Matchups: 1st Round: Naya w/ B for Siege Rhino (2-0)
Combo'd off turn 4 both games, he didn't have much interaction for the deck
2nd Round: RUG Midrange w/ Sagu Mauler (2-0)
Game 1: He tapped out for a hasty turn 4 knuckleblade. Combo'd off as soon as he passed the turn. He didn't think I was playing combo cause he didn't see the mana confluences.
Game 2: We both played lands until around turn 6. He played Rattleclaws while I played caryatids and dug for the combo pieces with commune. He was too afraid to tap out, ended up combo'ing off as soon as I drew my Swan Song. He had a Negate and Destructive Revelry. Countered his Negate targetting my Ascendancy. Then helix'd the ascendancy after he casted revelry on it. Re-played the ascendancy and won afterwards.
3rd Round: Team Pantheon's G/B Unwritten Devotion (2-1)
Game 1: Combo'd off turn 5 at 2 health facing polukranos' and a hornet queen
Game 2: The turn before I was about to combo off with a caryatid on the board, he unwritten'd with a polukranos in play for ferocious and luckily got 2 Doomwake Giants to killed off the caryatid. Lost next turn
Game 3: Fizzled mid combo turn 3. He mulled to 6, had a field of 2 mystics, 1 courser, 1 polukranos. He couldn't find a way to remove ascendancy in play and couldn't kill me fast enough. Briber's purse saved me 2 swings from Polukranos. Combo'd off turn 6 after drawing a Taigam's Scheming into Dig through Time.
4th Round: Tom Ross' Boss Sligh (0-2)
Game 1: Fizzled mid combo turn 4, drew nothing but mana dorks.
Game 2: Kept a 2 mana confluence hand with a circle of flame. Didn't draw any more lands, and he beat me down with a hammerhanded foundry street denizen and swiftspear
5th Round: Kibler RUG (1-1 ID)
We we're both the 3rd and 4th seed respectively so we drew into top 8. He was 5th, and I was 7th after the round
Top8: Quarterfinals: Same dude with Boss Sligh from my 4th round (2-0)
Game 1: Combo'd off turn 3 at around 5 health.
Game 2: He mulled to 6 and kept a 1-lander. He was stuck on 1 land for around 2 turns. Won turn 4. Semi's and Finals: Only 1 guy needed the GP byes, so we gave it to him. We split top4 prizes.
Notes:
1. Dig is definitely a 4-of in this deck. Way too hard to fizzle mid combo with it when compared to Cruise
2. Never won with Twinflame the whole tourney and constantly boarded out 1 copy. I think the Altar is definitely the more solid win-condition.
3. Taigam's Scheming is great. I'll probably add +2 Scheming and cut -2 Commune with the Gods
4. Tormods vs. Cornucopia vs. Briber's Purse. Cornucopia is bad, don't play it. Tormod's saved me by allowing me to cast an exact dig through time one game, and briber's purse just gives you so much time vs midrange decks. Based on my tests, I might change to 3 Briber's Purse, 1 Tormods
5. My sideboard was made last minute so it isn't really the best. Just added random sideboard cards I could find from my binder. If I were to change it I would do this
Took 2nd place at a local tourney of 70+ people. Our meta is mostly affinity, twin and u/w/r with some jund and b/g. Only 2 zoo players in the field, myself being one of them.
Decklist:
Needed bloodmoons, but my friend who I was gonna borrow them from didn't show up. Ended up playing with a weird sideboard.
I ran a 12 removal list and took out the walkers cause I felt like I was gonna see a lot of twin/pod, and u/w/r is already a good matchup anyway.
Matchups:
Round 1: Melira Pod - 1-0
- good matchup. 3 ooze mainboard and 12 removal spells make sure they can't combo off. zoo has bigger creatures, and they can't really grind you out until they get a gavony. 4 qasalis for their pods is pretty good. went 2-0 this round.
