I have only played around with this deck a little bit, but I can say from my experiece with other decks that Choke is not that effective against Merfolk. It is very good against slower decks and decks that run blue duals, but Choke will cripple a Merfolk player a rather low percentage of the time. For Choke to be most effective, I would say you need to be on the play and/or accelerate into it. That being said, it should certainly be boarded in if it is in your SB. Just don't count on it to outright win you the game.
Let me just say that Finest Hour is absolutely not a win-more card. It steals wins out of nowhere when your oppenent is unexpecting of an alpha-strike. It is only win-more vs. subpar decks, but it is so clutch vs. the competitive decks in the field right now. I play 3-of maindeck and board out 1 or 2 when needed.
Was the Deadguy not also running LD? or did you just get the nuts draw keeping him off from his land?
I got better draws for sure in game 1. He just wasn't able to play anything because I got double Sinkhole and then beat face with Stalker. I'm not sure if he was running Sinkholes, as he never saw them against me. He played a Tidehollow Sculler to steal my Goyf for a while game 2, but I killed it about 2 turns later. That card is not very good against me since I was packing a relatively high amount of removal.
I played Legacy win-a-box this weekend and won a box with this deck! I went 2-0 against my 3 opponents:
Dream Halls
NO Bant
B/w Deadguy
I was very pleased with the performance of the deck. My Land Destruction Package definitely played as the MVP in this mini-tournament. I won via LD in 1 game against Deadguy, 1 game against Bant, and both games against Dreams Halls. I know it's not for everyone, but my 4-of Vindicate really seemed to do the trick!
I'm running nighthawk where most people run ramp and garruk. The simple reason, it's the best single creature on it's own. Against the mirror it's practically a guaranteed victory for you. Not much flies, kills anything, and gains you life. The fact that it draws bolts, is a legitimate issue, but so does the siege gang you tapped out to play or the Garruk you made a token with. I'd rather not worry about getting more lands and just keep coming at my opponent.
This statement shows why Nighthawk is often sub-par. If they bolt Garruk, you still have a beast from it. If they bolt Siege-Gang, you still have 3 little goblins. If they bolt Nighthawk, you have nothing. I see Nighthawk as a relatively effective SB card, but the fact that it can go 1-for-1 at best makes it not too great in a deck that relies on card advantage from its creatures.
I think it's really good as a 1-of in addition to whatever else you're running. It will randomly win you some games. I definitely suggest people test it as a 1-of.
Cunning Sparkmage absolutely wrecks Vamps with Collar equipped. And yes I would bring it in vs. RDW, because it either gets burned and they go 1-for-1 with a spell, or is awesome against them.
Whaddya think of Hammer of Ruin in the side? If the deck gets really popular?
Yeah I think it's just crazy enough to work. Equipment will be showing up in both this deck and White Weenie, so a 1-of in the board seems like a good call to me.
I've considered it, simply because I never dislike seeing one. I guess the logic is that the list is so dang tight to begin with, it's hard to figure out where to put it. I actually began testing a 3rd Stoneforge Mystic mystic last night, just because I love it, and then really starting considering upping the count of either collar or sledge by 1 as well.
I agree with this. Mystic is excellent as a 3-of, as I feel equipment really pushes this deck over the edge. Cvipertooth, I have always admired your insight, and I do believe that you are spot-on yet again.
I think the point of the deck was to go baneslayer-less; I'd be completely gobsmacked if they didn't test it.
An idea I had (untested mind) is to throw in 1-2 Uril, the Miststalker. He's got a fat body for 5, is on colour, and not only can he not be targetted, but he can be equipped. Uril + behemoth sledge is made out of 100% win.
I don't quite understand this... If Baneslayer doesn't fit the curve, then Uril definitely doesn't fit the curve.
I don't even play this deck and I know that conceptually Stoneforger should be an auto 4-of (of, not off). The difference between stoneforger and, say, steelshaper's gift is that Stoneforger has a body to go with it. While Gift was card parity at best, and a TERRIBLE topdeck if you didn't have a creature Stoneforger IS that creature AND it is card advantage. It's a 1 casting cost Squire with a nifty, insta-into-play equipment ability. Which is nice if you have 5 mana open, play stoneforger, grab an equip, and keep 3 open for flickerwisp/StP and end up not needing them.
