Sorry if the formatting of this post is off, it’s copied from a Reddit post I made. With GP Toronto looming around the corner with a modern main event, I decided to play a little less vintage on MTGO and instead get some reps in with modern Naya Burn, one of the decks I’ve had the most practice with. I started playing the deck not long after Eidolon was printed, so I’ve been around long enough to remember the rise to tier 1, Nacatls and Atarka’s Commands coming into and out of popularity, and recently the printing of Inspiring Vantage to smooth out the mana base. One thing that I love about the deck, though, is that it really hasn’t changed much over the last few years, making it somewhat easy to dust off and pick up where I left off. I saw what I consider to be a pretty standard list make 9th place at the SCG open over the weekend, so I ‘sleeved’ it up on MTGO last night and joined a friendly league. I ended up going 5-0 (10-3). I have a YouTube channel that I like to post my matches to and I love talking about gameplay decisions, matchups, sideboarding, etc., so I figured I’d write up a small report to talk about the games and link the videos in case anyone was interested.
Here’s the list from the SCG Open: [Burn by Mario Torres - 9th Place SCG Colombus](http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=118051)
One note I’ll make is that I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to keep the Grim Lavamancer in the mainboard or swap it out for a Shard Volley. I like cards that I can top deck and win with, and I’ve usually played a single Shard Volley over Grim Lavamancer in the past for that reason. However, with the popularity of Jeskai, Storm, Humans, Affinity, and Infect, I figured it might be nice to have a source of repeatable, uncounterable damage that can also be used to control the battlefield.
On to the matches.
**Match 1: BG “The Rock”**
[Video Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1HpuHJ9kRw)
Game 1 (Play) – No creatures but 2 lands and 5 “deal 3” spells. My opponent mulligans to 6. I start firing off my spells and my opponent plays Tarmogoyf into Liliana of the Veil. I get the opponent to 2 life while not drawing more land and have to discard a Rift Bolt and Searing Blaze to Liliana. They start crashing in and play Scavenging Ooze. My last two draws are Searing Blaze to get them to 1, then Sacred Foundry to concede the game.
Sideboard: +2 Rest in Peace, -2 Searing Blaze. Event though they play large creatures like Tarmogoyf and potentially delve creatures, I often find myself discarding Deflecting Palm to Liliana of the Veil before I can catch the opponent during combat, not to mention it’s hard to catch them off guard with Inquisition and Thoughtsieze, so I’d rather have cards that can reliably be cast for damage in topdeck mode.
Game 2 (Play) – Another 2 land, 5 spell hand, but this time creature heavy with Goblin Guide, Swiftspear, and 2 Eidolon. On the play Eidolon seems very strong with an aggressive Goblin Guide start, so I keep and play Goblin Guide into Goblin Guide (that I drew) and Swiftspear while my opponent finds basics to Thoughtsieze an Eidolon away and play another turn 2 Tarmogoyf. On turn 3 I draw a land, play Lava Spike and Eidolon, then swing in with the team to put the opponent down to 2 and lock them out of the game.
Sideboard: No Change
Game 3 (Draw) – Opponent mulligans to 5 and I keep a risky one-lander with double Goblin Guide and Rest in Peace that I can cast with Inspiring Vantage once I draw my second land. Opponent leads basic forest into Field of Ruin and a 0/1 Tarmogoyf while I run out a Goblin Guide and bolt the Goyf from the battlefield since I don’t draw my second land, instead finding a third Goblin Guide. My opponent plays another Field of Ruin and I find my second Inspiring Vantage to cast both Goblin Guides and swing in. My opponent uses a Field of Ruin on one of my lands to find a black source, but ultimately concedes to the threat of my three Guides and a full grip against their low life total and zero board presence.
1-0 (2-1)
**Match 2: 4-Color Death’s Shadow**
[Video Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGAFXYZ1Hxc)
Game 1 (Play) – I keep 3 lands and a solid hand of Lavamancer, Goblin Guide, Searing Blaze, and Rift Bolt while the opponent mulligans to 6. I start swinging with Goblin Guide while casting Grim Lavamancer and suspending Rift Bolt while my opponent Serum Visions in to Thoughtsieze with an upright fetch available for my turn. I play another Goblin Guide I drew and hold up a Searing Blaze with a fetchland onboard. The opponent concedes on their 3rd turn with 7 cards in hand.
