@AshtonDragon: How has 3 Summoning been testing for you? I am pretty much on your exact list not, except im -3 Doom Blade -2 Mana Leak, +4 Spellskite, +1 Summoning. In my limited testing ive almost always wanted a Summoning in my opening hand, granted drawing 2 kinda sucks but every game I have one it just feels so hard to lose. I agree that Spellskite is not what this deck wants, I have been looking for a replacement for it as it hasnt been that great in testing. I also cut the Emperion for a Steel Hellkite; Hellkite has been amazing for me. You almost always get a Wurmcoil first regardless, but it gets you out of alot of problematic situations you find yourself in.
So i was reading Chapins article the other day, and came across a list that ive seen a couple versions of in this thread, Heartless Architect. I threw the deck together, and tested a bunch of games against some new decks, and I have to say the deck is absurdly powerful. Some of the games where you have Summoning on turn 2 just feel unlosable, and it almost resembles a Mishra's Workshop-type card in this deck. Here is the list that I currently have:
Everything in the deck just works really well with each other, although im not sure on some of the silver bullets. For example, im not sure if I really want Emperion or Spine in the main, although in the testing I have so far ive found at least one situation where ive needed each of the bullets, so they might stay the way they are. Other than that, I dont see anything else I really want to cut, and the numbers all feel right. Any suggestions/comments?
The deck was just about perfect, the only thing I would change is cut the 2 Metamorphs for the 4th Spellskite and the 23rd land. Metamorph is very very good, but most of the time it is just win-more, and you really dont need it. The games I lost were due to bad draws, mulliganing, and my opponents having the nuts. I lost to Valakut because i Slaver'd him, and was one damage short. Then i lost to UW when he mulled to 6 and had t2 Inkmoth, t3 Sword, t4 equip leave up counter mana, and I just couldnt do anything because my draw was horrendous. Then I lost to UW again because he drew triple Hero g1 and i mulled to 5 g2. Im going to play this one more time at the last PTQ next week, and hopefully I can run good for at least one day out of the year.
Ive been trying to figure out what I want to add from M12, but I just cant seem to find any room. It seems like the deck is very tight, and theres just nothing that I want to cut. I am trying out Ponder instead of Preordain right now, and so far its 50-50. Like there are situations where you want every card and Ponder is really good, and there are others where you just want one card and wish it was a Preordain. Maybe something like a 2-2 or 3-2 split might be good. Heres the list:
Lighthouse Chronologist does seem enticing, but i dont think him working well with Mindslaver really matters, as I dont think ive lost a game where I resolved and activated a Slaver on my opponent.
So I played the list I posted on the last page at the PTQ yesterday(just cutting the Dismembers in the SB for Batterskulls), and I went 6-2, losing the last round to just miss top8. I played very well all day, and the deck was absolutely perfect, but I mulled to 5 in game 3 of the last round against RDW, and you usually cant beat them on a mull to 5 on the play. My matchups were:
R1- GWb stuff, L
R2- BR Vampires, W
R3- MB Poison, W
R4- MBC, W
R5- UB Control, W
R6- UBR Twin, W
R7- MBC, W
R8- RDW, L
The hardest loss was R1 because he clearly wasnt playing a good deck, just a pile of cards that really didnt work well at all together, he had Cobras/Birds, Mirran Crusader, Thrun, Hero of Bladehold, Swords, etc. The reason he beat me was because he SB Creeping Corrosion......nice life. Then I proceeded to win 6 rounds, only to lose to RDW in R8. All in all it was a good day though, the deck was absolutely perfect, and I dont think I would change a thing. Except for the me winning part, but ill have to save that for the next PTQ
So I saw Brad's list today, and there are some things I like and don't like. First off, I think 24 lands is too many, even if you want to play Tectonic Edge(which I switched to recently), 23 is just fine. Second, I dont know why hes not playing Phyrexian Metamorph, that card has won me countless games that I couldnt have won otherwise. I do like that he upped the Magnet count to 4, the Clasp count to 3, and added a second Mindslaver to the deck, which I think is necessary in this format now. I am going to play this list this weekend at my PTQ, and id love some input:
I think the MD is just about as close to perfect as im going to get, I just dont know about Dismember in the SB. It doesnt kill the things you really want to kill(Titans, Wurmcoil, Consecrated Sphinx), but it does kill Obliterator, Tar Pit, Nighthawk, Highborn, and such. Im not sure if that slot should be 3 Batterskull, or if I should just cut 1 Dismember for a second Stoic Rebuttal. Thoughts?