Ignore this situation as A) no haste and B) 5 mana floating? Yeah right. Still applies to the next turn though.
Actually, I agree with everything Volt is saying. There's NO reason people should still be playing Isamaru, and I think Figure is absolutely terrible. 4-of Mom is much more important, and it opens up slots for more hate, like PtE (counter-productive with our mana denial package, I realize), or (shoot me for saying this) harm's way if your *sole* reason for keeping those 1 drops is to answer Lackey. There are much better cards that fill the same role. Hell you could even trade Mom with Lackey if you had to, I personally wouldn't kick myself for makign that trade.
Volt is actually saying that Figure is very good as a 2-of. But anyways, I can't see why you would say that Isamaru is absolutely terrible if you have never played this deck. I think if you play the deck, you will realize that Path is quite awful... I agree that Mother of Runes is indeed quite good, I just think Isamaru is decent as well.
Mangara/Karakas is not a cutesie combo. If you get it online, especially with Vial in play at 3, you win. Yes it is more mana intensive and fragile than simply beating face with large creatures, but there are decks for people who want to do that. After playing with and against this deck tons, it would be a mistake to take out Mangara and Karakas. Some people underestimate it because Mangara is the primary target for discard and removal. If you didn't have Mangara, the next best creatures would be the targets of removal instead. Also, this deck is not completely an aggro deck. Isamaru is occassionally quite good, because he can fog and wield equipment. The fogging aspect should not be underestimated. I can understand much of the complaints about Karakas and the such if you are approaching this deck like white weenie or zoo, but that is not at all what this deck is.
I just don't understand why Figure of Destiny is good in Legacy... He's a 1/1 for 1, 2/2 for 2, and 4/4 for 5. He's not going to be any bigger than a 4/4. On top of all that, he is super color-intensive. If Mangara is 'clunky' then I don't see why someone would run Figure. Mangara wins so many games if you get him and Karakas online. Without Mangara/Karakas it is essentially not a Death and Taxes deck.
I am guessing this is because you wait until enough copies have resolved to get you to 1 or 2 life, then you sac.
I got better draws for sure in game 1. He just wasn't able to play anything because I got double Sinkhole and then beat face with Stalker. I'm not sure if he was running Sinkholes, as he never saw them against me. He played a Tidehollow Sculler to steal my Goyf for a while game 2, but I killed it about 2 turns later. That card is not very good against me since I was packing a relatively high amount of removal.
Dream Halls
NO Bant
B/w Deadguy
I was very pleased with the performance of the deck. My Land Destruction Package definitely played as the MVP in this mini-tournament. I won via LD in 1 game against Deadguy, 1 game against Bant, and both games against Dreams Halls. I know it's not for everyone, but my 4-of Vindicate really seemed to do the trick!
This statement shows why Nighthawk is often sub-par. If they bolt Garruk, you still have a beast from it. If they bolt Siege-Gang, you still have 3 little goblins. If they bolt Nighthawk, you have nothing. I see Nighthawk as a relatively effective SB card, but the fact that it can go 1-for-1 at best makes it not too great in a deck that relies on card advantage from its creatures.
Yeah I think it's just crazy enough to work. Equipment will be showing up in both this deck and White Weenie, so a 1-of in the board seems like a good call to me.
I agree with this. Mystic is excellent as a 3-of, as I feel equipment really pushes this deck over the edge. Cvipertooth, I have always admired your insight, and I do believe that you are spot-on yet again.
I don't quite understand this... If Baneslayer doesn't fit the curve, then Uril definitely doesn't fit the curve.
Volt is actually saying that Figure is very good as a 2-of. But anyways, I can't see why you would say that Isamaru is absolutely terrible if you have never played this deck. I think if you play the deck, you will realize that Path is quite awful... I agree that Mother of Runes is indeed quite good, I just think Isamaru is decent as well.