Sideboard: +2 Rest in Peace, +2 Deflecting Palm, -4 Searing Blaze. Rest in Peace helps suppress delve creatures and value from Snapcaster Mage while Deflecting Palm can be a blowout if they go for a kill with Death’s Shadow. Unfortunately, the card is a little weaker vs Shadow since they often get a few good looks and your hand and can sideboard into Liliana of the Veil, but I felt it was better than the Searing Blazes which often become a conditional Lightning Bolt that costs 2 mana against their large creatures.
Game 2 (Draw) – I begrudgingly keep a hand with Goblin Guide, Swiftspear, and Lightning Bolt with 4 land since 1) I can bank on them doing damage to themselves to grow their Shadows, 2) it leaves me with blockers after a few attacks, 3) Lightning Bolt is a strong card to hold up for closing the game at instant speed, and 4) I can reasonable assume I’ll draw a burn spell or two. The opponent leads with two tapped shocklands while I run out my creatures and hold up bolt mana. I’ve seen a Death’s Shadow and Stubborn Denial from Guide triggers so far, so I know that I will likely have at least one spell countered in the near future. By the fourth turn I’ve drawn 2 more lands (when it rains it pours), a lightning helix, and finally a second Goblin Guide while my opponent has Street Wraithed into a 7/7 Shadow at 6 life. This is where these games get fun, since any attack at their life total that does not kill them could ultimately lead to a lethal Death’s Shadow if they have Temur Battle Rage. I decide to play the Goblin Guide and attack in banking on them not having a Temur Battle Rage, which works out since they Pyroclasm on their next turn. With only two mana up, they cannot Battle Rage and still hold up Stubborn Denial, so I take 11 damage to go down to 7. With my opponent at two life me with only a Lightning Helix and two lands in hand, I really just need to draw anything that can deal damage on my turn. I find Goblin Guide and with their only upright lands being Breeding Pool and a Misty Rainforest, there is no way that they can fetch into an upright shock to Bolt or Push to answer the Guide.
2-0 (4-1)
**Match 3: 8-Whack Goblins**
[Video Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sUjaKrm0UM)
Game 1 (Draw) – I lose the die roll and decide to keep a one land hand since 1) I’m going to see a draw step, 2) I have a Goblin guide and Swiftspear I can run out, 3) the land is an Inspiring Vantage so no matter what land I draw I can cast the pair of Lightning Helix in my hand. I immediately regret my decision when I see my opponent lead off with basic mountain into Foundry Street Denizen. Goblins can be very explosive, and with only a single land in my hand I don’t think I’ll be able to race on the draw. I draw a Rift Bolt, not land, and run my Goblin Guide out, while they follow up with a Mountain and Mogg Warmarshal. Fortunately I draw a mountain on my second turn. I run out my Swiftspear , they block the Goblin Guide with Warmarshal to get a token and save 2 damage, and I bolt the Foundry Street Denizen before damage to gain prowess and try to keep their board somewhat clear and buy some time to cast the Lightning Helixes. Fortunately, the opponent can’t find a third land and has to run out another Warmarshal. I draw my second Skullcrack in a row and fire off a Helix to put them to 8 during combat while they chump with Warmarshal. The opponent continues to miss land drops, but is able to kick a Bushwhacker and attack with everyone but a single blocker to put me to 4 life. I draw a Rift Bolt instead of a land and have to leave my team back to block while holding up Lightning Helix. Now, I’ve seen a Reckless Bushwhacker off a Goblin Guide trigger, so I have to hope that they don’t rip a land to surge. I luck out and all they can do is swing with the team and play a Mogg Fanatic. I untap to find my third land, a shock that I can’t play upright. It does, however, give me landfall to Searing Blaze the Mogg Fanatic, their only blocker, and get in for lethal with the Guide and Swiftspear. I really felt like I stole that game.
Sideboard: +2 Kor Firewalker, -2 Skullcrack. Kor Firewalker is an obvious house against a mono-red creature strategy and with very few ways for my opponent to gain life except through something like Dragon’s Claw, I felt that Skullcrack was the weakest card.
