I'll help as Red Devotion is my main deck of choice the last 5 months.
Game one is honestly going to be really tough for the Monsters player. Red Devotion is always aiming to do bigger ambitious things, and possibly have more mana despite only have Nykthos as it's only acceleration over mana dorks. Game one pretty much has to be focused on value: Domri Rade, Xenagos, etc. Getting as much out of your cards is crucial because they could care less about your Polukranos and Stormbreath. Game one you will be pretty light on disruption, so if you have a way of getting rid of the turn 2 Frostburn Weird or turn 3 Boros Reckoner, do it. Removal past that point might be hopeless unless they kept a fair hand that is going at the speed of normal midrange.
Game 2 and 3 should be easier if you are siding in more Putrefy's and removal spells. You have to play the role of a control player; your creatures are pointless in the early and mid game. Take out some ramp, bring in more Mortars, Putrefy, and what else you have (Abrupt Decay, etc.)
As a RW Devotion player, I absolutely love the match-up against GR Monsters. Jund Monsters on the other hand can at least put up a fight, unlike GR. I hope I helped.
I was just going to post a thread asking why Polis Crusher isn't used by most people. Aggro is definitely not widely played, so I don't see why Polukranos is always seen as a necessary 4-of. It's not as big, but in lieu of -1/-1, it gets Trample and protection from important cards (Detention Sphere, Chained to the Rocks, Banishing Light). It also gets to just simply walk past: Gods (especially Thassa), Courser of Kruphix, Eidolon of the Great Revel, hell even Nyx-Fleece Ram. All of this happens BEFORE the reasonably cost Monstrous goes off, which only helps us more. I figured Polkuranos may be necessary in match-ups where they are being big and ambitious too, so I kept in 2. I'm sleeving up this deck:
You bring up a lot of good points about the Dryad Arbor/Griselbrand version. I still have yet to face an incredible amount of Grave hate in one single tournament, so I'm still going fearless with Spy. Though with a SCG Open next month, I may have my Arbor and Griselbrand's with me when I go down just in case.
I have a played a few small 4 round tournaments with it to success, and then a 6-round IQ where I started off 3-0 (to end 3-3). That is my only experience with a larger tournament, so I'll break down each round and its grave hate.
Esper Stonebold: 2-1. Rest in Peace game 2 after digging deep with 2 Brainstorm's proved to get there. Game 3 he finally drew RiP after a Jace activation, but I had a Narcomoeba, Nether Shadow, and handful of Zombies to bash in for lethal.
Death and Taxes: 2-0. I nut-hand him game 1. Game 2 I assume he's digging deep for RiP as he mulligans twice, and seems happy with his 5. I reveal 2 Chancellor of the Annex, and get a pretty speedy hand/bin. I get him turn 2 or 3, and he shows my the RiP in his hand. I'm assuming his hand was something like RiP and either a bunch of lands, 3 drops, or Swords he had no target for. I assume the obvious play would be play a 1 or 2 drop and have it countered from the 2 mana he couldn't afford, and then drop the RiP... Maybe he didn't think of that play, but he did mull to 5 and I won quickly so who knows.
Sneak and Show: get him game one like we should. Game 2 he drops a Grafdigger's Cage which i didn't have an answer to at the time. He then allows me to have an answer by playing Show and Tell. I figure bringing the Ashen Rider into play targeting the Cage would be the right play, as I will still have a turn or 2 to either deal with Emrakul with Ashen Rider leaving, or just win the game. He reveals a Sneak Attack instead, and I do a mental fist-pump as I destroy the cage and then win the game shortly after.
Jund: a turn 1 DRS just can't stop us when he have Street Wraith. Game 2 and 3 he just makes me stumble over my feet too much. Surgical my first discard, and then a R.E.B. my single Gitaxian Probe I hadn't sided out is just enough small disruption to make me not go off right away as he tempoes me out. Didn't really see much other hate beside the DRS game 1 and the Surgical game 3. I'm pretty sure Jund sides in Grafdigger and Nehil Spellbomb, but he didn't show them even with having a Dark Confident most of our match.
Lands: Game 1 and 3 a recurring Bojuka Bog is just too much. Exploration + Bojokua Bog + Wasteland his own bog so he can Life from the Loam it every turn or every other turn is just too much. It seems like a terrible match-up as they have this package game 1 and can fetch it out relatively fast. I was surprised I got game 2.
