I don't have the time to elaborate right now, but I agree with your assessment of Dreamspoiler Witches. It is one of my favorite cards from the new set.
Feeling nostalgic? Check out the latest article on the PoP blog!
Is everyone still half asleep after last night's marathon? It was a great, despite the "obv sac stain." When I left four unique decks were fighting it out in the Top 4 - Prison Yard, Crowd Control, Surf's Up, and Red Sun.
I ran Counterswarm to a 2-2 finish, beating Surf's Up and Turkey Dressing while losing to Rebellion and Blue Beats. It is a lot of fun facing a different deck in each round, instead of Spore Cry or Orzhov Blink match after match.
About the deck - it performed admirably, but I am finally coming to terms with the fact that the list is suboptimal. Cards that are in the sideboard should be in the maindeck. I see now that I hesitated adding good cards to the deck just because I wanted to maintain the "purity" of the UG color combination. The deck should use more black, without a doubt. The central parts of the deck - Sap swarms with counter backup - should stay, but Leaden Fists and Unsummon can go to the sideboard where they belong.
I will be working on a list throughout the week, as Worlds approaches. Next week will be fantastic if everyone who is invited shows up with a good deck. I think I might put up a little article on the PoP blog about SPDC Worlds. Anyone interested in co-writing a portion?
I was just taking a look at the Standard metagame ... trying to figure it out. I didn't realize how diverse it was. When I hear Orzhov, I usually just think of old school Orzhov Blink. Now, in addition to that, we have Mystic Blink (WUB), Red Sun (WBR), and Mystic Sun (WUBR). I make a similar generalization with Saprolings, but in reality there are several variations: Spore Cry, Prison Yard, and Counterswarm. The fact is that Standard has numerous competitive decks. I should stop trying to come up with something new and just adopt one of the many great archetypes that already exist!
Aggro
Nightwalker
Dustwalker
Spore Cry
Pumpkin Pie
Slivers
Blue Beats
Aggro-Control
Rebellion
Surf's Up
Midrange
Orzhov Blink
Mystic Blink
Red Sun
Mystic Sun
Prison Yard
All of those decks have won an event or had numerous T8 finishes (and I probably even missed a few), and I think any one of them can still win at any given tournament. It just depends on other factors - preparation, sideboard tech, luck, and matchups.
As we approach the stretch run of the Standard season (I know MPDC's finale is on the 22nd; has SPDC's been announced?), what do you see being the keys to victory? What decks must you be prepared to face? What deck may be a dark horse candidate? Share your thoughts on the metagame!
What is Crowd Control so afraid of that it needs to make room for maindecked Isolations? Errant Ephemeron? Keep your Cancel in hand to counter it or just block with an Ephemeron of your own and the Blink the damage away. Chilling Shade? Let them sink all of their mana into it and then Unsummon it. Shackles and Unsummon, on the other hand, allow this Midrange deck to stall until its gameplan really comes online (meaning, when your fliers are unsuspended and you can start Blinking Shamblers). Shackles also allows the deck to stop creatures that would otherwise just wreck it (Pallid Mycoderm and Deathspore Thallid).
I may try to play in SPDC this week. I miss playing Standard, but it have been pretty tired the last few weeks after hosting XPDC and then getting up early for work. Tomorrow, I don't have to be at work until 12:00, so I can get a normal amount of sleep :). If I do play, I will probably give Crowd Control a shot. It looks like a solid deck and I would like to be able to compare notes with the other Princes who use it. I think this would be the list I'd use:
What sort of red deck do you envision? I assume it's also something mostly before rotation, since the only thing I see red aggro getting is elementals, and they are pretty insular.
Let's see ... I haven't given it much thought, but Jack and I tossed around some ideas. Maybe something like this:
While I was reading what you said about Flashback and Grim Harvest, it occurred to me that our two most powerful graveyard hosers were in Ravnica block. All we've got left is the Martyr of Bones. That could be an issue.
Yeah. The question is, can an aggro deck beat graveyard decks before they have enough mana to get going?
Both Sensei and Hurriboy brought up the fact that some of the newer entries to pauper are less, errr... courteous than the regulars. Is this a trend everyone has noticed? Is there anything we can - or should - do about it?
