MTG Salvation

I was going to ask how people are fending against aggro, but that Jim list seems to main 12 removal and 2 life gain cards so that's a pretty clear answer. Will do some testing with it, but have so far found white weenie and any combination of burn are favored quite heavily. Their average draw is something we need to luck out on and have specific answers for on curve - which can be quite frustrating. Interesting to see no Rhythm of the Wild though? This feels like such a key card in the deck.

Big fan of these lists! I've been brewing about something on Arena which I hope to develop into a more competitive build as time goes on. I'm so far just playing best of one's, but for a side board I am considering Knight of Autumn, Negate, and possibly Ixalan's Binding. The two Banefires have won me games on their own, especially against control. Multani fits this deck much better than initially assumed, as you can on the whole bring her back from the grave with relative easy and once given haste she's a great finisher. She also answers drakes.

In the development stage, I am contemplating running a number of Thud in the side. Will it work? No idea. Might it catch someone out when you throw an 8 damage colossus at them only to play a gate, have it return from the grave to the top of the deck ready to be hasted in next turn? Maybe...

So far I'm struggling most with Wildgrowth-Golgari. It's easy for their walkers to out-stretch Gates Ablaze and Vivian counters the majority of the deck single handedly. It's this match that's pushing me towards the binding. Thoughts?

Green seems to be the way to go in terms of ramp (as it generally is), but red/black are the colours for survival. Whilst ramp is good, the prevalence of mono-red aggro in the meta is going to need to be taken care of at a main-board level. I think the risk of running a set-up too orientated towards ramp is that you just lose on the spot to both red and white (as well as probably blue, which has a surprisingly good temp deck doing the rounds).

I watched NumottheNummy's version of the Storm deck, this time using Izzet colours for a more control based sideboard plan. Perhaps things that could be included? I especially liked Pirate's Pillage, a card I had not seen play previously. Here is the deck list:

First of all, well done on developing the combo! It takes guts to stick a deck out there with a reasonably fresh idea and (as you've seen) people are going to tear it to pieces. But let's not lose heart, let's see how it can be improved instead. If you like A Thousand Year Storm, then it might be worth checking out the list and associated video that MTG Goldfish did a week or so ago: Youtube Linky

Whilst not including Green, this particular list hunts for those combo pieces whilst only needing to hit six/seven mana to go off, as opposed to ten. It being based in red also allows for shocks/lightning bolts to help clear the way against those peskie red/midrange decks who might get in your way. Perhaps there is a way to include some aspects of this list into your own? Or maybe meet somewhere in the middle?

I tried to make Storm work myself on Arena and found the aggro-heavy meta to be quite damaging. A well timed Assassin's Trophy can also ruin your day if you're not prepared for it, as does mono-white in both aggro and life-gain variances. Doesn't mean there isn't a Storm deck out there, I just wonder if it might be wanting different colours?

Quote from doc.brown »

I'm sorry but the most FUN way of playing izzet, is definitely thousand-year storm.

We need a thread to work on this. MTGolfish did a video on the deck and it looked pretty sweet! Not sure it's going to be anything more than a rogue deck for trolling FNM; but that works for me.

Took Dimir mid-range to my local standard showdown today. Went 2-2 with a brew that in all honesty didn't contain the best cards, so I am not going to post the list. I put it together very quickly. I played a mirror, Wizard Burn, Boros Burn, and Mono-White Aggro. Few observations:

Connive // Concoct was wonderful. There are a lot of very powerful 2 power creatures running around that can easily trade up for great advantage. Returning Dream Eater or Hostage Taker late-game can also be a finishing play.
Plague Mare and Thief of Sanity answer the white deck whilst you dig for removal. The Mare was only in my side as I was lacking cards but I am wondering whether it might stay there.
Discovery // Dispersal under-performed and I am interested to hear other people's experiences with this card. Is it worth it and at what numbers?

