So I'm gearing up for the Modern portion of the SCG Open in DC this week and I'm gonna be playing Deadguy. I've gone 9-2-1 with this list over my last few LGS modern events so I'm feeling pretty good about the list. The only thing I'm gonna change is adding a Celestial Purge to the sideboard because Keranos seems to be a big thing in a lot of decks now and that guy is a beating against us. So this is probably what I'm gonna be sleeving up.
Pack Rat is an insane card, I'm really surprised people don't play it more often in modern (although it does seem to be getting a little more run recently). I've definitely won more than a few games by just pumping out rats and having a Mutavault. I'm probably a little biased since it's my favorite card in modern, but Obliterator has also been nuts. Every time I've resolved it in a game that's close, it has completely turned the tide and won me the game and it feels like the narrow list of cards that can get it off the board are a little underplayed in Modern right now (for example, Path isn't really played much in Pod anymore and U/W/R seems to be on the down swing). It's certainly not unbeatable and the strain it puts on the mana base is real, but I really like how it's performed. Of particular note is its ability to sit back and hold back an entire army of Pod creatures or a couple Goyfs while you poke the opponent to death with Spirit tokens or pump out rats.
Do any of you guys think Restoration Angel is gonna shoot up in value as the Khans block goes along? Since morph is gonna be a thing again, there could be some things that are super awesome to blink in order to get them flipped over (kinda like how I've seen hatebear decks play Akroma, Angel of Fury.
I'm really surprise reading side out Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek against Jund/GB.
Thanks!
You want to take out your discard spells against GB/X because the first few turns are always discarding threats, playing creatures, having them die, and killing your opponents creatures and almost always the game state ends up with both players in topdeck mode. And in that situation, you don't want to be drawing discard spells, you want threats that force your opponent to draw into an answer or else die.
Against pod, damnation is really good, you definitely want that. I also always side in disenchant since it's so important to kill a pod. Stony silence is a little weaker but I wouldn't say boarding into it is wrong. As for cards to take out against them, Liliana is pretty bad, and you can take out some amount of discard as well (IoK should probably be the first discard spell to go since it can't rip a Pod).
I'm thinking I'm gonna try a couple of Mirran Crusaders in the sideboard now that I'm seeing a lot more B/G/x around. I want something powerful to bring in against them and pod when I'm siding out discard after game one and those decks have almost no way to get crusader off the board once he sticks.
Thoughtseize honestly isn't the worst card in the world against burn. All their spells are designed to do at least 3 damage to you so paying two life to rip one away basically gains you a life while showing you their hand. In sideboarding out cards against burn, Bob is always my first choice.
For what it's worth, I don't think the manabase is the problem. Scapeshift has the namesake card and Cryptic Command and frequently has Anger of the Gods and Inferno Titan out of the board. RUG Twin has Splinter Twin and Cryptic maindeck and Thrun is sometimes maindeck and almost always sideboard. The mana requirements are rigorous but certainly do-able.
If you wanted to do something like this, I'd recommend a transformational sideboard. Start out as Scapeshift and then board into Twin when your opponent sides out all their creature removal, and you'll still have room in your board for some general good hate cards like Anger of the Gods.
RIP is really good against all the B/G/x decks that have become so popular again since it completely neuters Goyf and Ooze which are their main threats. Sure, they can abrupt decay it, but then they have one fewer removal spell for Bob/Brimaz/whatever.
Does anyone have any good tips about the Kiki or Melira pod match up?
Darkblast is the nuts against them. Repetitively pick off their manadorks and the back half of Finks and Redcap.
EDIT: Just read this from Craig Wescoe's article on B/W Midrange. It was written with his version of the deck in mind (with Blade Splicer and Restoration Angel) but the advice still holds for the Baneslayer/Obliterator/Brimaz versions.
"After tearing apart their hand, we want to try and close the game with Lingering Souls or Pack Rat while holding up a removal spell to disrupt their combo. We don't have forever because if they draw Birthing Pod they can potentially overpower us. We also want to save a Fulminator Mage or Tectonic Edge for their Gavony Township as that is another way for them to potentially overpower us. Damnation is awesome and when we draw it we can sculpt a game plan where we discard all their important cards (including Birthing Pod, but also Kitchen Finks so it doesn't persist back) and then wipe their entire board before playing a win condition.
Birthing Pod is their best card against us, but we have several strong lines to beat it. The matchup feels favorable by maybe a 2:1 margin."
So far I haven't had too many issues with the mana. Fetid Heath's and a second Urborg go a long way towards making Obliterator fairly reliable to cast on turn 4 if you have him. I might also try Hero of Bladehold in the Obliterator spot sometime soon. Brimaz + Hero + Lingering Souls can probably close out a game super fast, I'd like to test it out. It would also reduce the strain on the mana a little bit, although with so much double white I'd still keep in the Fetid Heath, and probably drop the 2nd urborg for a 4th Mutavault. An alternative would be something like SuperKikoni's list, with fewer token generating guys and more removal to back up Obliterator.