I have noticed a small spike in rudeness among new Paupers as of late. I think, however, that the number of courteous and respectful new players still outweighs the number of rude ones. XPDC is a great place to see fantastic new players in action - most of the "Top 5" in my Power Rankings are new faces in PDC; Spider Loc, jtamaro, mslano ... I know they have also branched out into Standard and TS Block, but they come to play at XPDC every week. It is great to watch a new "generation" of players mature.
Back on topic, though ... I don't think there is anything we should do. Just deal with them fairly and don't let their crap get to you. The PDC community is still overwhelmingly friendly and welcoming.
Quote from khirareq »
Counterrebels is still a deck that's fun to play with and irritating to play against. It's like walking a tightrope without a net. It's only going to get stronger after rotation, with Fairy Trickery, Fairy Spellstutterer and possibly Nameless Inversion subbing for Overrule (blech!), Muddle the Mixture and...err...something else. Azorious in general should be a beast after rotation.
Have you posted a list for this deck? You probably have, but I'd like to see your latest version, as well as a starting-point list for after the rotation. The name makes it sound like its centered on abusing the rebel angine in a Control deck, which sounds quite fun. However, from what I can tell, your post-rotation plans for UW decks is more Blink-oriented. Is the focus going to shift away from rebels?
Quote from khirareq »
I'm more interested to see if a deck without islands can have a go at it. Can Kithikin/Giant aggro compete? Mono Green Elves? B/R Goblinstorm? Is the white changeling the best sliver? Will aggro in general be viable, now that Orzhov is gone? Or will the plethora of riftwatchers continue to keep it down?
I think there will be some other Midrange decks to take the place of Orzhov, but nothing that will neuter Aggro quite like it did. With Changeling support, Slivers will probably be the Aggro deck of choice. Red aggro also has some tools that might shine without Blind Hunter patrolling the skies.
I think the Midrange decks will abuse other synergies between Changelings and tribal-centric cards, either using Rebel engines to search for Nameless Inversion, or Changeling creatures to count as Giants in a GW deck with Elvish Handservant and Kithkin Greatheart.
Control decks are probably going to be centered around Flashback (Blink and Teachings), Grim Harvest, and Evoke (usually combined with at least one of the first two). I think that Lorwyn gives tools to all three deck types. It even provides some cool Combo enablers like the mana elementals, if someone can find a way to abuse them.
Saps has been played ONCE total! How is it a major deck?!
I think if we hype it too much, its going to be big. If we ignore it, maybe it will go away...
It's a big deck because it won, and it is powerful. We aren't hyping it aside from on this thread. In my report I tried to downplay it - making it seem like there were answers in the format, and that we just need to test and use them next week.
Just to let all of you FutEx deckbuilders know, I have created a testing gaunlet of the six major decks seen around XPDC (Affinity, Saps, Orzhov, Blinket, Xtra Crispy, and MUTC). If anyone has a new deck to test, feel free to PM me for some games!
Great job on the XPDC report Eegag! I feel like I let you down with that Gruul deck. 0-3 is not the record I was hoping you would achieve with it.
I found it amusing that my one victory last night was due to "a couple games of mana flood and bad beats", as opposed to any skill or the ability to read the meta on my part. Ah well, hopefully I'll get better!
I saw Poly gathering the meta data. Where'd it go?
Luckily for us, I didn't go 0-3. I went 1-2, and I conceded the last match during a close final game (my opponent was not responding for 10-15 seconds after each stop, and I needed to start entering results). I could have easily been 2-1, with my only loss to another RG Aggro deck (53N531).
Aggro Splice is a good deck, it just needs a pilot who can put more effort into playing and testing instead of hosting and creating logos.
I have metagame data for every tournament, I just need to format it for the Master Document.
Quote from Polyjak »
Anyone want to help me make an XPDC deck that exploits Zuberas?
Don't despair, Jack and I have started our set review! I'd expect to see it gracing the Princes of Pauper blog by the end of the week.
In other news, COME TO XPDC TONIGHT! The metagame is wonderful, but for some reason Orzhov keeps winning! Who will help me teach this Standard deck a thing or two about Future Extended?!
Anybody else thinking about a Elvish Handservant grow deck?
Changleling spells like Woodland Changeling and Nameless Inversion are cheap and good on their own, and make Elvish Handservant nice and fat too.
Probably 3 color: RGB, so you can use real giants too, like Blind-Spot Giant, which is huge, cheap and meshes well with the other changelings.