I think at this stage in the meta the tempo-play is probably well suited. Aggro is always easier than control and mid-range, early on. I am still interested in seeing if I can make Disinformation Campaign the mid-range winner I feel it must be, but need to get to grips with the new format first. I see very few lists are running Dimir Spybug - what are people's experiences? Is it by any chance too slow late game?

Where do we stand on Disinformation Campaign? I am personally really interested to see if it could become a staple in a mid-range core more focused around control perhaps?

Interestingly enough there was a mono-red Aggro deck on the SCG event yesterday which had a very similar theme. It was more of a general burn deck though, but did rely on Experimental Frenzy. I'll link the list once they are published. It does concern me though this deck may end up just being a weaker version of burn or M-red Aggro. I always saw it as far more sophisticated than that and perhaps we'll be waiting for the Gruul version to receive support before that eventuality?

Lighted to hear of some successful testing. I am still trying to work out what deck I want to put my time into this rotation, but there is some real temptation here. The mono-red brew looks strong to me from a distance, if only for the consistency you mentioned. The question of questions though: How does it fair against competitive decks? Do you think this could be a rogue in the meta? Or is more fun to catch friends out with.

Watching this thread with great interest. The primer is wonderfully laid out - great work! I also want this so happen so desperately. The inclusion of Wayward Swordtooth seems pretty genius to me though I am liking the red-dominant direction that the discussion is heading. Have you tested the deck much? Or is this mostly based on theory?

I am aware it's massively early to be taking about established Ravnica, but I am more interested in what people are presently exploring and how I might get involved in the brewing process. I've been out of standard for just over a year (perhaps a little longer) and am looking for a deck or archetype that isn't just the standard turn sideways, buff, and await kill spells. It would be nice to perhaps explore something combo related, or maybe a deck with a focus on lands? Something that's a bit cheeky I can turn up to FNM with and cause confusion.

I've so far come across Izzet Wizards as a potential combo deck. But simply need advice on what exists, as I am very out of touch with standard! What happened to Saprolings? Did they make it?

Thanks in advance.

So recently I have been asked more and more what Ponza is. Which lead to this little exchange.

Me: So it's basically a tempo deck. But relies on preventing your opponent from doing stuff like a control deck. Oh! and it often feels like it comes down to how you play a few very significant early turns, like a combo deck.
My Friend: ...
Me: I have access to five mana, am ticking up Chandra to ultimate, and Dave is playing his second land for the third time.
My Friend: Gotcha.

Ponza.

Went to an FNM yesterday. Usually I don't manage it - as I work full time and our FNM's are on in the afternoon - so it was a bit odd for me to be playing Ponza in paper. We only managed three rounds as the store was closing early, but I am happy to report I won all three. I'd like to briefly discuss two points:

Bloodbraid Elf - what a champion! As good as we all know him to be. I managed to cast him most games and hit an Arbor Elf twice. It felt like it hurt the first time, but having the elf as "free" worked in my favour. I used him to chump block a nasty looking Boggle one occasion and on the other to cast Titan the following turn as well as a Stone Rain. Interestingly enough, I sided BloodBraid out in both matches. The first was against Blue Moon and the second against Boggles. Both decks caved to Trinisphere and the Boggle deck especially. My takeaway point was that even without BloodBraid the deck still performs excellently when geared towards Tempo-Control.

Thrun, the last Troll feels right in the main-board. I know this isn't a popular choice among a lot of you, but I won against Blue Moon exclusively because of this card and against Boggles / Merfolk he became the perfect blocker. They all just lacked ways to deal with him and the regeneration effect changes the way faster decks play against you. With a lot of players testing Jace, I think Thrun earns his place at two in the main. There are a lot of pesky counters about! It might be local meta, but I was happier to see Thrun than a lot of my 4-drops, even when not playing against control.

I am presently siding 2 copies of Relic and 2 copies of Cage, but that may be more down to my local meta. I find they are both useful cards in multiple match-ups and worth the 4 slots total.