops a bunch of cheap enchantments and then drops several Sphere of Safetys and an Assemble the Legion to slowly kill me.
Plan is to attack quickly before he can drop a Sphere of Safety.
Game 1: Get in early beats with Strangleroot Geists, Voice of Resurgence, Loxodon Smiter. He eventually gets a Sphere of Safety on the table and I have to pay 6 for each attacking creature. He's at 6 life and I'm holding Boros Charm, and draw Searing Spear, 7 to the dome and we're onto game 2.
Game 2: Turn 4 I attack with a Loxodon Smiter, bloodrush with Ghor-Clan Rampager (+4), then use Boros Charm to give him double strike for 16 damage, and another 2 damage from Strangleroot Geist ends the game.
Match 2 vs. B/R Rakdos
Game 1: Get in some early beats with Geists, and Militants, and Loxodon Smiter, until he drops a Rakdos Lord of Riots. That's not good. Attack with Loxodon Smiter, he blocks with Rakdos, bloodrush with Ghor-Clan Rampager, and onto game 2.
Sideboard:
-2 Dryad Militant
+2 Volcanic Strength
Game 2: The second game was a lot closer than the first. He gets in some early beatdown, while killing my early creatures with spot removal. I had a Geist and VoR in play, and he used Pillar of Flame on my Geist. Huh, really? Yep I didn't understand that one either, oh well.
Eventually I get Loxodon Smiter and Boros Reckoner on the board, put Unflinching Courage on Loxodon Smiter, and that about wraps it up. He Pillars me and then plays Rakdos. I attack with Smiter and Reckoner and rampage into victory.
Match 3 vs. Chris running R/G Aggro
Chris is an awesome guy and we play together just about every week. I know his deck pretty well and it's very similar to my R/G, so I know exactly what to play around.
Game 1: He rushes me with Rakdos Cackler, Lightning Mauler, BTE, and Hellrider. I have 2 x Loxodon Smiters and Boros Reckoner on board, he has 4 creatures and plays Hellrider. I'm at 10 and he attacks with everything. Hellrider trigger puts me at 5, I block very effectively and go down to 3 life.
Next turn, I attack with 2 Loxodon Smiters, bloodrush with Ghor-Clan and Boros Charm for double strike on Smiter for 20 damage. Whew..close game.
Sideboard
-2 Dryad Militant
-2 Strangleroot Geists
+2 Trostani
+2 Volcanic Strength
Game 2: I know Chris boarded in Volcanic Strength and Fog, so I have to be wary of those. This game wasn't fair for him, he drew like 5 land in a row and played 2 creatures. I dropped Trostani and with the lifegain + populate, I quickly ran away with the game.
Match 4 vs. Junk Aristocrats
I had watched this deck earlier in the night and I know he's running Skirrsdag High Preist, Cartel Aristocrat, Doomed Traveler, and Blood Artist. So I have a pretty good idea on what to target to slow him down.
Game 1: T2 he plays Skirsdag High Preist, I Searing Spear it, no 5/5 tokens for you. Then I play some pressure with Loxodon Smiter and rampager shenanigans and it's onto game 2.
Sideboard
-2 Strangleroot Geists
+2 Trostani
(I keep in Dryad Militants this time to fight Lingering Souls)
Game 2: I play a lot slower, accidentally drop a Loxodon Smiter instead of a Voice of Resurgence for 2 mana, oops! Play Voice, his turn, he plays Voice. My turn, I attack with Voice and Dryad Militant. He blocks Voice with Voice, and I am ecstatic to get an elemental token. Turn 4 I drop Trostani, and I completely control the game from there on out. Turn 5, make an Elemental token, gain 4, T6 Populate Elemental token, gain 5, T7 Populate Elemental token, gain 6. I think I was somewhere near 33 life (taking 2 from pain lands) and the game was far out of his reach. I think he got mana screwed, but I'll take what I can get. Eventually I attack for 25 and it's over.
Summary: I had a blast playing this deck. This deck just has so many ways to go over the top and I never felt like I didn't have a good card or spell to play. Boros Charm is MVP in the main deck. Being able to throw 4 at the dome, or give any creature double strike was extremely versatile and good way to end the game quickly. Sideboard MVP was Trostani. Being able to get lifegain and create more elemental or wurm tokens at instant speed was awesome.
Thanks for reading and if you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to reply