Game 2 (Draw) – My opening hand is 4 land with no turn 1 play but includes Kor Firewalker, so it’s a keep. My opponent leads with Legion Loyalist into a kicked Bushwhacker, an odd turn 2 play that tells me that they either have a hand loaded with Bushwhackers or direct damage spells like Goblin Grenade. I run out the Kor Firewalker and my opponent doesn’t play another spell for the rest of the match despite finding their third land. They scoop on my third turn, presumably unable to beat Kor Firewalker.
3-0 (6-1)
**Match 4: BR Reanimator**
[Video Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5o26bW1da4)
Game 1 (Draw) – I mulligan 5 lands away to find two land, two Lightning Helix, a Goblin Guide, and a Lava Spike. The opponent leads with Bloodstained Mire and passes while I run out a Goblin Guide. I see a Tormenting Voice off the Guide trigger, so I realize that I’m not playing Grixis Shadow but some kind of graveyard strategy. The opponent discards Griselbrand off the Tormenting Voice and now I know that I’m playing a Goryo’s Vengeance, Through the Breach style deck. I’ve drawn a Skullcrack by this point, so I begin to hold mana up during the opponent’s turn and play my spells at the opponent’s end step. They miss their 3rd land drop even with casting Faithless Looting, so I hold the Goblin Guide back on my turn to try and prevent them from gaining a land off the trigger and a draw off the Neonate they’ll sac after blocks. I work the opponent down to 3 life, but I get greedy and decide to fire off the Skullcrack during my turn. I neglected to notice Obdezat in the grayeyard from the Faithless Looting, and the opponent plays Goryo’s Vengeance targeting the Ghost Council to go to 5 life, then to 2. When they untap, they Goyro’s the Griselbrand into play and attack to go to 9. However, they can’t follow up over the next few turns and I’m able to recover and burn them out with some good top decks.
Sideboard: +2 Path to Exile, +2 Rest in Peace, +2 Deflecting Palm, -4 Searing Blazes, -2 Lightning Helix. Path to Exile can get rid of Obdezat or Griselbrand while Deflecting Palm can prevent lifegain from Griselbrand and deal an extensive amount of damage depending on if Griselbrand or Emrakul are attacking, and Rest in Peace shuts of any Goyro’s Vengeance lines. Bringing in a bunch of 2 CMC spells means I’m more likely to cut 2 CMC spells, especially with competing white sources. Searing Blaze is usually a 2 CMC conditional Lightning Bolt in this matchup and Lightning Helix competes for white mana, and the life gain seemed irrelevant against a possible Emrakul.
Game 2 (Draw) – The opponent mulligans to 5 and I see a solid 7 including 2 land with access to white mana, two Swiftspears, and some other business spells. No silver bullets, but an aggressive hand nonetheless and a solid start against a mulligan to 5. The opponent plays land and passes, while I draw a Skullcrack and play Swiftspear. Over the next few turns I hold up Skullcrack mana while the opponent plays Pentad Prism into a Neonate, sacrificing and discarding Emrakul followed by Goryo’s Vengeance in response to the shuffle trigger. I fire off a lightning bolt before I need to sacrifice my board and do not fetch to improve my odds of drawing land. Down to 3 life. I draw a Bloodstained Mire and fetch for a Mountain since I can’t bring a shock in upright, then cast Monastery Swiftspear to begin applying pressure again while the opponent only has one card in hand. The opponent untaps, plays Through the Breach using the mana from Pentad Prism to put a hasty Simian Spirit Guide into play and finish me off. Sometimes the opponent just has everything they need, even on a mulligan to 5.
Sideboard: No Changes
Game 3 (Play) – I keep an opening 7 with 3 lands, Swiftspear, Eidolon, Deflecting Palm, and Boros Charm. Eidolon should put a lot of pressure on them if they need to dig for the combo and Deflecting Palm could be a silver bullet on Emrakul and a Skullcrack, deal 7 on Griselbrand. The opponent mulligans to 6 and I lead off with Swiftspear. The opponent Loots on their turn, putting Obdezat in the yard. I decide to take the less aggressive route and leave Skullcrack mana up, and my opponent untaps to play Neonate. It appeared they missed a land drop, since they sacrificed the Neonate without saving it for a blocker and played a Boseiju that they presumably drew off the Neonate. I Boros Charm at the end of the turn, untap and play my third land, Lava Spike, and continue to hold up Skullcrack. They pass through their turn with only their two lands, and I Skullcrack at end step. The opponent plays Goyro’s Vengeance on Obdezat, gains two life, but doesn’t exile it at their end step. They messaged me and stated MODO might not have given them the option, so it might have been a MODO bug. I draw a Rest in Peace and decide to play it. With only two land, one that produces colored mana, the opponent is pretty far away from playing Through the Breach. At 6 life and Obdezat exiled at my end step from the Goryo’s trigger, the opponent concedes on their turn.