The problem I always had with any of the one drops is that they're only good on turn 1 or 2. They obviously allow you to have a "nut" draw, but only if you have it in your opening hand. A late game topdecked Cryptologist or Kraken Hatchling is just so bad and not worth the potential of having it in your opening hand.
I beat Mono Black while he had an Obliterator with a Batterskull equipped because I had 2 Metamorphs copying Batterskull both equipped to a Thrummingbird. Yeah, that card does everything you think it does, and then some.
Jubokko: What else did you cut for Spell Pierce? I might think of trying that out tonight. Also i cut the 1 Blightsteel for the 3rd Dismember.
My one loss was to mono red, and I beat MBC, Valakut, and WW. I know mono red is a bad matchup for us, but what does everyone have in their board for it? I know Spellskite makes the matchup a little better, but I dont have access to them for FNM tomorrow. Any ideas for that or thoughts on the list?
If youre on the play, they tap out for Stoneforge on 2 and you can Metamorph it on t3. Im not 100% sold on it yet, but it has to be at least worth testing. Also if Boros gets popular again, we can Morph their Stoneforge and find a Batterskull, seems kinda sweet.
Just brewed up a list and goldfished it a bunch, seems pretty sweet:
22 Land seems right, and I cut the Viral Drake/Blighted Agent slot all together and just put Bomb back in the main. Im not sure on Battlesphere or Hellkite though, I always thought Hellkite was underwhelming but maybe we dont need the Battlesphere anymore.
4 Treasure Mage
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Kuldotha Forgemaster
4 Myr Superion
3 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Platinum Emperion
1 Steel Hellkite
4 Sphere of the Suns
1 Mindslaver
1 Contagion Engine
1 Spine of Ish Sah
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Darkslick Shores
3 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Phyrexia's Core
8 Island
2 Swamp
Everything in the deck just works really well with each other, although im not sure on some of the silver bullets. For example, im not sure if I really want Emperion or Spine in the main, although in the testing I have so far ive found at least one situation where ive needed each of the bullets, so they might stay the way they are. Other than that, I dont see anything else I really want to cut, and the numbers all feel right. Any suggestions/comments?
4 Phantasmal Image
4 Lord of the Unreal
4 Grand Architect
3 Phyrexian Metamorph
3 Phantasmal Dragon
3 Mana Leak
4 Spell Pierce
4 Preordain
3 Ponder
18 Island
3 Tectonic Edge
3 Flashfreeze
2 Vapor Snag
1 Into the Roil
2 Ratchet Bomb
Im still unsure of what the last SB slot should be. I had Missteps in for a bit, but I dont have them anymore. Any ideas on those slots?
4 Thrummingbird
3 Treasure Mage
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
3 Spellskite
4 Solemn Simulacrum
2 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Myr Battlesphere
4 Everflowing Chalice
3 Tumble Magnet
2 Contagion Clasp
1 Contagion Engine
1 Mindslaver
4 Inkmoth Nexus
2 Buried Ruin
16 Island
3 Flashfreeze
3 Batterskull
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Dismember
1 Mindslaver
The deck was just about perfect, the only thing I would change is cut the 2 Metamorphs for the 4th Spellskite and the 23rd land. Metamorph is very very good, but most of the time it is just win-more, and you really dont need it. The games I lost were due to bad draws, mulliganing, and my opponents having the nuts. I lost to Valakut because i Slaver'd him, and was one damage short. Then i lost to UW when he mulled to 6 and had t2 Inkmoth, t3 Sword, t4 equip leave up counter mana, and I just couldnt do anything because my draw was horrendous. Then I lost to UW again because he drew triple Hero g1 and i mulled to 5 g2. Im going to play this one more time at the last PTQ next week, and hopefully I can run good for at least one day out of the year.