Round 2: Affinity - 2-0
- game 1 is pretty bad. you've gotta draw your qasali pridemages for the platings and PTE's for the ravagers. Hope that they don't draw an etched champion. g2 and g3 are very favorable with all the hate (stony silence, grudge, EE, etc.). Lost round 1 to double etched champion, and won the next 2 with sideboard hate. 2-1
Round 3: Mono Blue Tron - 3-0
- zoo is a bit too fast for mono blue tron. choke just wins you the sideboard game since most of them take out counterspells vs zoo after board. won the match 2-0, his oblivion stone came too late and I just burned him out.
Round 4: Bogles - 4-0
- We mull both mull to 5 and I lose game 1 to a powered up bogle. g2 and g3 I was able to draw my sideboard cards and he couldn't recover from an EE for 1 and multiple pridemages. 2-1
Round 5: Melira Pod - 5-0
- g1 I bolted his bird as soon as I saw a gavony township as his second land drop. He's stuck on 2 lands and I end the game quickly with a large goyf. g2 he mulls to 5 and loses as I curve out with t1 nacatl, t2 goyf, t3 kotr. 2-0
Round 6 & 7: Burn & U/W/R Control - Draw for top 8 - 5-0-2
Quarterfinals: UR twin - 6-0-2
- removal spells + qasali make this a decent matchup. loxodon smiter is amazing on the play as it goes through their t2 manaleak. g1 was a long and grindy game. I end up winning with a large knight + kessig. g2 on the draw, he taps out on his t3 to snapcaster+flame slash my goyf. I untap and cast choke, he can't recover. won the match 2-0
Semifinals: Affinity - 7-0-2
- He mulls to 6 and I drew all my bolts for his overseers and PTE's for his ravagers, won with a large scav ooze. game 2 I cast a turn 2 stony silence and he couldn't find any of his 3 nature's claims. won 2-0 and advance to the finals
Finals: Griselbrand Reanimator - 7-1-2
- g1 I get an ooze in play and eat his griselbrand before he could goryos, but he kills me with a turn 4 SSG + through the breach emrakul. g2 I get a grafdiggers + thalia, but don't get a fast enough clock. He kills me with turn 5 SSG + through the breach emrakul. I might have had a chance if i had the bloodmoons, as it's the only thing that can stop them. terrible matchup overall. lose 0-2 and take 2nd place.
Overall, I'm happy with my list. I think the 4 Qasali mainboard are the MVPs for this tourney. Just pretty bummed out that I couldn't do anything vs the combo deck in the finals. My only changes would probably be Blood Moon in the sideboard when I can find some, and maybe replacing a helix or two for some Domri's or Ajani V's.
I'm currently playing Gaudenis' list last 2012 (without the oozes) cause I don't have stifles. But I'm just curious whether the stifle-less list is still viable. Pretty much every RUG player I see runs it as a 4-of. Should I just get them?
Any upsides and downsides in running stifle? (Sorry if this is an overasked question, I don't read this thread much)
I like your Lynx as a 1 drop, we have enough landfall help to make him a serious threat. I'm ganna try him out but I'm not sold if hes worth the replacement on Hierarch. Its hard to pass her up considering the mana help in a 5 color deck, exalted, and t2 Geist.
The one think that threw me off was you creature base looks like it does not interact well with itself. I mean I glad it worked for you but look what you have. Goyf (GY dependent) followed with DRS, Lavamancer and Snappy who all eat the GY.
Did you find any difficulty with them together? I don't like to focus heavy on the GY for obvious reasons. So I play 2 of Snappy which generally comes out to SB first, and a 3/4 spit DRS/Nobel.
EDIT: Blind Obedience was a cool idea, did you find it worth while?
4 graveyard dependent creatures don't really matter much when games end so quickly. They can't really hog the graveyard since it's rare for them to stick around on the battlefield for long. DRS, Grim are priority removal targets for a lot of opponents, this helps keep removal away from goyfs and lynx as well. sometimes.
I haven't really tried Hierarch's yet cause I don't own them.
