MTG Salvation

I would like to know to which matchups is Warleader's Helix used if you are running Rw devotion. Thanks.

Because i seem to leave it in my boards and i have had many different match ups against many different decks and i cant seem to find where it perfectly fits

Does anyone know here cfb's Rg devotion? I am so curious because i have been tweaking it all week long but i cant seem to have the proper ratios...i hope they release the lists soon...this might be the first time cfb got out-meta'd...sam black is the leveler of levelers.

As we all know, even with all of the graveyard hate wotc is giving us, players will not stop graveyard-centric decks as it can do well with or without graveyard interactions (although performance of these decks get a bit slower, they can still finish the game in their favor).

M14 gives us another GY hoser in Scavenging Ooze. It gets to do what we want it to do versus Rites decks as it can eat those targets for Unburial Rites. It gets bigger and bigger as it exiles more creatures and gains life (which is also significant). The problem I see with Ooze is that other GY decks cannot be controlled by it. Aristocrats can get out of control real fast and triggering morbid (with or without Ooze) since the creatures sacrificed are still going to the GY. And BW Humans with Xathrid Necromancer will just makes matters worse by doubling the life loss it can generate with the ridiculous ability of M14's Necromancer.

That leads me to think that Rest in Peace is still the GY hate of choice as you can really make sure that the Blood Artist's and Xathrid Necormancer's abilities will not trigger.

I may be missing out some points to not consider Scavenging Ooze. Maybe you can also help dissecting the facts.

if you are playing with domri rade then having huntmaster of the fells is better so it increases the chance that you get value from domri's +1.

then if you are playing restoration angel, huntmaster gets even better. as others have said, huntmaster helps you stabilize and can generate tremendous card advantage if used properly.

for me, the reason you play naya is to have the interaction of resto and huntmaster, and other value creatures.

It seems so funny that other people who don't follow the number crunch were shocked that no dual lands are present in M14 and I am just so glad that Thoughtsieze will not be reprinted yet...but I was kinda hoping the last land slot would be City of Brass.

Here's to hoping that the Theros' duals would be modern playable like the Scars lands

So it was a legal play after all...I thought the Slaughter Games player made a low blow.

Thank you very much. I'm so embarrassed that things this shallow went under me like I was not even playing competitively.

Quote from DTG99

You have to try and match CA, straight up remove their primary threats or yes, mill. To be honest, one of the main reasons Naya has pretty much become 4C is to shore up that match up.

Rakdos's Return - laughs at the durdle

Slaughter Games - target Sphinx

Garruk Primal Hunter - try and match CA

Jace Memory Adept - +0 to victory

I would highly suggest that you slightly splash something (B) to take care of them if your meta is infested. It's the most efficient and effective way.

Thanks. I've been playing with the Naya Midrange list with 3 Serenities and 2 Big Garruks main and still I lose to them even if I have the CA that I need. Looks like I don't have any choice but to put in some Blood Crypts and Overgrown Tombs to make it work well against Bant. Other match ups were not
a problem.

Here's a scenario in one GPT:

Player A knows Player B's hand because he used Duress the turn before.
{Player B's hand: 2 Restoration Angel, 1 Angel of Serenity}

Then Player A casts his Slaughter Games, which has not resolved yet, but Player A purposely uttered the words "Restoration Angel".

After that, Player B casts his 2 copies of Restoration Angel.
Then this happened: Player A said, "Slaughter Games has not resolved yet when you played your Restoration Angels, so now that you responded to my spell, I will name Angel of Serenity."

Player B got confused, and consulted a judge regarding the matter. In the end, Player A got favored and said that it was the correct sequence of events and Player A may exile Angel of Serenity(s) from Player B's hand, graveyard and deck.


In short this is my question:
When you cast Slaughter Games, aren't you supposed to name a card first whether or not the opponent responds to it?

For a long while, I thought once you name a card while the opposing player holds the named card, you can respond to Slaughter Games by casting those cards, and your opponent can no longer change the named card.

I am using Naya Midrange and a resolved Sphinx after another Sphinx almost means game over for me, especially when the opponent ulti's a Tamiyo.

the only way for me to win in the game is to deck him out (if he has no Elixirs, that is)

Is Sands of Delirium a good board option against Bant? (Option 1)

Or should I try other approaches in dealing with them?

