An alternative to trading post for repeatable life gain would be bow of nylea. It comes a turn earlier and unlike post most abilities are useful.
Taking down flyers seems good vs affinity, clique, etc. The deathtouch attacks is nice with token swarms. The graveyard shuffling is nice if you expect surgical extraction. You can also add back pyros, assaults, decays, etc to your library.
Wow I think you're onto something here. Do you think that it would work better in a sideboard strategy where you remove an Assualt or Lily from your deck for game two? Getting the triple red for Assualt, double black for Lily, and then double green for Bow seems kinda fishy. It would be really stretching the manabase thin unless only two were in the deck at the same time, or we put in another green filter land (Right now I'm running 4x BR, 1x GR so I could add 1x BG and drop a Graven Cairns). Would it work better in a token shell with Lingering Souls and Young Pyromancer or if we are refueling our deck could just the Pyomancers be enough? I think because the tokens only get Deathouch while attacking it takes some value away, but going into a fourth colour would really be pushing the deck (Unless you always try for casting the souls from the yard).
Hmm, I see. Well, I side out Angel against Pod, they have too many ways to deal with the card. I use Squelch mostly for Pod itself, but get a Pridemage is a fine target too. I just don't leave unprotected artifacts sitting on the table versus them (except for Talismans).
I'm playing 3 Squelch, could even play 4. It's your best SB card against RG Tron (that and Spell Pierce to counter that pesky T3 Karn).
Ok, I'll have to look into more indepth sideboarding then. This was vs 2 Bant Pod decks too, which only ran the Archnagle-Spikefeeder combo. They had no way to deal with it other than the Pridemage, and it won me a game when I was at -100000 something life. I never saw a Sliver in either matches so who can say if they were running it. That is why I reasoned to keep in the Angle, but vs Melira/Junk pod I can see where you would be coming from.
Is Pridemage a big problem? What are they destroying with him? Talismans?
No it was more of when I had an Angle down and was trying to get a slaver lock or some other way to win. They had a Pod down and could just tutor it up and kill the Angle. I had no Squelches because I only was running 2 in my sideboard, so that is why I am looking into moving up to 3 to see it more often. I've noticed that a lot of the deck lists that I am seeing now are running 3 in the side.
Ooooh, now that's quite interesting! Hunted Horror can still be just blocked forever, but Hunted Phantasm (which has fallen out of favor with me before) becomes a lot better. I am now really eager to test putting Phantasm back in along with Leyline. That really sounds like my kind of deck!
Just make sure you are not trying to play a bad card to make a worse one slightly better. This is a common trap that means that the overally power level of your deck is farther below what you think it actually is. Think of Jund, all of their cards are for value and good on their own. That is why the deck is powerful.
If you were having trouble with storm and things I could suggest maybe looking into a Hatebears shell? Since all of your cards are extremely low cost you could play more of a prison style deck while dropping huge threats and not getting any drawbacks.
Another idea would be to use Æther Vial. You can keep on curve by using the Torpor Orb on 2, then putting a Hunted Phantasom into plat on turn 3. I think playing UR would be best because you can use things like Pyroclasm to wipe the tokens, and Anger of the Gods will also kill most decks. Blue gives you counters for protection to swing about 3-4 times and win.
I haven't actually tested this, so it's just random cards thrown together.
Wow that actually looks like a very nice list. Maybe some more evasion in the form of Alpha Authority? You don't want your Auratog or Kor Spiritdancer to get sniped?
Ok I'll look into testing it with some Syphon Life's and see how that goes. Possibly a Trading Post to see how that could work too. The problem would be dredging it, so lets start Syphon Life.
On a side note, instead of using 4 pyrcolasm I tried 3 lightning bolts and 1 firespout and it kept me alive against decks like burn, small zoo and goblins. When I was using the 4 pyroclasms main deck, usually it wasn't able to make much of an impact since their creatures can easily grow to 3/3. I also tried using 4firespout, but by the time I was able to cast it my life total is already on critical level.