Blind Obedience was just a netdeck'd sideboard I found. Not sure if I want to keep it, but it's really good against gruul aggro and some grindy matches.
Round 1: 2-0 vs Living End
The player was my friend so I knew what deck he was piloting before the match even began. Game 1, on the play, I kept a Grim, Geist, 2 Tribal flames, and 3 fetches. He had cycled around 4 creatures by turn 3. Threw down a Geist on turn 3 hoping he wouldn't have a Cascade spell for Living End. He didn't, instead he had Fulminator Mage, which I bolted end step. Won the game the next few turns by burn, even after a resolved Living End. Game 2, sided in Rakdos Charms and boarded out 2 Grim Lavamancers.
On the draw, I kept a hand w/ Fetches, Deathrite, Geist, Rakdos Charm. Turn 1 Deathrite, turn 2 Geist. Never tapped out afterwards. When he cascaded into Living End, I exiled his graveyard and bolted my own Geist to bring it back. Won the next few turn with a geist swings plus burn.
Rakdos Charm is huge in this matchup. I was pretty lucky both games. If he had a turn 3 living end I would've been screwed both games.
Round 2: 2-1 vs BW Tokens Game 1, on the draw, we both mulled to 6. The match was pretty 1 sided, dropped a turn 2 Goyf which he couldn't answer. Turn 3 I had a tribal flames for 5. Turn 4 I had two tribal flames for 10. Good draws Game 2, on the draw, sided in 1 zealous, 1 ray of revelation, 1 abrupt decay, 2 arc trail, 1 dismember. sided out 4 steppe lynx (I don't like them that much on the draw, especially against decks with path), 1 boros charm, 1 bolt.
He had a leyline of sanctity opening hand, I kept a hand full of burn. Couldn't find an answer for the leyline and lost to spectral and lingering soul tokens. Game 3, both kept at 7. Turn 1, I dropped a grim, he thoughtseized a zealous persecution away. turn 2 I dropped a goyf that got pathed. He had no threats so I had all the time in the world to burn him. He dropped a turn 4 leyline but he was already below 10 life, dropped another goyf the same turn. Kept all my burn/PTE for his blockers cause of leyline. Goyf all the way.
'Goyf and Geist are really good in this matchup. It gets really hard when they get a Leyline of Sanctity, even if it is hardcasted, cause that negates all our mid-late game reach.
Round 3: 2-0 vs Splinter Twin
Split with my friend. Both of us were the top seeds in the tournament cause of all the draws that happened, so he just decided to give it to me cause I was the higher seed. I'd be top 1, and he'd get top 3 if we both won our next round. He was also one of my playtesting partners, so we both knew how the matchup went.
Overall, I think Twin is a good matchup. We have Rakdos Charm for their combo kill and we have enough burn to answer their exarch/pestermite/kikijiki, and the only real problem we have is if their turn 2 spellskite isn't answered, and also pyroclasm if we don't have a boros charm in hand.
Round 4: 1-2 vs Scapeshift Game 1, on the draw. As soon as I saw the turn 1 Search for Tomorrow, I knew it was gonna be a hard round. IMO, we have a pretty bad matchup against Scapeshift cause of their MB Cryptics, Pyroclasms, and Firespout. Had a Steppe Lynx turn 1, but he had a Sakura-Tribe Elder to block-sac the next turn. Turn 3, I drop the goyf and a grim lavamancer, he pyroclasmed + prismatic omen. By this point he was at around 12 from the steppe lynx and his fetches. Ended up winning with a tribal flames + boros charm + Goyf Swing. Game 2, on the draw. Sided in 3 Molten Rains, 1 Abrupt Decay. Sided out 2 grim lavamancers, 1 PTE, 1 bolt. Had deathrite into turn 2 geist. He had a pyroclasm. I was able to delay him a turn with a molten rain on a stomping grounds, but he had bolts and pyroclasms for everything I could throw at him. Didn't draw enough burn. He prismatic omen'd turn 4, into turn 5 Scapeshift for lethal. Game 3, on the play. Really quick start with a lynx into goyf turn 2. Lynx dies to a bolt, goyf does a bit of damage. Dropped a deathrite shaman, he has a pyroclasm + bolt on the goyf. He's still at around 12+ life at this point, so it was starting to look bad. I was able to draw a geist and swung. He was at around 8 life when he casted an obstinate baloth. He stabilized with that until he could draw a scapeshift for the kill.