Another idea given to me was to hit their mana base early on with Acidic Slimes and/or Bramblecrush and get on with my plan with the usual Naya beatdown. (Option 2)

I am so sick of having draw games or Tamiyo defeats...

How do you guys board against them? As of now in our country, Bant variants are still all over the place.

Quote from bits

Congrats on your win. I really hope they do. specially in our country. People here would always think that good players play control and aggro decks are for noobs.

Oh nice to see a fellow Filipino here in the forums!

Where do you play? I usually play at Alabang Town Center on FNMs, but on any other day, I play on a shop in Las Piñas.

Back to the topic:
There's a few RDW players that I know, and maybe one reason why many people shy away from the archetype is due to the branding/stereotyping of other players that RDW is for beginners.

RDW is a math-based strategy..Yes it may not be as interactive as control, but every swing is very important and one missed calaculation/wrong judgment might cost the game for you.

I just tried out the one used by the recent SCG winner and it's really not that hard to adjust (from playing midrange). It's so exciting to have those damage races and ignoring life gain for a while. Maybe I'll give it another try later at my LGS and see what will happen.

I used the exact 75 of the SCG Colombus champion (I am playing Naya so I really don't have a good grasp of how to build a good RDW).

Round 1. VS Jund Zombies
Game 1. I got off a quick Cackler, Cackler + Stromkirk then Pyreheart, and Hellrider...I win.
Game 2. Extreme damage race. It all went to gambling. I gambled not blocking his creatures for a sure lethal next turn. Unfortunately he had a Gerlaf's Messenger to bring me to zero. I lose.
Game 3. Another damage race. This time I had a not so perfect curve early game but come turn 6, I already have Hellrider, Pyreheart (which undied, blocking his Dreg Mangler) and 2 Cacklers. He only has 2 blockers and he did not anticipate a Brimstone following my attack. Pyreheart actually won the game for me in this one.
Record: 2-1

Round 2. VS Mono Green Aggro - this player usually plays Rakdos so I was quite surprised that we both took some time off from our decks
Game 1. I just got away with early damage and Brimstone Volley for the finish.
Game 2. I got beat bad by early Strangleroot Geists and Wolfir Avenger and a couple Rancors and a surprise Giant Growth!
Game 3. Another damage race. Fortunately, Im drew 2 Pyreheart Wolves and used each of them to block the other beater without the Rancor, and he just didn't have enough blockers for my 2 Cacklers, 2 Pyrehearts, 2 Lightning Maulers and a 1/1 Stromkirk Noble that I paired with 1 of the Maulers.
Record: 2-1

Round 3. VS American Midrange/Flash
Game 1. He kept a hand with all taplands (Clifftop, Sulfur, Glacial) and no other basics/shocks. I won by turn 4 with 6 attackers (including a Pyreheart), while he only has 1 Augur in play.
Game 2. I got damage early and brought him to 8 turn 5, but a Magmaquake out of nowhere stopped my lethal swing and Seraph of Dawn clawed him back to the game and there was just too much Augur/Resto to back it up. I lose.
Game 3. He mulled to five. His opening had 5 lands, then his 6 had no lands...then he kept his 5. He didn't manage to go to 4 mana until the 7th turn and that was enough for me and my Pyreheart/Reckless Waif/Stonewright and 5 mountains to seal the game.
Record: 2-1

I ended being first and was the first time I used RDW. It was fun, and involves a lot of math. But I am not sure if I'm gonna shift away from my main deck soon...

RDW is a serious deck, I just hope many people see that and give some respect to the deck.

thank you very much Rivenor! i understand that it's the holiday season and I am so glad that you took some time for my request. thanks again.

I am loving how the BIG Selesnya decks are doing...

I am very much committed to using Naya colors but is mostly based on a Selesnya shell.

There are times when I just board out Bonfires and just keep the Huntmasters and play R just for the Kessig Wolf Run

Triumph of Ferocity has really helped me against control match ups and the threats just keep on popping

I am now running the complete set of Thundermaw Hellkites and I find them awfully game-breaking...It is a house against flash strategies...

Although when it comes to Bant, it seems that not killing them when they tap out for a big Sphinx will make it a lost cause for me...so by game 2, I side in my 3AoS to help me grind through it, together with 2 Garruk, Primal Hunters.

Still, I am not even having any sort of regrets from buying the set at 30 bucks apiece