Painter: seems like a great match-up post board. Game 1 they should probably get us every time unless they can't hit mana or the combo, then post-board they have a singleton Rest in Peace (or 2, but this opponent said he only had 1). Game 2 we bring in Serra Avatar so they can't win, and we win on the swing-back (they mill our entire deck, we put Serra Avatar back in, pass to our turn to draw Avatar and perform our combo or just swing with the 4 Narcomoeba's, Ichord, and Nether Shaow in play) I have a fantastic Phantasmagorian hand and get a perfect Dredge alongside a Gitaxian Probe and am aimed to win next turn. He literally draws a Rest in Peace his 3rd turn right before he is to be dead. Nice rip
Deck felt great the whole day, and I was aimed to 4-0-2 into possibly 7th or 8th had I beat Jund that 4th round. But alas things like this happen. Even though almost every Legacy deck has a rational fear of the graveyard and pack some kind of hate, I still felt pretty good about going fearless Spy into that tournament. In smaller tournaments I have had mixed results. I have 4-1 and won the top with it before, and I had 1-3 into sadness as well. Overall in casual testing my win percentage is pretty damn high lately, so I figured if it's not broke, don't fix it.
I don't like cards like Torpor Orb or Anger of the Gods because they don't help us. How I navigate it every card must help us assemble the combo or straight up win. Our sideboard should be used as cards that make us ensure we combo, rather than be reactive. Only desperate circumstances like Affinity should we play cards like Drown in Sorrow should be played. If it didn't have the scry 1 on it then I would play something like Anger. Leyline is the only other card, because we have to respect decks like Jund, Junk, and 8-Rack because a well timed Thoughtseize (or one too many Liliana activations) can blow us out of the water. If we're going for pure speed, a lot of the time we can beat Pod so we don't even need Anger as often as some would like to think. The double red stretches our resources too much for too little result (i.e. not beating a deck we can already beat without it)
I like my sideboard full of cards like Echoing Truth, Patrician's Scorn, Tolaria West helps us fetch Pact of Negation and Boseiju to fight through Counterspells, etc. I was rocking Torpor Orb originally for Pod and Twin, but the more I played I realized our match-up is fine. We want to always be proactive towards our deck unless we are being hated out by Blood Moon, Spellskite, discard, etc.
I don't like the idea of Duress or Thoughtseize because it doesn't further our strategy. If you want information, Gitaxian Probe is better as we go one card deeper. Discard spells seem really bad past turn 2 (or turn 3 if we're on the play).
That is at least the way I approach the deck. It has been working well.
I've always played Chancellor in the main. I started with 3 and am now playing 4 the last few months. It makes too many decks stumble over themselves and definitely makes us on the Draw not hurt as much. I was loving it all day in the 6-round IQ in April. I have reanimated a few times for different reasons.
I've been considering cutting 2 Shambling Shell for more business. It happens more often that you have too many Dredgers in your hand or graveyard, though there are those fringe situations where you do need to Dredge 3. Thought most of the time he is the "safe bet" to remove for Ichorid after you have pitched Street Wraith. Though, after playing for more than a year, these situations come up though infrequently, so I'm willing to take that risk in a 7-9 rounds of Swiss.
This should be enough, though I'll have to start goldfishing to see how often it occurs that I don't have a Dredger. I don't mulligan with the deck (at all), especially since we are rocking Gitaxian Probe and Street Wraith. Maybe I'll do 3 Shell as a conservative start, and replace the missing Shell with something spicy like Elesh Norn. That card seems nuts (or win-more, I can't decide).
Another SCG Legacy Open, another Manaless in the top. Every previous list to top was Balustrade-build, but this time around Griselbrand got there. Plus 4 Dryad Arbor in the main.
I like Elesh Norn in his side. Worth trying it...
Kind of a weird sideboard. The more I play the deck, the more I dislike Leyline of Sanctity. I want to move away from it, but for now it is currently:
Finally getting around to finishing my Elves deck. Been playing it for about a year and a half, but after they changed the Legendary rule, I put it on the backburner because I couldn't afford more Cradles. Better living situation, finances, etc. means I can start tackling away at it. Just picked up my last Natural Order, and will be hopefully picking up a Wooded Foothills and Cradle this week. Here's what I'm thinking.
I'm attending a SCG Open in July, so I'm preparing for that. Shifting around my SB from my local tournament scene to a 9 or 10 round tournament.
Apparently Elderscale Wurm could be a thing in the sideboard. Being on the play, ramping into a N.O. grabbing that on turn 2/3 definitely help against a handful of decks. That over Progenitus?
I was originally rocking a Savannah in the MD with a Gaddock Teeg in the side, but I'm not too concerned about it right now. I think Mindbreak Trap fills that void. I took out 1 Trap though for a Pithing Needle. Seems like a necessary evil with the rise of Sneak & Show, and Miracles back on the scene.