Scapeshift is a really hard matchup. They have all the answers for our creatures, and counterspells for our burn. Plus, it's a 1-card combo so it's really hard to disrupt their gameplan if we get a really slow start.
From all my playtesting, I really like the mainboard. The deathrites are awesome for fast geist starts as well as lategame reach. I'm also contented with just 2 Lavamancers as extra removal spells.
What I'm not contented about is my sideboard. I think it can use some work. With all the colors we have access to, I really don't know what I want in the sideboard.
I don't understand why people have been bashing KoTR ever since DRS came out. Smart players would rather use the -2/+2 life each turn than trying to hose a KoTR that will still get a land in the GY every turn. In my experience with the deck in both legacy and modern, DRS has never been a problem.
KoTR is still the utility creature/beatstick that this deck needs. I've won very many games by Fetching a Treetop Village/Stirring Wildwood in grindy games, or a Gavony when I have spirits out.
About Doran, I think he's still one of the best creatures in this deck. I only run 3 of him though, the legendary status can be pretty annoying. Turn 2 5/5 is no joke though.
I don't know about Smiter though. I haven't tested him yet. A lot of people I know prefer him over Doran, and I see why. Might test him soon cause I'm not running him atm.
Here's my current vial list. Only have 2 scrubs atm.
I'm not very confident with my sideboard though, any suggestions?
I plan on running it in a few local tourneys.
Here's my current list. Now that we have blue, I think coiling oracle is a great addition to the deck.
Cards I want to test:
Summoner's Pact - i'm a bit too scared to use it lol
Soul of the Harvest - might be too slow
Joraga Warcaller - permanent ezuri pump
Genesis Wave - decent early ramp when there isn't enough mana/cards to combo off
To play: Jund. Goyf and Bob and BBE are too good.
To play against: Definitely Affinity. New sideboard cards like Rakdos Charm make it even easier to get more hate against affinity without wasting slots in your SB.
My current list. It can consistently combo off turn 3-4 if there was no disruption.
Chord of Calling was amazing. EOT'ing an elvish archdruid or regal force and getting to untap with it usually means game. I'd probably run 3 if I could find one more.
If I were to play a combo deck, I'd probably go with Ad-Naus Tendrils. It's the one I hate playing against most cause of how consistent it is. It's also a really difficult deck to learn from what I've heard.
here's my list:
1 Altar of the Brood
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Briber's Purse
Creature (10)
2 Kiora's Follower
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
4 Sylvan Caryatid
Enchantment (6)
2 Dragon Mantle
4 Jeskai Ascendancy
Instant (7)
3 Dig Through Time
4 Retraction Helix
Sorcery (10)
4 Commune with the Gods
1 Taigam's Scheming
2 Tormenting Voice
2 Twinflame
1 Treasure Cruise
4 Mana Confluence
2 Frontier Bivouac
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Flooded Strand
1 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Forest
2 Temple of Plenty
2 Temple of Mystery
2 Temple of Abandon
2 Yavimaya Coast
2 Lightning Strike
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Swan Song
1 Negate
2 Polukranos
1 Hornet Queen
4 Circle of Flame
2 Nyx-Fleece Ram
1 Erase
Matchups:
1st Round: Naya w/ B for Siege Rhino (2-0)
Combo'd off turn 4 both games, he didn't have much interaction for the deck
2nd Round: RUG Midrange w/ Sagu Mauler (2-0)
Game 1: He tapped out for a hasty turn 4 knuckleblade. Combo'd off as soon as he passed the turn. He didn't think I was playing combo cause he didn't see the mana confluences.