The Wrath in the sideboard is only because I don't have a second Damnation. Talk about a card in need of a reprint...
Based on your experience playing rock and now deadguy ale, which do u prefer? and if u could give a short reasoning behind it, that would be great
I like Rock more in Game 1 but I think Deadguy gets the edge in Games 2 & 3 because white offers the best sideboard cards in modern IMO, especially because they shore up typically the two worst Rock/Jund matchups, Affinity and Tron. If your meta has a lot of Affinity then Deadguy is far and away better because Lingering Souls and Stony Silence are a massive beating for them. Rest in Peace, Aven Mindcensor, and Sin Collector are also all pretty sweet cards out of the board. What I really miss most from Rock is 1) The sheer versatility of Abrupt Decay (and to a lesser extent Maelstrom Pulse) and 2) the opening play of Turn 1 Thoughtseize into Turn 2 Goyf, which is one of the most powerful things you can do in Legacy, let alone Modern. Of course, Junk is always an option and that's probably why it's seeing a resurgence recently, but 3 color manabase with Thoughtseize and Bob is a pretty risky place to be.
I think the determining factor in deciding which deck to play is how you feel about Pack Rat, since that seems to be the card that really defines Deadguy away from G/B/x decks. For what it's worth, I think Rat is super underrated in Modern right now because of the general lack of sweepers and that's what drew me to this deck initially. Once you get through the initial phases of the game and you're in grindy topdeck mode against something like Pod, Rat is a ridiculous card that gives you a way to close out games fast that G/B/x might struggle with.
I would advise against Obliterator. Currently most lists play 6-7 non colored lands which would have to be reduced. He also does very little against decks like twin, scapeshift and storm which are top decks of the format.
Yeah, the amount of non-colored lands is the only thing that gives me pause. In terms of his uselessness in some matchups (storm, scapeshift), that's true, but Baneslayer is similarly bad (really, anything costing 4 or more is not gonna be where you want to be). From my days of playing B/G Obliterator Rock, I didn't actually hate Obliterator against Twin, especially RUG Twin. With so much discard it's pretty easy to keep their combo under wraps and the grindier a game they try to play, the more brutal Obliterator is.
Would Baneslayer Angel be better than something like Phyrexian Obliterator in this deck? Seems like Obliterator could fit in pretty easily, just add a second Urborg and some Feted Heaths and you're good to go.
Valentin mackl is running Relic of Progenitus in the SB, just as the last Patrick Dickmann's list.
I can't underestand they inclusion, did something happen in the metagame to justify them? Relic is one of the best cards against us, shuting down almost completely our plan b...
Could somebody tell me in which MU's would we side in them? Thanks
I was wondering this too. Relic isn't really the card I'm itching to play in my Tarmogoyf/Snapcaster Mage deck...
2x Swamp
2x Plains
4x Marsh Flats
2x Verdant Catacombs
1x Arid Mesa
3x Godless Shrine
2x Fetid Heath
1x Isolated Chapel
3x Mutavault
2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2x Tectonic Edge
Creatures: 14
4x Dark Confidant
4x Pack Rat
2x Tidehollow Sculler
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2x Phyrexian Obliterator
3x Liliana of the Veil
4x Thoughtseize
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Lingering Souls
4x Path to Exile
1x Slaughter Pact
1x Darkblast
1x Dismember
1x Batterskull
1x Damnation
1x Wrath of God
3x Fulminator Mage
3x Stony Silence
2x Rest in Peace
2x Disenchant
2x Mirran Crusader
1x Celestial Purge
Pack Rat is an insane card, I'm really surprised people don't play it more often in modern (although it does seem to be getting a little more run recently). I've definitely won more than a few games by just pumping out rats and having a Mutavault. I'm probably a little biased since it's my favorite card in modern, but Obliterator has also been nuts. Every time I've resolved it in a game that's close, it has completely turned the tide and won me the game and it feels like the narrow list of cards that can get it off the board are a little underplayed in Modern right now (for example, Path isn't really played much in Pod anymore and U/W/R seems to be on the down swing). It's certainly not unbeatable and the strain it puts on the mana base is real, but I really like how it's performed. Of particular note is its ability to sit back and hold back an entire army of Pod creatures or a couple Goyfs while you poke the opponent to death with Spirit tokens or pump out rats.
You want to take out your discard spells against GB/X because the first few turns are always discarding threats, playing creatures, having them die, and killing your opponents creatures and almost always the game state ends up with both players in topdeck mode. And in that situation, you don't want to be drawing discard spells, you want threats that force your opponent to draw into an answer or else die.
