Decklist was similar to Peter Villarrubia's from Nationals:
DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Lands (25) 2 Field of Ruin 4 Glacial Fortress 4 Irrigated Farmland 4 Ipnu Rivulet 5 Island 6 Plains Creature (1) 1 Torrential Gearhulk 2 Gideon of the Trials Enchantment (6) 4 Cast Out 2 Search for Azcanta | Instant (19) 2 Farm // Market 4 Censor 1 Disallow 1 Negate 4 Glimmer of Genius 1 Settle the Wreckage 3 Supreme Will 3 Opt Sorcery (7) 3 Approach of the Second Sun 4 Fumigate | Sideboard (15) 2 Solemnity 3 Negate 2 Torrential Gearhulk 2 Sunscourge Champion 1 Gideon's Intervention 3 Authority of the Consuls 2 Kefnet the Mindful |
Match one was a relatively easy 2-0. My opponent admitted that it was the first time he was playing it, and it showed (for example, he used Field of Ruin to blow up Glacial Fortress in the early rounds when I had Search for Azcanta out rather than waiting until I flipped to Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin). In game 1, there was a nervy moment was when he resolved The Scarab God, but I managed to get rid of it by casting Fumigate and then Disallow on the triggered ability. Double approach for the win. Game 2 was the war of the counterspells. He cast Duress turn 1 and snagged Approach. I aggressively countered his attempts to resolve Hieroglyphic Illumination to keep him down on card advantage, which made things much easier for me.
Match two was a somewhat spicy cat aggro matchup (Pride Sovereign, Adorned Pouncer, Oketra's Monument etc.). Game 1, I had plenty of sweepers and won with double Approach. Game 2, opponent managed to get me from 23 to 1 in a single attack: embalmed Adorned Pouncer, two Sacred Cats, and a Vanquisher's Banner in play, and she cast Blossoming Defense and Appeal to make it a 10/10 double strike and swung with the team. I managed to Fumigate the next turn and limped on until I got double Approach. Cast Out was necessary in this matchup to shut down both Anointed Procession and Gideon's Intervention (which had named Approach).
Match 3 was the toughest of the three, and I would have lost if my opponent had respected Settle the Wreckage a bit more. I used it to hit 3 of his 5 creatures one attack (leaving Longtusk Cub and Whirler Virtuoso), and when he thought the path was clear, he used the Virtuoso to make 7 Thopters and attacked with the squad...right into my Torrential Gearhulk (bringing back Settle the Wreckage).
It was my first time taking this deck out for a spin, and overall, it felt really good. Some of my takeaways:
- Against black, consider mulliganing opening hands that have Approach in them. It's not a card you want until later anyway, and you give your opponent an easy Duress target.
- Gideon of the Trials was great out of the sideboard, but I'm considering taking him out of the main board. There's something nice about giving your opponent 0 targets for removal, and having him in the main gave my UB control opponent a good target for Vraska's Contempt (he exiled both of my Gideons in game 1). I feel like making your opponent have a ton of dead cards is one of the biggest strengths of this deck game 1.
- I was never stoked to see Opt past turn 1 and am considering cutting it (I realize that this is when you want to see Opt, but still felt like filler).
- As tempted as I've been to cut Censor it overperformed against the Temur Energy deck, getting rid of a Bristling Hydra and a Glorybringer. Temur needs to be the Aggro deck to beat us, which means turn 3 hydra and turn 4 glorybringer, and it feels so good to Censor those away.
- Gideon's Intervention underperformed, and at 4 mana, I don't think it's something I want to run in the future.
Some cards I want to try out (comments/thoughts welcome--I'm not on MTGO and don't have a ton of time to test different cards):
- Ixalan's Binding: Thinking of going 3/1 split with Cast Out/Ixalan's Binding. Instant speed and cycling make Cast Out the much better card for me, but having Ixalan's Binding for white matchups to get rid of opposing Cast Outs seems like an option I'd like to have.
- I'm going to experiment with 2 Thaumatic Compass/Spires of Orazca in the main. Between it and Search for Azcanta, it allows us to hit our land drops while also giving mild ramp that lets us approach sooner, and Ithing their best creature will keep us alive longer.
- Commit // Memory: Interested in thoughts for this card in the mirror or against Duress. Seems like a good way to use those Ipnu Rivulets aggressively and also give you a way to get those Duressed Approaches back, but mana cost seems high.
- Failure // Comply: Thoughts on this card as sideboard tech? Seems like it could be useful to pave the way for the second Approach (take that, Negate)...
- Cataclysmic Gearhulk: What do folks think about using this as sideboard tech against tokens/creature-based strategies (RR, Temur Energy)? It's almost a wrath and the 4/5 body could bring the beats.
- River's Rebuke is another card I think is worth consideration for the sideboard given the many creature-based matchups we'll likely face.
- Any other suggestions for lifegain/not dying against aggro matchups beyond Sunscourge Champion would be appreciated. Renewed Faith and Sanguine Sacrament seem worth testing as an instant-speed life bump, and Oketra's Last Mercy might do a good job of keeping us alive for 1-3 more turns for 3 mana. I even paused while looking at Exquisite Archangel in my binder...I don't know if we want to load up on more 7-drops (and turn 7 is a long time to wait for something to keep you alive against aggro), but it's a card anyway...