Game 2: We both played lands until around turn 6. He played Rattleclaws while I played caryatids and dug for the combo pieces with commune. He was too afraid to tap out, ended up combo'ing off as soon as I drew my Swan Song. He had a Negate and Destructive Revelry. Countered his Negate targetting my Ascendancy. Then helix'd the ascendancy after he casted revelry on it. Re-played the ascendancy and won afterwards.
3rd Round: Team Pantheon's G/B Unwritten Devotion (2-1)
Game 1: Combo'd off turn 5 at 2 health facing polukranos' and a hornet queen
Game 2: The turn before I was about to combo off with a caryatid on the board, he unwritten'd with a polukranos in play for ferocious and luckily got 2 Doomwake Giants to killed off the caryatid. Lost next turn
Game 3: Fizzled mid combo turn 3. He mulled to 6, had a field of 2 mystics, 1 courser, 1 polukranos. He couldn't find a way to remove ascendancy in play and couldn't kill me fast enough. Briber's purse saved me 2 swings from Polukranos. Combo'd off turn 6 after drawing a Taigam's Scheming into Dig through Time.
4th Round: Tom Ross' Boss Sligh (0-2)
Game 1: Fizzled mid combo turn 4, drew nothing but mana dorks.
Game 2: Kept a 2 mana confluence hand with a circle of flame. Didn't draw any more lands, and he beat me down with a hammerhanded foundry street denizen and swiftspear
5th Round: Kibler RUG (1-1 ID)
We we're both the 3rd and 4th seed respectively so we drew into top 8. He was 5th, and I was 7th after the round
Top8:
Quarterfinals: Same dude with Boss Sligh from my 4th round (2-0)
Game 1: Combo'd off turn 3 at around 5 health.
Game 2: He mulled to 6 and kept a 1-lander. He was stuck on 1 land for around 2 turns. Won turn 4.
Semi's and Finals: Only 1 guy needed the GP byes, so we gave it to him. We split top4 prizes.
Notes:
1. Dig is definitely a 4-of in this deck. Way too hard to fizzle mid combo with it when compared to Cruise
2. Never won with Twinflame the whole tourney and constantly boarded out 1 copy. I think the Altar is definitely the more solid win-condition.
3. Taigam's Scheming is great. I'll probably add +2 Scheming and cut -2 Commune with the Gods
4. Tormods vs. Cornucopia vs. Briber's Purse. Cornucopia is bad, don't play it. Tormod's saved me by allowing me to cast an exact dig through time one game, and briber's purse just gives you so much time vs midrange decks. Based on my tests, I might change to 3 Briber's Purse, 1 Tormods
5. My sideboard was made last minute so it isn't really the best. Just added random sideboard cards I could find from my binder. If I were to change it I would do this
Mono-red is a horrible matchup so we definitely need all those sideboard slots for it.
Decklist:
Needed bloodmoons, but my friend who I was gonna borrow them from didn't show up. Ended up playing with a weird sideboard.
I ran a 12 removal list and took out the walkers cause I felt like I was gonna see a lot of twin/pod, and u/w/r is already a good matchup anyway.
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Loxodon Smiter
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Qasali Pridemage
Spells
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Helix
Lands
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Arid Mesa
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Forest
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Temple Garden
2 Stomping Ground
2 Horizon Canopy
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Destructive Revelry
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Combust
2 Stony Silence
2 Torpor Orb
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
2 Choke
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Bonfire of the Damned
Matchups:
Round 1: Melira Pod - 1-0
- good matchup. 3 ooze mainboard and 12 removal spells make sure they can't combo off. zoo has bigger creatures, and they can't really grind you out until they get a gavony. 4 qasalis for their pods is pretty good. went 2-0 this round.