I'm only playing in small group 15-20 players on a given night and decks I usually face are burn, small zoo, goblins, UB control and UWR control.
I'd say if it is working for you then that's fine. But remember that you will only be going 1-for-1 with them at this point. The point of Pyroclasm is that it will gain you a 2 or 3-for-1. If you are playing against Melira Pod you probably wont win with Bolts, you need a way to sweep their board. And with only a single Firespout you risk missing it with an Ancient Stirrings. I'm not saying using botls bolts is bad, it's just if you ever start playing a wider range of decks you will probably run into some problems. There is a reason that Tron has settled on using sweepers like Pyroclasm. Try out more Oblivion Stone's or All Is Dust as ways to clear the board.
Is there any ideas to deal with Qasali Pridemage in the new midrange Junk Pod decks, and the Bant pod lists that have been floating around? The best I can think of is Squelch to deal with it, but if it's being a real problem (say 90% of my store has atleast 1-2) should I be going up to 4 Squelches in the side instead of the usual 2-3? I can't counter the Pridemage because of Pod, and it will be gone in response if I try to Repeal it.
Why not use some of the Totem Armor enchantments from the Zendikar block that are used in the Bogles deck. It would allow you to survive removal rather than getting blown out by a removal spell going 2-for-1 or 3-for-1. Also look into Umbra Mystic to make a global effect of this if you can enchant creatures fast enough to protect your whole board.
Why not play red for some sweepers? Anger of the Gods is a great card that sweeps everything but your threat. This would put you into a Grixis colour shell, but you blank Snapcaster so there goes that route...
What about Remand instead of Mana Leak too? It is a hard counter and will dig through more of your deck. If you think you can end the game early enough that Mana Leak is always countering then do that; I haven't goldfished it so I can't really say for certain.
Personally I'd probably stick to baloth as gains 4 life and has a fat ass for blocking. He's also not too bad for pushing through the final blow against other opponents once you can get assault online. There is always the added utility against jund of hitting the field early and trading with a goyf earlier in the game.
I usually play 2 in my sideboard, but the one time life has never been enough for me it seems. I have lost about 3-4 times to burn now AFTER I have played the Baloth. That is why I was looking into more recurable lifegain. Could my manabase just be too painful? I usually run 6 fetched and 4 shocks.
Any tips in playing against a burn deck? I'm having a bit of problem playing against this particular deck
You also want Nature's Claim. This can hit Blood Moon if they bring it in, but its main purpose is to be a 1-mana spell that gains you 4 life by targeting your own artifacts.
On a similar note, you want to specifically hit your Chromatic Star because you will still get the card draw. Any other artifact won't, so don't make the same mistake with Chromatic Sphere.
I'll bring up Chalice of the Void again. Shuttung off half of their deck when casting it for X=1 is a great play. Yes you loose some mana rocks and Ancient Stirrings which is a gamble, but I have rode it to success many times before.
Tournament report from last night. Wen't 2-2, so not the best result but it was a last minute decision. I was trying to sleeve up my new Pod brew, but I couldn't do it in time for the rounds to start. So I quickly grabbed as much out of my GR Tron as I could and threw it into the rest of my U Tron pieces sitting in a box. As a result I played with a decklist of:
As you can probably notice, I didn't have a super optimal list. I had been trying to get my hands on a 4th Remand and 2 more Condescends but no stores had any. I had to substitute with some Mana Leak's instead. I also didn't own any Aetherize for the board which got me into some trouble later on in the night. There were four rounds with the matches going something like:
At first I didn't know what was going on. He wasn't playing any counter spells, and didn't really drop a Pod until later int he game. He got a Reveillark down before I fabricated for an Ostone, so when I cracked it he got some guys back. Didn't matter much though because I went for the mindslaver lock a couple of turns after and won. Boarded in +2 Squelch, +2 Oblivion Stone, +1 Pithing Needle, -2 Mana Leak, -1 Spell Burst, -1 Talisman.