4-0 (8-2)
**Match 5: UG Infect**
[Video Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_IP42wZeck)
Game 1 (Draw) – On the draw again, I keep a hand with 3 lands and Goblin Guide, Swiftspear, Skullcrack, and Boros Charm. A solid hand against an unknown deck. The opponent leads basic forest and passes. I put them on some sort of ramp deck and I’m happy that I drew a 2nd Goblin Guide. I play one of the Guides and attack, revealing Glistener Elf. Infect. I look at my hand with no targeted burn spells and really hope I start drawing bolts. The opponent untaps and plays an Inkmoth Nexus and Spellskite. I follow up with an Eidolon that I drew the turn before and am forced to pass. The opponent swings in for 5 with Inkmoth Nexus pumped up by the Might of Old Krosa, and I’m at 5 poison. Grim Lavamancer shows up late to the party on my draw step and without any removal and the Spellskite in play, the opponent is free to hit me again with a Mighty Nexus.
Sideboard: +2 Path to Exile, +2 Deflecting Palm, +3 Destructive Revelry, -3 Lava Spike, -4 Boros Charm. The strategy here is to take out cards that can’t interact with their creatures and replace them with more removal. I could have taken out the Skullcrack instead of Boros Charm, but Boros Charm competes with white mana with Deflecting Palm and Path to Exile.
Game 2 (Play) – We are very much the control deck in this matchup. It’s impossible to lose if you can keep the board clear, so the best hand is one that can put a creature or two on the board to apply pressure and then a ton of removal. Fortunately, I start with a hand with 2 land, Goblin Guide, Path to Exile, Searing Blaze, Rift Bolt, and Skullcrack. I play the mountain to keep the chance of drawing another land higher and get in with the Goblin Guide. The opponent plays Glistener Elf and passes. I draw an Eidolon, fetch for a Sacred Foundry, and Searing Blaze it, getting into the red zone with the Goblin Guide again. The opponent plays Inkmoth Nexus and passes. This gives me the perfect opportunity to untap and play Eidolon. An Inkmoth is slow, requiring a lot of mana to activate and pump, so I’m confident I will not die the next turn. The opponent follows up with Pendelhaven and gets in with the Inkmoth, pumping it to a 2/3 with the Pendelhaven. I untap, draw a third land, and hold up Path to Exile while suspending Rift Bolt. I get in for 4 more on the ground and put the opponent to 7. The opponent untaps, doesn’t play a land, and concedes.
Sideboard: +3 Lavaspike, -3 Skullcrack. I decide that I’d rather have the velocity of Lavaspike than the instant speed of Skullcrack. I’m not sure that this is correct or not, but I figure most of my removal will be cast on my turn so holding up removal on theirs might not be that important.
Game 3 (Draw) - My opening hand is 2 fetchlands, 2 Lightning Bolt, Searing Blaze, Skullcrack, and Lavaspike. With 3 removal spells including one that I can cast turn 1, I keep. The opponent leads with Pendelhaven into Noble Hierarch, and on my turn I draw a Lava Spike, fetch for a Sacred Foundry, and Bolt the bird. The opponent fetches for a Breeding Pool and plays Blighted Agent. I draw an Inspiring Vantage, fetch for a Stomping Ground, and Searing Blaze the Agent. Both my opponent and I are at 14 life now. My opponent plays a Forest and another Blighted Agent, holding up Pendelhaven. I untap and draw Lightning Helix, a perfect draw to get me back to two removal spells. I use the Lightning Bolt and Helix to remove the Agent through a Vines of Vastwood. The opponent untaps and plays a Glistener Elf. I am out of removal now, but the opponent only has one card and I still have 3 “deal 3” spells. However, with Pendelhaven, it would only take two pump spells for the Glistener to be lethal. Fortunately, I draw a Path to Exile, clear the Elf away, and hold up Skullcrack. The opponent plays a land and passes, one card in hand. I Skullcrack them to 11, untap, and draw a Rift Bolt. I use my 3 mana to cast both Lava Spike (glad I sided those back in!) and suspend Rift Bolt. The opponent topdecks Kitchen Finks and goes back to 7, now with a threat on the board. I cast the suspended Rift Bolt, draw another and cast it to put the opponent to 1. At 14 life, I begin to worry that the opponent could win through traditional damage if I don’t draw well the next turn or maybe two. Fortunately I draw a Searing Blaze to close out the last point of damage.