Round 2: Affinity - 2-0
- game 1 is pretty bad. you've gotta draw your qasali pridemages for the platings and PTE's for the ravagers. Hope that they don't draw an etched champion. g2 and g3 are very favorable with all the hate (stony silence, grudge, EE, etc.). Lost round 1 to double etched champion, and won the next 2 with sideboard hate. 2-1
Round 3: Mono Blue Tron - 3-0
- zoo is a bit too fast for mono blue tron. choke just wins you the sideboard game since most of them take out counterspells vs zoo after board. won the match 2-0, his oblivion stone came too late and I just burned him out.
Round 4: Bogles - 4-0
- We mull both mull to 5 and I lose game 1 to a powered up bogle. g2 and g3 I was able to draw my sideboard cards and he couldn't recover from an EE for 1 and multiple pridemages. 2-1
Round 5: Melira Pod - 5-0
- g1 I bolted his bird as soon as I saw a gavony township as his second land drop. He's stuck on 2 lands and I end the game quickly with a large goyf. g2 he mulls to 5 and loses as I curve out with t1 nacatl, t2 goyf, t3 kotr. 2-0
Round 6 & 7: Burn & U/W/R Control - Draw for top 8 - 5-0-2
Quarterfinals: UR twin - 6-0-2
- removal spells + qasali make this a decent matchup. loxodon smiter is amazing on the play as it goes through their t2 manaleak. g1 was a long and grindy game. I end up winning with a large knight + kessig. g2 on the draw, he taps out on his t3 to snapcaster+flame slash my goyf. I untap and cast choke, he can't recover. won the match 2-0
Semifinals: Affinity - 7-0-2
- He mulls to 6 and I drew all my bolts for his overseers and PTE's for his ravagers, won with a large scav ooze. game 2 I cast a turn 2 stony silence and he couldn't find any of his 3 nature's claims. won 2-0 and advance to the finals
Finals: Griselbrand Reanimator - 7-1-2
- g1 I get an ooze in play and eat his griselbrand before he could goryos, but he kills me with a turn 4 SSG + through the breach emrakul. g2 I get a grafdiggers + thalia, but don't get a fast enough clock. He kills me with turn 5 SSG + through the breach emrakul. I might have had a chance if i had the bloodmoons, as it's the only thing that can stop them. terrible matchup overall. lose 0-2 and take 2nd place.
Overall, I'm happy with my list. I think the 4 Qasali mainboard are the MVPs for this tourney. Just pretty bummed out that I couldn't do anything vs the combo deck in the finals. My only changes would probably be Blood Moon in the sideboard when I can find some, and maybe replacing a helix or two for some Domri's or Ajani V's.
Any upsides and downsides in running stifle? (Sorry if this is an overasked question, I don't read this thread much)
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Tropical Island
3 Volcanic Island
4 Wasteland
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Nimble Mongoose
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Brainstorm
4 Daze
3 Lightning Bolt
4 Spell Pierce
3 Thought Scour
4 Ponder
4 Force of Will
2 Fire/Ice
2 Spell Snare
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Pyroblast
2 Ancient Grudge
1 Gilded Drake
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Cursed Totem
3 Surgical Extraction
RUG Midrange: Eternal Command (Vial, Eternal Witness, Cryptic Command, Remand, etc.)
4 graveyard dependent creatures don't really matter much when games end so quickly. They can't really hog the graveyard since it's rare for them to stick around on the battlefield for long. DRS, Grim are priority removal targets for a lot of opponents, this helps keep removal away from goyfs and lynx as well. sometimes.
I haven't really tried Hierarch's yet cause I don't own them.
Blind Obedience was just a netdeck'd sideboard I found. Not sure if I want to keep it, but it's really good against gruul aggro and some grindy matches.
3-1, 3rd Place
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Arid Mesa
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Plains
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
1 Godless Shrine
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Breeding Pool
1 Blood Crypt
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Deathrite Shaman
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 Grim Lavamancer
Instants/Sorceries: (17)
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
4 Tribal Flames
3 Boros Charm
2 Path to Exile
3 Molten Rain
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Ray of Revelation
2 Rakdos Charm
2 Blind Obedience
2 Arc Trail
2 Smash to Smithereens
1 Dismember
Round 1: 2-0 vs Living End
The player was my friend so I knew what deck he was piloting before the match even began.