In the second game he got to a Archangle-Spike feeder combo and gained 100000 life or so to be at 100017. I had a Platinum Angle out so it wasn't a problem when he attacked. The next two turns he couldn't do anyting while I played two Thirst for Knowladges. I was able to grab a Mindslaver , Remand, and Repeal. I played and activated the mindslaver, then passed. He untapped with a spellskite in his hand, so I had to attack myself with all of his creatures an remove the last couple of counters from Spike feeder to kill it, but he was still at an odd life. So I castes the spellskite and then repealed his Eternal Witnessand used the spellskite to redirect it until he was at 1 life. Then I tapped all of his land. Since all of his creatures were tapped I just swung in with my Angel and won.
1-0
Well same deck again. This time I was super lucky and won with a turn 5 mindslaver lock without him doing anything other than a Pod, Finks, and Heiarch. I sideboarded the same stuff as round 1 I think.
Game two I was lacking on tron on turn 3,I had a Mine and Plant out with a island. I had a Sundering Titan in hand, then remanded his Pod when he tapped out for it on turn 4, which drew me into my Tower. I untapped and dropped my Sundering Titan and destroyed 3 of his 4 lands. He scooped shortly after, right before I was one turn away from a mindslaver lock.
2-0
I have never actually played this matchup to see how bad it is. Man is it ever bad. Tried to repeal his Vials, but it didn't really help. He was just too fast and he had lethal before I could ever use the Ostone in my hand. Boarded in +2 Dismember, +2 Spreading Seas, +2 Oblivion Stone, +1 Chalice of the Void, +1 Pithing Needle, +2 Squelch, -2 Mana Leak, -1 Solemn, -1 Spell Burst, -1 Repeal, -2 Mindslaver, -1 Talisman, -2 Map
Because I had no clue what I was really doing without any Aetherize, I tried my best. After a mull to 6 with only one land I didn't want to go further so I kept an Island and a Condescend hoping to hit a land. Long story short in the top 4 cards I didn't get a land. The 5th I did but I was already dead... Aetherize would have been good.
0-2
Another bad matchup, and much more fun without the trusty Aetherizes. Game one I got a turn 4 Platinum angle after I was at 5 life. He looked at it for about 30 seconds and then scooped. I had no clue what to board in again, so I tried going +2 Dismember, +2 Spreading Seas, +2 Oblivion Stone, +1 Chalice of the Void, +1 Pithing Needle, +2 Spell Pierce, -2 Mana Leak, -2 Solemn, -1 Wurmcoil, -2 Mindslaver, -1 Talisman, -2 Remand.
Game two I got thought seized on turn 1. He took my map with in a hand of two tron lands and 4 blue cards. I topdecked another map and then proceeded to topdeck a Platinum Angle. So I grabbed the last tron land and cast it. He Dismembered it eot, then proceeded to smash face while I had no islands. In retrospect should have seen this coming and waited for a blue source to counter his killspells. Bad move on my part. (I also had a headache since the start of the event and felt like puking, so there's that.)
Game three was pretty tame. He kept a really slow hand while I got tron up on turn 3. I dropped a Map and Osotne, then proceeded to search for an Acedmy Ruins. In the next two turns I assembled a lock with the Ostone - recurring it every turn - so he couldn't play anything. He kept on drawing gas, and then finally got down 2 Blinkmoth's. I had to search up my sole tech edge, but at this point I was around 7 life. he got me to 4 before I was able to crack Ostone again. I techedged one of his Blinkmoths, but there was still one left with no cards in my deck to deal with it that I could find. I had about 14 mana available, and no tutors in hand. I brilliantly sided out the Mindslavers thinking they would be too slow, but it didn't really mater because of the lack of tutors. He brought me to 0 wiht the Nexus, and then I found an Angle two cards from top after the match. He showed me a Dismember in his hand anyways, and I probably could have countered it with a Spell Burst.