5-0 (10-3)
The list felt really well tuned. It's a small sample size in the friendly leagues, but a good start to my GP testing.
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starman21789 posted a message on Hour Patch for MWS?You can find a text spoiler as well as pictures pulled from Mythic Spoiler on my GitHub repo here: https://github.com/ajriddle/Magic-Files. A few notes about the files:Posted in: Third Party Products
-Aftermath cards are named like Struggle/Survive in the spoiler and like StruggleSurvive.full.jpg in the pics folder. The card types and mana costs are written the same way as the names in the spoiler.
-The text on the aftermath cards are formatted like
"Return target creature card with converted mana cost 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. ---Aftermath #(Cast this spell only from your graveyard. Then exile it.)# Target creature gets +2/+0 and gains haste until end of turn."
-The Rarity, Artist, and Flavor Text fields are missing (or blank)
-The Card # field does not match the actual card number from the set, it's just the order the cards were in on the Cockatrice xml spoiler.
-There is only one of each basic in the spoiler and the pics (the full art).
-Some of the text in the spoiler runs together where there should be a new line. I tried to fix some of it, but no guarantees. You won't notice it as much if you use the pics.
Let me know if you have any questions or comments. Enjoy. -
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TripleAgent posted a message on Esper/UB controlLately, with my build of Esper, Saheeli is a cakewalk, BG is draw dependent, but on paper, should be easy, and Mardu is draw dependent. I just went to 4 Fatal Push main, but I'm having a lot of consistency issues. I'm on 2 Anticipate right now, after trying 0 Jim Davis style and compromising to 2. I also went down to 26 MD land with Blighted Fen (VERY good so far) in the SB to mitigate flooding. I seem to lose from running out of gas and not having enough removal mid game. Unsure of what to do next. I think I will try Dynavolt Tower as repeatable removal since I have no energy uses besides my 2 Aether Hub.Posted in: Standard Archives -
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ciago92 posted a message on Esper/UB controlPosted in: Standard ArchivesQuote from jocispr »I think that white can be splashed for some cards that are needed like:
1. Anguished Unmaking - Instant removal for any combo strategy
2. Manlands - Life gains
3. Board wipe - we have one that exiles all creatures and 2 that destroy all creatures
4. Sorin - Alternate Win condition, Kills walkers, life gains, additional draw
Blessed Alliance is supremely versatile and is almost worth splashing white on it's own. -
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TBuzzsaw posted a message on Control in Kaladesh StandardHonestly I would love to play Dovin in a BWu list, but the more I thought about it the more I thought Nahiri is better in that slot going Mardu instead. It's the same BW list with the red splash for just Nahiri. Her -2 is better in an aggressive meta that might be full of vehicles and UR Fevered Visions and just has better applications in an unknown meta. Her +2 is card advantage. Her ultimate can fetch Emrakul or a Gearhulk.Posted in: Standard Archives
Oath of Liliana into Nahiri just sounds much more back breaking against aggro than Dovin anyways, not to mention threatens to end the game when she ultimates. -
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xXTuff_GhostXx posted a message on WB ControlHere's what I want to sleeve up for game day. It uses most of the old B/W synergies, but I added a few new toys to play with, mainly the Gearheads.Posted in: Standard Archives
DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Planeswalkers (11)
3 Liliana, The Last Hope
4 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Ob Nixilis Reignited
2 Sorin, Grim Nemesis
Creatures (5)
3 Cataclysmic Gearhulk
2 Noxious Gearhulk
Spells (18)
4 Grasp of Darkness
3 Transgress the Mind
2 Oath of Liliana
3 Live Fast
2 Anguished Unmaking
2 Ruinous Path
2 Descend Upon the SinfulLands (26)
2 Blighted Fen
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Shambling Vent
4 Forsaken Sanctuary
5 Plains
7 SwampSideboard(15)
2 Linvala, the Preserver
3 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Transgress the Mind
1 Ruinous Path
2 Rising Miasma
3 Lost Legacy
2 Blessed Alliance
I've heard people say that this deck is done with out Languish, but I disagree. The core engine of a deck like this has always been the W/B planeswalkers, which I believe to be among the most powerful in standard. There is a natural curve of 3-4-5-6 cmc walkers in these 2 colors which lends to just a powerhouse of a deck. While losing Languish hurts, there are enough wrath effects in the format for the deck to be more than competitive, in my opinion. Not only that, but with collected company gone, Languish actually isn't as mandatory as it once was.