Game 1, on the play, I kept a Grim, Geist, 2 Tribal flames, and 3 fetches. He had cycled around 4 creatures by turn 3. Threw down a Geist on turn 3 hoping he wouldn't have a Cascade spell for Living End. He didn't, instead he had Fulminator Mage, which I bolted end step. Won the game the next few turns by burn, even after a resolved Living End.
Game 2, sided in Rakdos Charms and boarded out 2 Grim Lavamancers.
On the draw, I kept a hand w/ Fetches, Deathrite, Geist, Rakdos Charm. Turn 1 Deathrite, turn 2 Geist. Never tapped out afterwards. When he cascaded into Living End, I exiled his graveyard and bolted my own Geist to bring it back. Won the next few turn with a geist swings plus burn.
Rakdos Charm is huge in this matchup. I was pretty lucky both games. If he had a turn 3 living end I would've been screwed both games.
Round 2: 2-1 vs BW Tokens
Game 1, on the draw, we both mulled to 6. The match was pretty 1 sided, dropped a turn 2 Goyf which he couldn't answer. Turn 3 I had a tribal flames for 5. Turn 4 I had two tribal flames for 10. Good draws
Game 2, on the draw, sided in 1 zealous, 1 ray of revelation, 1 abrupt decay, 2 arc trail, 1 dismember. sided out 4 steppe lynx (I don't like them that much on the draw, especially against decks with path), 1 boros charm, 1 bolt.
He had a leyline of sanctity opening hand, I kept a hand full of burn. Couldn't find an answer for the leyline and lost to spectral and lingering soul tokens.
Game 3, both kept at 7. Turn 1, I dropped a grim, he thoughtseized a zealous persecution away. turn 2 I dropped a goyf that got pathed. He had no threats so I had all the time in the world to burn him. He dropped a turn 4 leyline but he was already below 10 life, dropped another goyf the same turn. Kept all my burn/PTE for his blockers cause of leyline. Goyf all the way.
'Goyf and Geist are really good in this matchup. It gets really hard when they get a Leyline of Sanctity, even if it is hardcasted, cause that negates all our mid-late game reach.
Round 3: 2-0 vs Splinter Twin
Split with my friend. Both of us were the top seeds in the tournament cause of all the draws that happened, so he just decided to give it to me cause I was the higher seed. I'd be top 1, and he'd get top 3 if we both won our next round. He was also one of my playtesting partners, so we both knew how the matchup went.
Overall, I think Twin is a good matchup. We have Rakdos Charm for their combo kill and we have enough burn to answer their exarch/pestermite/kikijiki, and the only real problem we have is if their turn 2 spellskite isn't answered, and also pyroclasm if we don't have a boros charm in hand.
Round 4: 1-2 vs Scapeshift
Game 1, on the draw. As soon as I saw the turn 1 Search for Tomorrow, I knew it was gonna be a hard round. IMO, we have a pretty bad matchup against Scapeshift cause of their MB Cryptics, Pyroclasms, and Firespout. Had a Steppe Lynx turn 1, but he had a Sakura-Tribe Elder to block-sac the next turn. Turn 3, I drop the goyf and a grim lavamancer, he pyroclasmed + prismatic omen. By this point he was at around 12 from the steppe lynx and his fetches. Ended up winning with a tribal flames + boros charm + Goyf Swing.
Game 2, on the draw. Sided in 3 Molten Rains, 1 Abrupt Decay. Sided out 2 grim lavamancers, 1 PTE, 1 bolt. Had deathrite into turn 2 geist. He had a pyroclasm. I was able to delay him a turn with a molten rain on a stomping grounds, but he had bolts and pyroclasms for everything I could throw at him. Didn't draw enough burn. He prismatic omen'd turn 4, into turn 5 Scapeshift for lethal.