1-2
So overall it wasn't horrible. I was missing some really crucial maindeck cards and had a really jaggity sideboard. I picked up the remaining cards I needed at the end of the night, which were 2 Condescend, 1 Cyclonic Rift, and 3 Aetherize. Hopefully it will work out in the future.
Wow I think you're onto something here. Do you think that it would work better in a sideboard strategy where you remove an Assualt or Lily from your deck for game two? Getting the triple red for Assualt, double black for Lily, and then double green for Bow seems kinda fishy. It would be really stretching the manabase thin unless only two were in the deck at the same time, or we put in another green filter land (Right now I'm running 4x BR, 1x GR so I could add 1x BG and drop a Graven Cairns). Would it work better in a token shell with Lingering Souls and Young Pyromancer or if we are refueling our deck could just the Pyomancers be enough? I think because the tokens only get Deathouch while attacking it takes some value away, but going into a fourth colour would really be pushing the deck (Unless you always try for casting the souls from the yard).
Ok, I'll have to look into more indepth sideboarding then. This was vs 2 Bant Pod decks too, which only ran the Archnagle-Spikefeeder combo. They had no way to deal with it other than the Pridemage, and it won me a game when I was at -100000 something life. I never saw a Sliver in either matches so who can say if they were running it. That is why I reasoned to keep in the Angle, but vs Melira/Junk pod I can see where you would be coming from.
No it was more of when I had an Angle down and was trying to get a slaver lock or some other way to win. They had a Pod down and could just tutor it up and kill the Angle. I had no Squelches because I only was running 2 in my sideboard, so that is why I am looking into moving up to 3 to see it more often. I've noticed that a lot of the deck lists that I am seeing now are running 3 in the side.
Just make sure you are not trying to play a bad card to make a worse one slightly better. This is a common trap that means that the overally power level of your deck is farther below what you think it actually is. Think of Jund, all of their cards are for value and good on their own. That is why the deck is powerful.
Hibernation
Mind Bend
Drove of Elves
All Is Dust
Chaotic Backlash
Faerie Swarm
Crowd of Cinders
Spectral Force
Celestial Dawn
Kithkin Rabble
Just some ideas to give you. See if you like anything.
Another idea would be to use Æther Vial. You can keep on curve by using the Torpor Orb on 2, then putting a Hunted Phantasom into plat on turn 3. I think playing UR would be best because you can use things like Pyroclasm to wipe the tokens, and Anger of the Gods will also kill most decks. Blue gives you counters for protection to swing about 3-4 times and win.
Wow that actually looks like a very nice list. Maybe some more evasion in the form of Alpha Authority? You don't want your Auratog or Kor Spiritdancer to get sniped?
I'd say if it is working for you then that's fine. But remember that you will only be going 1-for-1 with them at this point. The point of Pyroclasm is that it will gain you a 2 or 3-for-1. If you are playing against Melira Pod you probably wont win with Bolts, you need a way to sweep their board. And with only a single Firespout you risk missing it with an Ancient Stirrings. I'm not saying using botls bolts is bad, it's just if you ever start playing a wider range of decks you will probably run into some problems. There is a reason that Tron has settled on using sweepers like Pyroclasm. Try out more Oblivion Stone's or All Is Dust as ways to clear the board.
Why not play red for some sweepers? Anger of the Gods is a great card that sweeps everything but your threat. This would put you into a Grixis colour shell, but you blank Snapcaster so there goes that route...
What about Remand instead of Mana Leak too? It is a hard counter and will dig through more of your deck. If you think you can end the game early enough that Mana Leak is always countering then do that; I haven't goldfished it so I can't really say for certain.
I usually play 2 in my sideboard, but the one time life has never been enough for me it seems. I have lost about 3-4 times to burn now AFTER I have played the Baloth. That is why I was looking into more recurable lifegain. Could my manabase just be too painful? I usually run 6 fetched and 4 shocks.