4 Ponder
4 Preordain
4 Into the Roil
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Burst Lightning
4 See Beyond
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Mana Leak
2 Call to Mind
4 Halimar Depths
8 Island
6 Mountain
4 Deceiver Exarch
4 Splinter Twin
4 Negate
3 Arc Trail
4 Thrummingbird
3 Treasure Mage
3 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Spellskite
1 Myr Battlesphere
2 Wurmcoil Engine
4 Tumble Magnet
4 Ponder
2 Mindslaver
1 Contagion Engine
3 Contagion Clasp
4 Inkmoth Nexus
3 Tectonic Edge
16 Island
2 Ratchet Bomb
3 Batterskull
4 Flashfreeze
1 Stoic Rebuttal
3 Necropede
R1- GWb stuff, L
R2- BR Vampires, W
R3- MB Poison, W
R4- MBC, W
R5- UB Control, W
R6- UBR Twin, W
R7- MBC, W
R8- RDW, L
The hardest loss was R1 because he clearly wasnt playing a good deck, just a pile of cards that really didnt work well at all together, he had Cobras/Birds, Mirran Crusader, Thrun, Hero of Bladehold, Swords, etc. The reason he beat me was because he SB Creeping Corrosion......nice life. Then I proceeded to win 6 rounds, only to lose to RDW in R8. All in all it was a good day though, the deck was absolutely perfect, and I dont think I would change a thing. Except for the me winning part, but ill have to save that for the next PTQ
3 Tectonic Edge
16 Island
4 Grand Architect
4 Thrummingbird
3 Phyrexian Metamorph
3 Treasure Mage
2 Spellskite
2 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Myr Battlesphere
4 Everflowing Chalice
4 Preordain
3 Contagion Clasp
2 Mindslaver
1 Contagion Engine
4 Flashfreeze
3 Necropede
2 Spellskite
3 Dismember
2 Ratchet Bomb
1 Stoic Rebuttal
I think the MD is just about as close to perfect as im going to get, I just dont know about Dismember in the SB. It doesnt kill the things you really want to kill(Titans, Wurmcoil, Consecrated Sphinx), but it does kill Obliterator, Tar Pit, Nighthawk, Highborn, and such. Im not sure if that slot should be 3 Batterskull, or if I should just cut 1 Dismember for a second Stoic Rebuttal. Thoughts?
Jubokko: What else did you cut for Spell Pierce? I might think of trying that out tonight. Also i cut the 1 Blightsteel for the 3rd Dismember.
4 Thrummingbird
3 Treasure Mage
3 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Myr Battlesphere
4 Preordain
4 Everflowing Chalice
3 Tumble Magnet
1 Contagion Engine
1 Mindslaver
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Mana Leak
2 Into the Roil
1 Deprive
4 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Flashfreeze
2 Dismember
2 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
2 Negate
1 Contagion Engine
1 Tumble Magnet
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Ratchet Bomb
My one loss was to mono red, and I beat MBC, Valakut, and WW. I know mono red is a bad matchup for us, but what does everyone have in their board for it? I know Spellskite makes the matchup a little better, but I dont have access to them for FNM tomorrow. Any ideas for that or thoughts on the list?
Just brewed up a list and goldfished it a bunch, seems pretty sweet:
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Thrummingbird
3 Treasure Mage
2 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Myr Battlesphere/Steel Hellkite
4 Preordain
3 Tezzeret's Gambit
2 Contagion Clasp
2 Ratchet Bomb
1 Mindslaver
1 Contagion Engine
3 Tumble Magnet
3 Tectonic Edge
15 Island
22 Land seems right, and I cut the Viral Drake/Blighted Agent slot all together and just put Bomb back in the main. Im not sure on Battlesphere or Hellkite though, I always thought Hellkite was underwhelming but maybe we dont need the Battlesphere anymore.