Game 3, on the play. Really quick start with a lynx into goyf turn 2. Lynx dies to a bolt, goyf does a bit of damage. Dropped a deathrite shaman, he has a pyroclasm + bolt on the goyf. He's still at around 12+ life at this point, so it was starting to look bad. I was able to draw a geist and swung. He was at around 8 life when he casted an obstinate baloth. He stabilized with that until he could draw a scapeshift for the kill.
Scapeshift is a really hard matchup. They have all the answers for our creatures, and counterspells for our burn. Plus, it's a 1-card combo so it's really hard to disrupt their gameplan if we get a really slow start.
From all my playtesting, I really like the mainboard. The deathrites are awesome for fast geist starts as well as lategame reach. I'm also contented with just 2 Lavamancers as extra removal spells.
What I'm not contented about is my sideboard. I think it can use some work. With all the colors we have access to, I really don't know what I want in the sideboard.
KoTR is still the utility creature/beatstick that this deck needs. I've won very many games by Fetching a Treetop Village/Stirring Wildwood in grindy games, or a Gavony when I have spirits out.
About Doran, I think he's still one of the best creatures in this deck. I only run 3 of him though, the legendary status can be pretty annoying. Turn 2 5/5 is no joke though.
I don't know about Smiter though. I haven't tested him yet. A lot of people I know prefer him over Doran, and I see why. Might test him soon cause I'm not running him atm.
4 Marsh Flats
4 Arid Mesa
4 Wasteland
2 Scrubland
3 Plains
2 Swamp
Creatures (26)
4 Mother of Runes
4 Dark Confidant
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Serra Avenger
3 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Aether Vial
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
Sorceries/Instants (8)
1 Thoughtseize
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Cabal Therapy
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Enlightened Tutor
1 Rest in Peace
1 Engineered Plague
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Bitterblossom
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Disenchant
1 Duress
Here's my current vial list. Only have 2 scrubs atm.
I'm not very confident with my sideboard though, any suggestions?
I plan on running it in a few local tourneys.
4 Arbor Elf
3 Deathrite Shaman
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Nettle Sentinel
4 Heritage Druid
4 Coiling Oracle
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Elvish Archdruid
2 Regal Force
1 Ezuri
1 Emrakul
3 Cloudstone Curio
4 Beck//Call
2 Chord of Calling
Lands (16)
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Breeding Pool
1 Overgrown Tomb
3 Forest
Here's my current list. Now that we have blue, I think coiling oracle is a great addition to the deck.
Cards I want to test:
Summoner's Pact - i'm a bit too scared to use it lol
Soul of the Harvest - might be too slow
Joraga Warcaller - permanent ezuri pump
Genesis Wave - decent early ramp when there isn't enough mana/cards to combo off
To play against: Definitely Affinity. New sideboard cards like Rakdos Charm make it even easier to get more hate against affinity without wasting slots in your SB.
4x Arbor Elf
4x Llanowar Elf
4x Boreal Druid
4x Elvish Archdruid
4x Elvish Visionary
4x Heritage Druid
4x Nettle Sentinel
2x Regal Force
1x Ezuri, Renegade Leader
1x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1x Viridian Zealot
1x Sylvan Ranger
3x Cloudstone Curio
4x Lead the Stampede
2x Chord of Calling
1x Summoner's Pact
Lands (16):
1x Pendelhaven
4x Verdant Catacombs
10x Forest
1x Dryad Arbor
2x Choke
2x Surgical Extraction
1x Elvish Champion
1x Creeping Corrosion
2x Spellskite
3x Thorn of Amethyst
3x Viridian Shaman
1x Primal Command
My current list. It can consistently combo off turn 3-4 if there was no disruption.
Chord of Calling was amazing. EOT'ing an elvish archdruid or regal force and getting to untap with it usually means game. I'd probably run 3 if I could find one more.
Two things I currently want to try out is Staff of Domination and Lightning Greaves.
Mills the opponent when you've got Leyline of the Void in play.