Rising Miasma fits a nice sideboard niche of a sweeper for those low to the ground, spirits or humans decks which I'm sure will be prevalent. Humans no longer has that critical mass of 1 drops it once did, so again the necesity of something like languish isn't there any more, and Miasma could help plug the whole against some of the very low to the ground beat down decks that will pop up (I imagine something in the vein of R/W).
The new Gearhulks are monsters, and have great synergy with both Liliana, The Last Hope and give 2 types for Descend Upon the Sinful to hit delirium. On top of that they are just amazing value cards that fit very nicely with what this deck is trying to do.
Currently the list is very generic, with just 2 copies each of Ruinous Path, Anguished Unmaking, and Oath of Liliana at the 3 cmc spot. I honestly don't know which removal will be best when the KLD hits, so I figure a hedge for now is best with 2 of each, and some extra copies in the sideboard. My other big question mark is how effective and popular vehicles are going to be, which are actually quite powerful against walkers. If vehicles seem to be gaining steam, then removal cards like Stasis Snare, Blessed Alliance, and Anguished Unmaking will need to be included, as they are all very effective at dealing with vehicles. In fact, with Dromoka's Command gone Stasis Snare might become the best removal in the game, only fearing unmaking to deal with it.
No more Eldrazi splash and the absence of Duress makes hand disruption a lot hard, so I think 4 copies of Transgress in the 75 will be mandatory, along with some number of copies of the new all star Lost Legacy which is arguably a better version of Infinite Obliteration dealing with spells like Part The Waterveil or Rise From the Tides that will still be around.
The final question mark is going to be the role of energy in a shell like control. I honestly don't believe energy will be important enough to have a card like Die Young actually be considered when you have Grasp of Darkness, but until the whole set is released that remains to be seen. Demon of Dark Schemes certainly has a lot of power behind it, and could potentially be a much better SB option against spirits than what I have, but other than that the whole energy thing just seems too expensive (both in deck building and actual mana and energy costs) to be legitimate, when cards like Grasp are readily available and offer more raw power.
I'm going to keep testing, as of now the curve is a little high, but I suspect standard to dramatically slow down once KLD hits, love to hear any comments. -
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coachrx posted a message on BW ControlI think that is the case. I might flip flop a card or two in the sideboard, but for the most part this main deck is solid. I really haven't felt so comfortable with my chances against a random opponent in standard in a while. I think all the discussion and evolution at this point is on a local meta level which is boring to talk about.Posted in: Standard Archives -
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LG_ posted a message on BW ControlIssue with outburst is that avacyn counters it after turn 5. Languish gets around that.Posted in: Standard Archives -
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tchntm43 posted a message on BW ControlThe main reason I dropped Kalitas is that so many of my removal spells are exile effects, so you don't get the zombie tokens. 3/4 lifelink is not terrible, but for 4 cmc we can do better.Posted in: Standard Archives - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
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I have had much the same results as you with my build of Esper. I won my Game Day, going 3-1-1 in the Swiss and beating BG aggro, GW, and RW Vehicles in the elimination rounds (I had lost to the RW Vehicles deck in the Swiss). I think control will continue to have consistency issues with the present metagame (drawing the wrong half of the deck at the wrong time) and no big "I win" spells like Sphinx's Revelation. I do like the idea of a Blighted Fen in the SB, and I may try that against non-Vehicles decks.
I hope you have better results that I did with Dynavolt Tower. I was disappointed with it -- it just didn't seem to have as powerful an effect as it does in Jeskai or UR Control, since Harnessed Lightning is an additional energy benefit/generator that Esper and UB don't have.