It is the guitarists from Copeland with Mindy White (piano/vocals) from Lydia. Mindy is good friends with Haley Williams from Paramore and naturally has begun to sound like her after years of vocal lessons. Their first EP "Line 'em up" is a sincerely great alternative album that has awesome hints of 90s goodness and reverb and relaxing guitar effects. Their first two albums have gone much more the direction of pop a la Paramore I would say. I will link a song from each album.
Quick question, how the hell can you build a Painter sideboard when you play Manaless? I heard of it, but never saw an actual list.
Can someone provide?
EDIT: I think the guy I talked with confused Painter and HelmRiP combo. So yeah, how to play Helm without mana!?
I have no clue how that is possible without sideboarding lands, and even then... Are you sure they werent confusing the trick with Serra Avatar against Painter? They mill your entire deck, Serra Avatar gets shuffled back in, passed to your turn you draw and win because your entire yard is there? That's always a fun trick.
I have never heard of any other interaction with Painter, whether it is sideboarding into it, or anything.
Friday Night Grinder (5 rounds, single elimination)
2-1 Tarmo-Twin
2-0 UWR Control
2-0 Merfolk
1-2 BW Tokens
I was really disappointed in myself for messing up my combo during game 2 of a highly favorable match-up (I use to play Tokens, and combo always smashes). I messed up game 2 by going off with a Simian Spirit Guide to fuel my Ad Nauseam, and then when I was looking for the 3rd Spirit Guide in my deck, I realized I had sided it out as my final card. I couldn't go off because my lands were tapped and I couldn't use my Lotus Bloom and Pentad Prism because of his Stony Silence. I hate myself for tossing the game, take a risky hand game 3, and when he slams the Sword of War and Peace, I'm put on a clock that is too fast when I can't find another Angel's Grace or Unlife (he made me discard one). Pretty upset I was on such a good streak and lost a very favorable match-up, but it was lessons to be learned for the big tournament the next day. No byes, no bueno!
Grand Prix Minneapolis
2-0 Blood Moon
1-2 Affinity
2-0 UR Delver
1-2 Storm
2-1 Hatebears
2-0 8-Rack
0-2 Dega Midrange
4-3 drop
I get eliminated round 7 to once again my own stupid mistake. My head was pounding and I was pretty tired, but even with some medicine I couldn't get out of that funk. Dega seemed like Jund: they have 2 or 3 cards that hurt us badly (Inqusition, Thoughtseize, Liliana) and they just have a bunch of dead cards and beaters. Game 1 was rough, but game 2 was better for me as I started with a Leyline of Sanctity in play. That was a curve ball and gave me some turns. I was facing lethal because Mirran Crusader plus Elspeth Knight-Errant is a fast clock, so I play Serum Visions. I keep both scrys on top, because I had an Unlife in play and an Ad Nauseam in hand, I only had 1 source of black because Stony Silence had shut off my Prism. I draw my card next turn and realize I was full-on zombie mode; i needed to put the Gemstone Mine on top of my deck, not the Pentad Prism, because of Stony Silence. I rage to myself and realize I'm not going to day 2. Who knows, maybe I would of not won game 3, but it was a little irritating I eliminated myself from both tournaments after putting up decent results and winning some tough match-ups.
Quick summary of other losses:
Affinity: Mull to 5 game one, when he puts down an Inkmoth Nexus game one I knew I wouldnt get there. I had the win the next turn I died. I win game 2 fairly easy. Game 3 is the same as game one besides no mulligans... He has the win just one turn faster as all I had to do was put down a land from my hand and win. I really wish I had drawn one of my 3 Hurkyl's Recall that game.
Storm: Game one he wins, I can't do much but hope he has a crappy hand but he gets it turn 3. Game 2 I start with a Leyline, and being on the play helps to, so I get there pretty quick. Game 3 I start with double Leyline, but he combos off for 20 minutes and finds his Echoing Truth on the very bottom of the deck.
I was pretty happy with the deck, and think I will keep rocking it during the upcoming Modern PTQ season.
Thanks guys.
Ive been testing at the LGS all day.. what do i do for Twin? I brought in Favor of the Mighty, Dismember, slaughter pact, and Teferi but their Blood Moon blew me out. Do i say forget Favor and Teferi, dnd bring in Echoing Truth and Patricas Scorn?
Sideboard:
3 Leyline of Sanctity
3 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Teferi
1 Silence
1 Drown in Sorrow
1 Patricia's Scorn
1 Echoing Truth
1 Favor of the Mighty
1 Tolaria West
1 Slaughter Pact
1 Dismember
Lotus Bloom happens to me pretty often, but remember you can combo turn 3 without drawing a Bloom (or while it is Still on suspend). Hitting a land drop every turn, a turn 2 Pentad Prism, and having Simian Spirit Guide gives you 6 mana by turn 3. It isnt too frequent, but still pretty sweet the deck can flow like that naturally.
