- Corv
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Member for 10 years, 7 months, and 29 days
Last active Sat, Aug, 20 2022 15:20:10
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Sep 27, 2017Corv posted a message on Who is the Raven Man?I am hugely impressed with the depth of this article and the breath of your references. Consider me convinced, good sir.Posted in: Articles
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Apr 13, 2017Corv posted a message on MTG Salvation Deck Builder Coming SoonI hope that the deck builder will include newly previewed cards as soon as they're confirmed. That would be a killer feature that Deckstats and TappedOut have yet to incorporate.Posted in: Articles
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(Also, your example is factually wrong? Not sure what to say about that. But you can play the card)
1 Drana, Liberator of Malakir
3 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Mina and Denn, Wildborn
1 Mindwrack Demon
1 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
1 Olivia, Mobilized for War
2 Sylvan Advocate
1 The Gitrog Monster
2 Thunderbreak Regent
Planeswalkers
2 Arlinn Kord
1 Chandra, Flamecaller
2 Ob Nixilis Reignited
Lands
4 Cinder Glade
2 Drownyard Temple
2 Evolving Wilds
1 Foreboding Ruins
2 Forest
2 Hissing Quagmire
2 Mountain
4 Smoldering Marsh
6 Swamp
1 Pulse of Murasa
3 Radiant Flames
2 Read the Bones
2 Ruinous Path
1 To the Slaughter
1 Transgress the Mind
3 Traverse the Ulvenwald
2 Ultimate Price
1 Virulent Plague
2 Clip Wings
2 Caustic Caterpillar
2 Virulent Plague
1 Languish
1 Seasons Past
1 Pulse of Murasa
1 Inverter of Truth
1 To the Slaughter
1 Grasp of Darkness
1 Pick the Brain
1 Infinite Obliteration
1 Radiant Flames
Ended 3-1 in an 11-person Game Day.
First round vs BG control. Won 2-0 with no problems, trading removal and ultimately chipping him away. Second game he landed Infinite Obliteration on Goblin Dark-Dwellers, which still didn't cause any problems.
Second round 0-2 vs GW humans. Lost game one to mana screw after keeping a hand with two lands, casting only one spell all game. Sided in two Virulent Plagues and the final Radiant Flames. Second game was interactive, but I drew no sweepers and he went wide.
Third round 2-0 vs a budget Jund. Nothing to say here, it wasn't much better than an upscaled limited deck.
Final round 2-1 against BR aggro. I feel I lost the first game to the same problem that killed me in the second game against humans, just not finding anything low enough on my curve fast enough. He was able to get a flipped Ashmouth Blade on a Village Messenger and swing for 4 and 5 repeatedly while I failed to draw kill spells, and by the time I was playing creatures, I was only chump blocking. The next two games had some back and forth, but keeping pace with early removal is really all there was to it. A single 2-for-1 with Radiant Flames felt like a decisive play.
I think the missing two Sylvan Advocates are important, especially for stemming the blood lost to aggro. Olivia is cute, but I'm not sure she really works here, with her vulnerability to Radiant Flames (and no dedication to madness). She feels like Kolaghan lite. Drana, Liberator of Malakir is a reasonable choice, but later in the game I'd still rather have Advocates.
Mina and Denn, Wildborn seemed underwhelming, and I'd rather have another flier in their place. Both Thunderbreak Regent and Mindwrack Demon are excellent, but I think I lean slightly towards the Demon for his extra toughness. I'd certainly prefer Thunderbreak in a more control-heavy meta.
Nissa, Vastwood Seer and Ob Nixilis Reignited play nearly identical roles. Their first ability will probably break out of a stall, their second will help stabilize in a pinch, and their ultimate will finish anything the first didn't manage. I think I'm happy with the 1:2 split because I prefer Nixilis' unconditional removal, but dropping Nissa early for an extra land is a good option. Arlinn Kord's front +1 is probably her most used ability, but toggling back and forth to choke and clear the field is definitely a reasonable play. Might drop to just one of her, though.
As for other spells, I'm likely to side out the Virulent Plague and Pulse of Murasa for a pair of Grasp of Darkness. I'd also love to get some Painful Truths to replace Read the Bones, but last I checked, that debate rages on, and if they're close enough to argue about I don't think it's a huge difference.
First round bye.
Second round 1-1-1 vs UG Clues, went to time. In game one, I easily kept pace with the creatures he dropped and won without any real concerns. Chose not to sideboard. Game two, his Ulvenwald Mysteries and Thopter Spy Network gave him a frustratingly resilient army of tokens. Fleshbags are nearly useless against any sort of wide board state, and Languish just wasn't sufficient. Especially one the second Ulvenwald Mysteries showed up, killing just one nontoken creature in the mix let him rearm easily. M sideboard has Flaying Tendrils, but I think the better solution would be to bring in Natural State against the Mysteries - or just run Virulent Plague instead and blank half of the deck. One way or the other, once he got up and running the match was the Battle of the Rube Goldberg machines, and we ended the second game as we hit time, decided to draw the third game.