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1. There are quite a number of times that I will Cloud, using Garruk's +1 ability, where I will wind up with 1 land out. I actually used to run a Tombstalker over Tarmogoyf with Death Cloud in old Extended, and Gurmag is a slight upgrade over Tombstalker simply because of the single B in the casting cost (and the rare occurrence where the 1 extra delve cost is relevant).
2. In the usual Cloud deck, there aren't really that many creatures for the opponent to worry about killing. I find that an early Goyf ALWAYS dies (just as an early Gurmag will always die), unless you are playing against a combo deck that doesn't care about an early Goyf, in which case the Goyf usually is a 2/3 or maybe a 3/4. A Gurmag will always be bigger than a Goyf in these situations, but it does take longer to cast. Post-Cloud is where the Gurmag is better than Goyf. I believe that the difference between a 4/5 (the standard mid-game Goyf) and a 5/5 (Gurmag) is huge, and I also believe that the difference between a 5/6 (also a potential mid-or late-game Goyf) and a 5/5 Gurmag is not all that significant. The 6th toughness point is simply not relevant after a Cloud.
So a Gurmag seems to me to be better than a Tarmogoyf in a deck in which you are actively trying to Cloud. If you are playing a mostly BG Rock-style deck with Death Cloud as an afterthought, then a Tarmogoyf makes more sense.
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I like your overall deck -- I took a somewhat similar aggro-midrange deck to a 14th place finish at the recent SCG Texas States. Some ideas about your deck:
1. I think I like you not having Sylvan Caryatid, but you do need to be careful about your mana requirements. I would agree to remove Brimaz because of the early double white cost. I would also question the Elspeth in the SB, without the Caryatids and running only 24 lands. If you are that set on bringing them in (I believe they are a maindeck only card, but I certainly can't argue with the power level) then you might want to add an extra land to the SB.
2. I would cut a Whip of Erebos. I like the advantage that it brings, but it is not essential to your plan and a second copy is a blank.
3. Erebos himself is not as good as he was before the last rotation. I tried to run him myself, but everyone has answers to him - Erase, Banishing Light, Utter End, Perilous Vault - especially the decks that you would want him in for.
Good luck to you!
2
2 Forest
1 Plains
4 Temple of Malady
1 Caves of Koilos
3 Temple of Silence
4 Llanowar Wastes
1 Mana Confluence
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Windswept Heath
Creatures - 21
4 Fleecemane Lion
4 Siege Rhino
4 Sylvan Caryatid
2 Wingmate Roc
3 Courser of Kruphix
2 Rakshasa Deathdealer
2 Anafenza, the Foremost
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
3 Abzan Charm
3 Hero's Downfall
2 Utter End
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 Bile Blight
1 Murderous Cut
1 Utter End
1 Bile Blight
3 Thoughtseize
3 Drown in Sorrow
3 Nyx-Fleece Ram
1 End Hostilities
1 Garruk, Apex Predator
1 Silence the Believers
1 Liliana Vess
I was satisfied with all of my choices. I wanted to go a little more aggro than the usual controlish builds, so I added 2 Rakshasa Deathdealers to the main, and I was impressed with how it came down on T2 or T3 and either traded with an early creature or burn spell (that would have gone to the face or killed a more important guy)from aggro, blocked a fattie indefinitely, or served as an abyss in the late game until they ran out of chump blockers.
Here were my matches:
R1 vs RWu Aggro - won 2-0, 1-0 overall
R2 vs Jeskai Tempo (he made Top 8) - lost 1-2, 1-1 overall
R3 vs mirror - won 2-1, 2-1 overall
R4 vs Red Devotion - won 2-1, 3-1 overall
R5 vs Junk Reanimator - won 2-1, 4-1 overall
R6 vs Red Aggro Burn - won 2-0, 5-1 overall
R7 vs GR Devotion (he made Top 8) - lost 1-2, 5-2 overall
R8 vs GR Devotion - won 2-1, 6-2 overall
R1 was against a new player, and I crushed him with multiple Siege Rhinos.
R2 was a close match, he overran me with Goblin Rabblemaster in the first game and I won with lifegain from Nyx-Fleece Ram and wrecked his goblin hoard with Drown in Sorrow game 2. I unfortunately never saw any Rhinos or enough removal game 3.
R3 we steamrolled each other with great draws in the first 2 games, and in G3 a creature stalemate was broken with a topdecked Liliana Vess, who searched up a Silence the Believers to kill 2 Siege Rhinos for the win.