BTW Im playing this at G.P. Minneapolis this weekend. I have No byes so Im hoping yo have some luck at the friday night grinders, because 9 rounds is back breaking. Feeling ppretty good about my list after testing it for 2 months. I think the only matchup i found irritating was Scapeshift; my other Blue Match-ups felt pretty good. always have Silence for that Counterflux! Otherwise Pact usually is good enough to surprise them. All other matchupslike Pod feel pretty good. I wish I had tested against Affinity more, but im packing 3 Hurkyls Recall. Not sure if I Want to try Drown In Sorrow in that matchup.
I had a problem with lands because he always had access to Bojuka Bog, between Crop Rotation, Life from the Loam, and Wasteland. This is especially deadly with Exploration, as he can play the Bojuka Bog + Wasteland wreckage every turn. He plays Bojuka Bog, and then kills his Bog with Wasteland. Bring back the Loam every upkeep, play it, grab his 2 lands, rinse and repeat. I was able to get him game 2 as he was going at a snail's pace, but there was absolutely no hope game 1 and 3. I was really hoping to hit Leyline game 3 so he couldn't target me with Bojuka Bog, but alas. All those cards plus maindeck Intuition, it was a really tough match-up.
Jund I hadn't tested much against but I figured it was a great match-up. What caught me by surprise was he actually sided into Red Elemental Blast to counter my Gitaxian Probe. Usually I side out Gitaxian's, but I think during that match-up I kept 1 or 2 in, and he just happened to catch me by surprise. I didn't see him play much sideboard cards game 1 or 2 outside of Surgical, though I'm sure Grafdigger's Cage was in there somewhere. I will definitely have to test this match-up more.
On Chancellor: It is a fantastic Time Walk that a lot of people aren't prepared for. I caught a lot of the blue players like Esper and Sneak Attack by surprise, as they're usually wanting to Brainstorm or Ponder right away. We are one of the slower combo decks (though sometimes we shouldn't think of ourselves as combo) so putting them back a turn is nice. When I had double Chancellor my opponent didn't think of countering one of his other 1 or 2 drops, just so the Rest in Peace he had in hand would of hit sooner (though to be fair, he mulled to 5 so maybe he had a lot of lands and/or 3 drops).
It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while if Spy keeps getting hit by GY Hate (DRS, Surgical), my go-to card is Chancellor. It is pretty insane if it does hit the board.
I know the guy who beat Manaless Dredge in the top. I was really rooting for Manaless not only because it's my favorite Legacy deck, but because the BUG player is a notorious jerk in my city.
I played a Legacy IQ this weekend and went 3-3.
63 players, 6 Rounds. Columbia, MO.
I started off 3-0, and then suddenly a series of unfortunate events.
If you have any questions, go ahead and ask.
It felt really terrible losing to Jund as we have that match-up on lock. I won game 1, and game 2 he made me stumble over my feet too much with perfectly timed Surgical Extraction's. Game 3 was the first game I just couldn't dredge any business at all and was going off the back of Shambling Shell. I figured I still had a great chance at Top 8 as long as I didn't get paired against the Lands player who had been playing side-by-side with me all day. So naturally I got paired against him. That is possibly our toughest match-up I say.
I was still hoping at a shot for top 16 (playmat, prizes, etc.) and have some diginity to end on a 4-2 finish. I had been praying to play Imperial Painter all day as we literally can't lose the match. It should go: they win game 1 unless they keep a terrible 5-cards or I somehow win incredibly fast, and then I sideboard into Serra Avatar and laugh as they can't win and put our whole graveyard into the bin without milling us infinitely. So game 2 he mulligans to 5, and I'm on the draw, so this should be perfect, right? He literally admits to drawing his ONLY Rest in Peace on the 2nd turn, and I cry.
This is the list I played, and I wouldn't of changed a thing.
The best card all day was Chancellor of the Annex, and I'm not even joking. I'm going to make a 4-of in the main after seeing how it made so many people trip over themselves throughout the day.
Game one is honestly going to be really tough for the Monsters player. Red Devotion is always aiming to do bigger ambitious things, and possibly have more mana despite only have Nykthos as it's only acceleration over mana dorks. Game one pretty much has to be focused on value: Domri Rade, Xenagos, etc. Getting as much out of your cards is crucial because they could care less about your Polukranos and Stormbreath. Game one you will be pretty light on disruption, so if you have a way of getting rid of the turn 2 Frostburn Weird or turn 3 Boros Reckoner, do it. Removal past that point might be hopeless unless they kept a fair hand that is going at the speed of normal midrange.