Finally, a question: there have been references to a "Desert Package" for this deck, but it's not clear what that means. Is it just a couple copies of Desert's Hold combined with replacing a plains and island with Desert of the Mindful and Desert of the True?
Thanks everyone...the information in this thread is really helpful for me. I'm surprised that this deck hasn't had better results at big tournaments, but I'm guessing it's because (1) it's less represented in the meta and (2) variance seems to hurt us more in the aggro matchup than it hurts aggro against us.
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in my case i tried it and to me i felt id rather have more interaction in the form of anything even Aether Meltdown
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2 Endbringer
4 Matter Reshaper
4 Reality Smasher
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Walking Ballista
PLANESWALKER 2
2 Karn Liberated
INSTANTS and SORC. 4
2 All Is Dust
2 Dismember
OTHER SPELLS 12
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Batterskull
3 Chalice of the Void
4 Expedition Map
2 Mind Stone
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Buried Ruin
1 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
3 Ghost Quarter
1 Sea Gate Wreckage
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Power Plant
4 Urza's Tower
2 Wastes
1 All Is Dust
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Batterskull
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Dismember
2 Ratchet Bomb
3 Relic of Progenitus
2 Spatial Contortion
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Witchbane Orb
Heres some video footage
VS ELVES
first round top 8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaVd_xNuK7k&t=75s
VS BURN
second round top 8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2Le-cA-3dM&t=5s
finals vs grixis death-shadow
video not up yet
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Creatures 24
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Fairgrounds Warden
3 Fathom Feeder
4 Spell Queller
3 Ulamog's Nullifier
2 Wasteland Strangler
4 Archangel Avacyn
Instants 11
2 Horribly Awry
2 Stasis Snare
2 Deceleration in stone
2 fatal push
2 Anguished Unmaking
1 Cast out
4 Choked Estuary
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Irrigated Farmland
2 Island
4 Plains
4 Port Town
2 Shambling Vent
1 Swamp
4 Transgress the Mind
2 Descend upon the Sinful
2 Vessel of Malignity
1 Deceleration in stone
3 Spell Shrivel
3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Hi been tweaking this deck
It been doing okay against marvel decks and zombies but still need to tweak it a bit
any suggestions?
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hi thanks for the input
so after my initial testing
iv played roughly 10 games against mardu with 2 glorybringers and 3 games against U/W control
i went 7wins - 3losses against mardu (all mainboard) and won 3 against control
I have found cartouche to be excellent i have been able to kill on turn 4
turn 1 Expedition Envoy
turn 2 Cartouche of Solidarity + Expedition Envoy attack for 3
turn 3 Trial of Solidarity doing 11 damage
turn 4 Cartouche of Solidarity + replay Trial of Solidarityattack for lethal even if they block or kill something
this is not that good of a hand either.
the reasons for not playing red is i think first week we should be trying to be effecient and fast as possible due to the fact we dont know the meta
the R/W version seemed to be almost the same speed in terms of mardu and that it turns more into a 50/50 match. this was from my testing before Cat ban.
but i will be putting in 1 abby mainboard.
after first 2 days testing post cat ban
4x Thraben inspector
4x Town Gossipmonger
4x Expedition Envoy
4x Thalia's Lieutenant
4x Glory-Bound Initiate
2x Gust Walker
1x HANWEIR MILITIA CAPTAIN
2x Devoted Crop-Mate
4x Always Watching
4x Declaration in Stone
4x Cartouche of Solidarity
3x Trial of Solidarity
Lands
19 Plains
1 Westvale Abbey
3x selfless spirit
1x Westvale Abbey
2x Fragmentize
1x HANWEIR MILITIA CAPTAIN
1x Devoted Crop-Mate
1x Ironclad Slayer
3x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1x Dusk // Dawn
2x cast out
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Hey Guys I went 4-0 in my local store with this crazy build dont know if this list has been talked about but i found it to be really good in my meta
i versed
Eldrazi Tron
- Ulamog first game to win
- 2nd and third unified will aswell as bloodmoon got me there
Boros Burn
- Spreading seas was MVP here got lucky in drawing them early shut them down
Titan Shift
- lords and masters got me there both games with a 5th turn blood moon stopped the combo
Bant Eldrazi
- got EEed first game
- 2nd game was able to get spreading seas on temple turn 2 followed by moon 3 to slow them down enough to win
- 3rd game was close played pithing needle early for EE and lorded them out.
missing the cursecatchers hurt but so far i dont mind this list i know most of the masters in this forum hate splashing colors but giving this list a go for now
tell me what you think
2 Harbinger of the Tides
1 Phantasmal Image
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Merrow Reejerey
4 Master of Waves
Spells (1)
1 Dismember
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Aether Vial
Enchantments (8)
4 Spreading Seas
4 Blood Moon
Lands (20)
4 Flooded Strand
11 Island
4 Polluted Delta
1 Steam Vents
2 Pithing Needle
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Echoing Truth
2 Hurkyl's Recall
4 Unified Will
2 Dismember
2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
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