R4 was another set of great draws by each of us in the first 2 games, and then in G3 I was able to set up a back-breaking End Hostilities to kill his board and my monstroused Fleecemane Lion and Elspeth tokens killed him quickly.
R5 Anafenza, the Foremost did a lot of work, obviously with her exile ability but also with her add counters ability -- 6/6 monstrous FML are nice. In G3 I had to essentially kill him twice, when Resolute Archangel gained him 16 life.
R6 was scary with all the burn he had, but 2 Siege Rhinos won game 1. G2 I was stuck on 3 lands for quite a while. At 2 life, I found a 4th land and went up to 5 from the Rhino, he untapped, cast Stoke the Flames, and never drew any more burn for 3 turns while I killed him.
R7 I was paired up against one of the 3 6-0s, and lost a close game 3 to topdecked big monsters vs my topdecked lands.
R8 I got my revenge against the GR Devotion deck. After (yet again) 2 blowouts with great draws the first 2 games, in G3 on a static board I revealed a Rhino, Elspeth, and Utter End for his Soul of Shandalar with my Courser of Kruphix, and he drew nothing for those 3 turns, for the win.
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I really like that maindeck, it's very close to my current list, with the exception of the manabase. I have used Frank Karsten's mana analysis on Channel Fireball and it is very good http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/frank-analysis-how-many-colored-mana-sources-do-you-need-to-consistently-cast-your-spells/. With that in mind, here is my suggested manabase:
1 Plains
4 Temple of Malady
3 Temple of Silence
1 Caves of Koilos
4 Llanowar Wastes
1 Mana Confluence
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Windswept Heath
7 Temples
5 Painlands
11 CIPT lands
18 black sources
18 green sources
13 white sources
plus 4 Caryatids
With BB and GG needed in the first 2-3 turns, Frank says 19-20 sources are needed. He counts fragile mana guys as half sources, so my guess is that Caryatids should mostly make up the difference. I just can't imagine that any fewer than this number of black sources will be enough to cast Bile Blight or Hero's Downfall WITH REGULARITY.
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1
R1 Junk Midrange, won 2-0
R2 UW Control, won 2-1
R3 GW Flash, punted game 1, lost 0-2
R4 UB Control, won 2-1
R5 UW Control, won 2-0
R6 UW Control, lost 0-2
R7 BW Midrange, won 2-0
4 Godless Shrine
4 Blood Crypt
4 Sacred Foundry
3 Mountain
3 Temple of Silence
1 Rakdos Guildgate
3 Temple of Triumph
3 Swamp
Creatures
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Desecration Demon
2 Obzedat, Ghost Council
3 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
2 Sin Collector
3 Dreadbore
1 Rakdos's Return
2 Chained to the Rocks
3 Anger of the Gods
1 Whip of Erebos
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Hero's Downfall
2 Magma Jet
3 Thoughtseize
1 Rakdos's Return
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Thoughtseize
2 Wear/Tear
1 Underworld Connections
1 Sire of Insanity
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2 Pithing Needle
2 Slaughter Games
2 Devour Flesh
1 Doom Blade
I liked the deck's configuration, but since I faced almost no aggro, some cards obviously under-performed (Magma Jet especially) but would have been better in a different meta.
Sire of Insanity won me one game outright, Elspeth won another, and Rakdos's Return won 2 others. Obzedat and Desecration Demon were outstanding all tournament. Of the removal spells, Hero's Downfall over-performed. Chandra was meh.
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I like your overall SB plans, however, think again about using Sire of Insanity against Jund. They might have better topdecks than us, but an even better reason is that with the other SB cards you are bringing in, you are most likely the control deck -- Assemble the Legion and Obzedat, Ghost Counsel are end-game winners that Jund does not have access to. Jund will probably be ahead on the board and most likely ahead on life (depending on whether Blood Baron has gone unchecked), so Sire is likely to be uncastable. I loved Sire for the first few months it was out, but it just doesn't have the same effect anymore. Unless your meta is overrun with control decks in general and Sphinx's Revelation in specific, I think Sire might be out altogether.
Also, think about running one Rakdos Keyrune main. The deck runs 1 6-drop, 7 5-drops, and 2 Olivia Voldarens (a 4-drop that really wants to be a 6-drop). It has helped me out quite a bit.