Jak and I are both thinking about that. In fact, we have already playtested our builds against one another :).
EDIT: About the set review ... Jak and I have been trying to find time to do our usual set review for the blog, but so far we haven't. I would encourage anyone else who wants to to do one as well. More opinions make a better discussion.
I am currently playing in Mini PDC - the first Future Extended tournament that I have actually been able to play in. The format seems a lot like Standard Jr., actually, because there are still way too many Orzhov decks. Still, it's great fun when you actually see people exploiting the interactions between sets. I really enjoy FutEx, so thanks to Jak for starting this tournament.
I beat a rather humorous Orzhov deck in Round One that kept preventing damage with cantripping spells. In Round Two I outlasted UR Draw-Burn with my Splice engine - what a great mechanic! Khirareq's Aggro Splice may not be as explosive as Affinity or Xtra Crsipy, but it has some great utility spells. I think a few more could be added to the sideboard - I couldn't help but wish for some Molten Rains when I was facing Orzhov. Their karoos are such juicy targets.
Congratulations to so the Princes who made Top 8 last night. Well done!
That visual spoiler is great! Just seeing the cards makes them seem more playable. It's as if the interactions just start jumping out at you once you see the images.
While I don't quite share icarodx's pessimism about Lorwyn, I do see his point. You mention many cards which look really good - but where do they fit? Cenn's Heir, for example, seems amazing. But is there a possible deck that will be able to exploit it? We know all of the cards now. What kind of actual deck ideas does everyone have? Come on, spill out your secret tech!
I don't have the time to elaborate right now, but I agree with your assessment of Dreamspoiler Witches. It is one of my favorite cards from the new set.
Feeling nostalgic? Check out the latest article on the PoP blog!
I ran Counterswarm to a 2-2 finish, beating Surf's Up and Turkey Dressing while losing to Rebellion and Blue Beats. It is a lot of fun facing a different deck in each round, instead of Spore Cry or Orzhov Blink match after match.
About the deck - it performed admirably, but I am finally coming to terms with the fact that the list is suboptimal. Cards that are in the sideboard should be in the maindeck. I see now that I hesitated adding good cards to the deck just because I wanted to maintain the "purity" of the UG color combination. The deck should use more black, without a doubt. The central parts of the deck - Sap swarms with counter backup - should stay, but Leaden Fists and Unsummon can go to the sideboard where they belong.
I will be working on a list throughout the week, as Worlds approaches. Next week will be fantastic if everyone who is invited shows up with a good deck. I think I might put up a little article on the PoP blog about SPDC Worlds. Anyone interested in co-writing a portion?
Aggro
Nightwalker
Dustwalker
Spore Cry
Pumpkin Pie
Slivers
Blue Beats
Aggro-Control
Rebellion
Surf's Up
Midrange
Orzhov Blink
Mystic Blink
Red Sun
Mystic Sun
Prison Yard
Control
Uber Teachings
Counterswarm
Steam Machine
Suicide Pact
Combo
Burnt Storm
Jungle Storm
All of those decks have won an event or had numerous T8 finishes (and I probably even missed a few), and I think any one of them can still win at any given tournament. It just depends on other factors - preparation, sideboard tech, luck, and matchups.
As we approach the stretch run of the Standard season (I know MPDC's finale is on the 22nd; has SPDC's been announced?), what do you see being the keys to victory? What decks must you be prepared to face? What deck may be a dark horse candidate? Share your thoughts on the metagame!
I may try to play in SPDC this week. I miss playing Standard, but it have been pretty tired the last few weeks after hosting XPDC and then getting up early for work. Tomorrow, I don't have to be at work until 12:00, so I can get a normal amount of sleep :). If I do play, I will probably give Crowd Control a shot. It looks like a solid deck and I would like to be able to compare notes with the other Princes who use it. I think this would be the list I'd use:
1 Izzet Boilerworks
10 Snow-Covered Mountain
7 Snow-Covered Plains
1 Snow-Covered Mountain
4 Terramorphic Expanse
// Win
4 Errant Ephemeron
4 Knight of Sursi
4 Subterranean Shambler
4 Aven Riftwatcher
3 Momentary Blink
// Draw
3 Compulsive Research
3 Fathom Seer
// Control
4 Unsummon
4 Gelid Shackles
4 Cancel
4 Infiltrator il-Kor
3 Remove Soul
2 Dawn Charm
3 Faith's Fetters
2 Plumes of Peace
1 Fathom Seer
Let's see ... I haven't given it much thought, but Jack and I tossed around some ideas. Maybe something like this:
20 Snow-Covered Mountain
// Creatures
4 Karplusan Wolverine
4 Inner-Flame Acolyte
2 Flamekin Brawler
4 Emberwilde Augur
4 Keldon Marauders
2 Gathan Raiders
4 Rift Bolt
4 Incinerate
4 Shock
2 Lash Out
4 Skred
2 Ghostfire
4 Hurly-Burly
3 Boggart Forager
4 Demolish
4 Goblin Skycutter
Yeah. The question is, can an aggro deck beat graveyard decks before they have enough mana to get going?