On a similar note, you want to specifically hit your Chromatic Star because you will still get the card draw. Any other artifact won't, so don't make the same mistake with Chromatic Sphere.
I'll bring up Chalice of the Void again. Shuttung off half of their deck when casting it for X=1 is a great play. Yes you loose some mana rocks and Ancient Stirrings which is a gamble, but I have rode it to success many times before.
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Tower
4 Urza's Power Plant
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1 Academy Ruins
1 Ghost Quarter
8 Island
Instant & Sorceries
3 Remand
2 Condescend
1 Spell Burst
1 Mana Leak
4 Repeal
2 Fabricate
4 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Oblivion Stone
4 Expedition Map
3 Talisman of Dominance
2 Mindslaver
Creatures
2 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Platinum Angel
1 Sundering Titan
1 Treasure Mage
2 Solemn Simulacrum
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
2 Dismember
2 Spell Pierce
2 Squelch
2 Spreading Sea
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Pithing Needle
2 Oblivion Stone
1 Chalice of the Void
As you can probably notice, I didn't have a super optimal list. I had been trying to get my hands on a 4th Remand and 2 more Condescends but no stores had any. I had to substitute with some Mana Leak's instead. I also didn't own any Aetherize for the board which got me into some trouble later on in the night. There were four rounds with the matches going something like:
In the second game he got to a Archangle-Spike feeder combo and gained 100000 life or so to be at 100017. I had a Platinum Angle out so it wasn't a problem when he attacked. The next two turns he couldn't do anyting while I played two Thirst for Knowladges. I was able to grab a Mindslaver , Remand, and Repeal. I played and activated the mindslaver, then passed. He untapped with a spellskite in his hand, so I had to attack myself with all of his creatures an remove the last couple of counters from Spike feeder to kill it, but he was still at an odd life. So I castes the spellskite and then repealed his Eternal Witnessand used the spellskite to redirect it until he was at 1 life. Then I tapped all of his land. Since all of his creatures were tapped I just swung in with my Angel and won.
1-0
Game two I was lacking on tron on turn 3,I had a Mine and Plant out with a island. I had a Sundering Titan in hand, then remanded his Pod when he tapped out for it on turn 4, which drew me into my Tower. I untapped and dropped my Sundering Titan and destroyed 3 of his 4 lands. He scooped shortly after, right before I was one turn away from a mindslaver lock.
2-0
Because I had no clue what I was really doing without any Aetherize, I tried my best. After a mull to 6 with only one land I didn't want to go further so I kept an Island and a Condescend hoping to hit a land. Long story short in the top 4 cards I didn't get a land. The 5th I did but I was already dead... Aetherize would have been good.
0-2
Game two I got thought seized on turn 1. He took my map with in a hand of two tron lands and 4 blue cards. I topdecked another map and then proceeded to topdeck a Platinum Angle. So I grabbed the last tron land and cast it. He Dismembered it eot, then proceeded to smash face while I had no islands. In retrospect should have seen this coming and waited for a blue source to counter his killspells. Bad move on my part. (I also had a headache since the start of the event and felt like puking, so there's that.)
Game three was pretty tame. He kept a really slow hand while I got tron up on turn 3. I dropped a Map and Osotne, then proceeded to search for an Acedmy Ruins. In the next two turns I assembled a lock with the Ostone - recurring it every turn - so he couldn't play anything. He kept on drawing gas, and then finally got down 2 Blinkmoth's. I had to search up my sole tech edge, but at this point I was around 7 life. he got me to 4 before I was able to crack Ostone again. I techedged one of his Blinkmoths, but there was still one left with no cards in my deck to deal with it that I could find. I had about 14 mana available, and no tutors in hand. I brilliantly sided out the Mindslavers thinking they would be too slow, but it didn't really mater because of the lack of tutors. He brought me to 0 wiht the Nexus, and then I found an Angle two cards from top after the match. He showed me a Dismember in his hand anyways, and I probably could have countered it with a Spell Burst.
1-2