Against pod, damnation is really good, you definitely want that. I also always side in disenchant since it's so important to kill a pod. Stony silence is a little weaker but I wouldn't say boarding into it is wrong. As for cards to take out against them, Liliana is pretty bad, and you can take out some amount of discard as well (IoK should probably be the first discard spell to go since it can't rip a Pod).
If you wanted to do something like this, I'd recommend a transformational sideboard. Start out as Scapeshift and then board into Twin when your opponent sides out all their creature removal, and you'll still have room in your board for some general good hate cards like Anger of the Gods.
Darkblast is the nuts against them. Repetitively pick off their manadorks and the back half of Finks and Redcap.
EDIT: Just read this from Craig Wescoe's article on B/W Midrange. It was written with his version of the deck in mind (with Blade Splicer and Restoration Angel) but the advice still holds for the Baneslayer/Obliterator/Brimaz versions.
"After tearing apart their hand, we want to try and close the game with Lingering Souls or Pack Rat while holding up a removal spell to disrupt their combo. We don't have forever because if they draw Birthing Pod they can potentially overpower us. We also want to save a Fulminator Mage or Tectonic Edge for their Gavony Township as that is another way for them to potentially overpower us. Damnation is awesome and when we draw it we can sculpt a game plan where we discard all their important cards (including Birthing Pod, but also Kitchen Finks so it doesn't persist back) and then wipe their entire board before playing a win condition.
Birthing Pod is their best card against us, but we have several strong lines to beat it. The matchup feels favorable by maybe a 2:1 margin."
2x Plains
3x Godless Shrine
2x Fetid Heath
4x Marsh Flats
2x Verdant Catacombs
1x Arid Mesa
1x Isolated Chapel
3x Mutavault
2x Tectonic Edge
2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Creatures: 14
4x Dark Confidant
4x Pack Rat
2x Tidehollow Sculler
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2x Phyrexian Obliterator
4x Liliana of the Veil
4x Thoughtseize
3x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Lingering Souls
4x Path to Exile
1x Slaughter Pact
1x Darkblast
1x Dismember
1x Wrath of God
2x Stony Silence
2x Sin Collector
2x Disenchant
4x Fulminator Mage
2x Rest in Peace
1x Relic of Progenitus
So far I haven't had too many issues with the mana. Fetid Heath's and a second Urborg go a long way towards making Obliterator fairly reliable to cast on turn 4 if you have him. I might also try Hero of Bladehold in the Obliterator spot sometime soon. Brimaz + Hero + Lingering Souls can probably close out a game super fast, I'd like to test it out. It would also reduce the strain on the mana a little bit, although with so much double white I'd still keep in the Fetid Heath, and probably drop the 2nd urborg for a 4th Mutavault. An alternative would be something like SuperKikoni's list, with fewer token generating guys and more removal to back up Obliterator.
The Wrath in the sideboard is only because I don't have a second Damnation. Talk about a card in need of a reprint...
I like Rock more in Game 1 but I think Deadguy gets the edge in Games 2 & 3 because white offers the best sideboard cards in modern IMO, especially because they shore up typically the two worst Rock/Jund matchups, Affinity and Tron. If your meta has a lot of Affinity then Deadguy is far and away better because Lingering Souls and Stony Silence are a massive beating for them. Rest in Peace, Aven Mindcensor, and Sin Collector are also all pretty sweet cards out of the board. What I really miss most from Rock is 1) The sheer versatility of Abrupt Decay (and to a lesser extent Maelstrom Pulse) and 2) the opening play of Turn 1 Thoughtseize into Turn 2 Goyf, which is one of the most powerful things you can do in Legacy, let alone Modern. Of course, Junk is always an option and that's probably why it's seeing a resurgence recently, but 3 color manabase with Thoughtseize and Bob is a pretty risky place to be.
I think the determining factor in deciding which deck to play is how you feel about Pack Rat, since that seems to be the card that really defines Deadguy away from G/B/x decks. For what it's worth, I think Rat is super underrated in Modern right now because of the general lack of sweepers and that's what drew me to this deck initially. Once you get through the initial phases of the game and you're in grindy topdeck mode against something like Pod, Rat is a ridiculous card that gives you a way to close out games fast that G/B/x might struggle with.
Yeah, the amount of non-colored lands is the only thing that gives me pause. In terms of his uselessness in some matchups (storm, scapeshift), that's true, but Baneslayer is similarly bad (really, anything costing 4 or more is not gonna be where you want to be). From my days of playing B/G Obliterator Rock, I didn't actually hate Obliterator against Twin, especially RUG Twin. With so much discard it's pretty easy to keep their combo under wraps and the grindier a game they try to play, the more brutal Obliterator is.
I was wondering this too. Relic isn't really the card I'm itching to play in my Tarmogoyf/Snapcaster Mage deck...