Third round 1-0-1 vs UR Thopters, simply because my opponent was a very inexperienced, slow player and we were nearly at time after game 1. I don't feel there's much cause for concern in this matchup, but given that these two players are regulars in my meta, I'm thinking I need to run those Virulent Plagues.
The World Breaker underperformed. The Gitrog Monster is iffy, but a welcome large body. Kalitas and Lily both do very good work, but I think the latter is less valuable against Clues, simply because her +2 doesn't even register against the card advantage they can generate. Nissa, Vastwood Seer tended to do little more than wear a bullseye, while Nissa, Voice of Zendikar can easily just -2 and close a game. I feel more confident that Elvish Visionary is the right choice for the 2-slot (alongside Hangarback Walker). The Inverter of Truths stay in the sideboard for sure, since the undefeated winner tonight was running Tutelage. The Stranglers are probably workable given if I incorporate another exile removal.
The synergy between Evolutionary Leap and Fleshbag Marauder (and the just-rotated copy, Merciless Executioner, and potentially now Wasteland Strangler) gives you an effective 4-mana edict and "get the next creature from your library". With that interaction at the core of the deck, Elvish Visionary is a nice include because you'll happily trade out its body instead of the 3/1 Marauder. Hangarback Walker has a similar role as a body you'll happily sacrifice.
With a game plan that involves trading our creatures repeatedly, Liliana, Heretical Healer flips easily, and Nissa, Voice of Zendikar can pump out the most efficient sacrifice fodder around. Once all of that is said, there's a lot of competition at the 3-drop slot. Tireless Tracker is certainly good, but it grows and excels in an environment where its controller wouldn't be happy to sacrifice it at the drop of a hat. Investigating is definitely strong, but we're already committing mana into Hangarback and Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, and holding it open for Relentless Dead triggers and Evolutionary Leap at EOT or in response to a kill spell. I don't know that we'd end up with much to spare to actually sacrifice those Clues.
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Fleshbag Marauder
4 Hangarback Walker
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Liliana, Heretical Healer
1 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
4 Relentless Dead
1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
1 The Gitrog Monster
3 Wasteland Strangler
1 World Breaker
4 Evolving Wilds
5 Forest
2 Hissing Quagmire
4 Llanowar Wastes
9 Swamp
Spells
3 Evolutionary Leap
4 Languish
1 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
2 Ruinous Path
3 Pulse of Murasa
4 Natural State
2 Ruinous Path
3 Flaying Tendrils
3 Inverter of Truth
I plan to take something like this list to FNM this week. There are a few points I'm still considering and would like feedback on:
For that matchup, I think we'd want to have disenchants available, and possibly consider a source of a third color to boost Radiant Flames.
4 Cinder Glade
9 Forest
4 Game Trail
1 Island
4 Mountain
Creatures
2 Dragonmaster Outcast
4 Hermit of the Natterknolls
4 Silverfur Partisan
4 Duskwatch Recruiter
3 Arlinn Kord
2 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
2 Sarkhan Unbroken
Spells
3 Howlpack Resurgence
3 Magmatic Chasm
4 Oath of Nissa
2 Second Harvest
2 Traverse the Ulvenwald
3 Vines of the Recluse
Each of the 'walkers can contribute a token of some kind for the Second Harvest, plus card draw from Sarkhan (and possibly Nissa), an anthem from Nissa, and Arlinn offers the most versatility, and reach. Vines of the Recluse is present mostly because I'm fond of the cheap untap combat trick.
I'll be the first to admit that this deck may not make sense, and it's certainly not pure tribal, so feel free to ask me to leave. =)
Grip of the Roil definitely sounds like it's worth trying to fit in. I love Expedite and Slip Through Space for their low cost, but I think they'll often enough have little to do (beyond triggering prowess), which puts Grip ahead in my book.
Geistblast is half there just for the graveyard effect, which can be acquired either by Insolent Neonate or opponent's choice via Sin Prodder. It may be too much wishful thinking on my part. Similar trick via Mirrorpool, but taplands seem scary. As for Fall of the Titans, I almost expect it to serve as removal more than I do burn.
One very maybe card in the mainboard: What are opinions on Thunderbreak Regent as a 1- or 2-of curve topper?
Looking at the sideboard, I'm considering Sparkmage's Gambit against decks that field enough presence to shut off menace, and Smash to Smithereens against Clues and Thopters.