I have noticed a small spike in rudeness among new Paupers as of late. I think, however, that the number of courteous and respectful new players still outweighs the number of rude ones. XPDC is a great place to see fantastic new players in action - most of the "Top 5" in my Power Rankings are new faces in PDC; Spider Loc, jtamaro, mslano ... I know they have also branched out into Standard and TS Block, but they come to play at XPDC every week. It is great to watch a new "generation" of players mature.
Back on topic, though ... I don't think there is anything we should do. Just deal with them fairly and don't let their crap get to you. The PDC community is still overwhelmingly friendly and welcoming.
Have you posted a list for this deck? You probably have, but I'd like to see your latest version, as well as a starting-point list for after the rotation. The name makes it sound like its centered on abusing the rebel angine in a Control deck, which sounds quite fun. However, from what I can tell, your post-rotation plans for UW decks is more Blink-oriented. Is the focus going to shift away from rebels?
I think there will be some other Midrange decks to take the place of Orzhov, but nothing that will neuter Aggro quite like it did. With Changeling support, Slivers will probably be the Aggro deck of choice. Red aggro also has some tools that might shine without Blind Hunter patrolling the skies.
I think the Midrange decks will abuse other synergies between Changelings and tribal-centric cards, either using Rebel engines to search for Nameless Inversion, or Changeling creatures to count as Giants in a GW deck with Elvish Handservant and Kithkin Greatheart.
Control decks are probably going to be centered around Flashback (Blink and Teachings), Grim Harvest, and Evoke (usually combined with at least one of the first two). I think that Lorwyn gives tools to all three deck types. It even provides some cool Combo enablers like the mana elementals, if someone can find a way to abuse them.
It's a big deck because it won, and it is powerful. We aren't hyping it aside from on this thread. In my report I tried to downplay it - making it seem like there were answers in the format, and that we just need to test and use them next week.
EDIT - Aren't we ready for a new thread?
Luckily for us, I didn't go 0-3. I went 1-2, and I conceded the last match during a close final game (my opponent was not responding for 10-15 seconds after each stop, and I needed to start entering results). I could have easily been 2-1, with my only loss to another RG Aggro deck (53N531).
Aggro Splice is a good deck, it just needs a pilot who can put more effort into playing and testing instead of hosting and creating logos.
I have metagame data for every tournament, I just need to format it for the Master Document.
I would be glad to test, and provide feedback.
In other news, COME TO XPDC TONIGHT! The metagame is wonderful, but for some reason Orzhov keeps winning! Who will help me teach this Standard deck a thing or two about Future Extended?!
Jak and I are both thinking about that. In fact, we have already playtested our builds against one another :).
EDIT: About the set review ... Jak and I have been trying to find time to do our usual set review for the blog, but so far we haven't. I would encourage anyone else who wants to to do one as well. More opinions make a better discussion.
I beat a rather humorous Orzhov deck in Round One that kept preventing damage with cantripping spells. In Round Two I outlasted UR Draw-Burn with my Splice engine - what a great mechanic! Khirareq's Aggro Splice may not be as explosive as Affinity or Xtra Crsipy, but it has some great utility spells. I think a few more could be added to the sideboard - I couldn't help but wish for some Molten Rains when I was facing Orzhov. Their karoos are such juicy targets.
Time to get back to playing!
That visual spoiler is great! Just seeing the cards makes them seem more playable. It's as if the interactions just start jumping out at you once you see the images.
Edit: Spam!
EDIT: Has everyone overlooked Oblivion Ring??