Game 2 and 3 should be easier if you are siding in more Putrefy's and removal spells. You have to play the role of a control player; your creatures are pointless in the early and mid game. Take out some ramp, bring in more Mortars, Putrefy, and what else you have (Abrupt Decay, etc.)
As a RW Devotion player, I absolutely love the match-up against GR Monsters. Jund Monsters on the other hand can at least put up a fight, unlike GR. I hope I helped.
4 Sylvan Caratid
3 Courser of Kruphix
4 Polis Crusher
4 Stormbreath Dragon
3 Ghor-Clan Rampager
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Polukranos, World Eater
2 Dreadbore
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Mizzium Mortars
2 Xenagos, the Reveler
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Stomping Ground
3 Blood Crypt
4 Temple of Abandon
2 Temple of Malice
1 Mutavault
4 Forest
1 Mountain
3 Mistcutter Hydra
3 Nylea's Disciple
2 Rakdos's Return
2 Golgari Charm
1 Putrefy
1 Whip of Eberos
1 Witchstalker
1 Harness by Force
1 Mizzium Mortars
I have a played a few small 4 round tournaments with it to success, and then a 6-round IQ where I started off 3-0 (to end 3-3). That is my only experience with a larger tournament, so I'll break down each round and its grave hate.
Esper Stonebold: 2-1. Rest in Peace game 2 after digging deep with 2 Brainstorm's proved to get there. Game 3 he finally drew RiP after a Jace activation, but I had a Narcomoeba, Nether Shadow, and handful of Zombies to bash in for lethal.
Death and Taxes: 2-0. I nut-hand him game 1. Game 2 I assume he's digging deep for RiP as he mulligans twice, and seems happy with his 5. I reveal 2 Chancellor of the Annex, and get a pretty speedy hand/bin. I get him turn 2 or 3, and he shows my the RiP in his hand. I'm assuming his hand was something like RiP and either a bunch of lands, 3 drops, or Swords he had no target for. I assume the obvious play would be play a 1 or 2 drop and have it countered from the 2 mana he couldn't afford, and then drop the RiP... Maybe he didn't think of that play, but he did mull to 5 and I won quickly so who knows.
Sneak and Show: get him game one like we should. Game 2 he drops a Grafdigger's Cage which i didn't have an answer to at the time. He then allows me to have an answer by playing Show and Tell. I figure bringing the Ashen Rider into play targeting the Cage would be the right play, as I will still have a turn or 2 to either deal with Emrakul with Ashen Rider leaving, or just win the game. He reveals a Sneak Attack instead, and I do a mental fist-pump as I destroy the cage and then win the game shortly after.
Jund: a turn 1 DRS just can't stop us when he have Street Wraith. Game 2 and 3 he just makes me stumble over my feet too much. Surgical my first discard, and then a R.E.B. my single Gitaxian Probe I hadn't sided out is just enough small disruption to make me not go off right away as he tempoes me out. Didn't really see much other hate beside the DRS game 1 and the Surgical game 3. I'm pretty sure Jund sides in Grafdigger and Nehil Spellbomb, but he didn't show them even with having a Dark Confident most of our match.
Lands: Game 1 and 3 a recurring Bojuka Bog is just too much. Exploration + Bojokua Bog + Wasteland his own bog so he can Life from the Loam it every turn or every other turn is just too much. It seems like a terrible match-up as they have this package game 1 and can fetch it out relatively fast. I was surprised I got game 2.
Painter: seems like a great match-up post board. Game 1 they should probably get us every time unless they can't hit mana or the combo, then post-board they have a singleton Rest in Peace (or 2, but this opponent said he only had 1). Game 2 we bring in Serra Avatar so they can't win, and we win on the swing-back (they mill our entire deck, we put Serra Avatar back in, pass to our turn to draw Avatar and perform our combo or just swing with the 4 Narcomoeba's, Ichord, and Nether Shaow in play) I have a fantastic Phantasmagorian hand and get a perfect Dredge alongside a Gitaxian Probe and am aimed to win next turn. He literally draws a Rest in Peace his 3rd turn right before he is to be dead. Nice rip
Deck felt great the whole day, and I was aimed to 4-0-2 into possibly 7th or 8th had I beat Jund that 4th round. But alas things like this happen. Even though almost every Legacy deck has a rational fear of the graveyard and pack some kind of hate, I still felt pretty good about going fearless Spy into that tournament. In smaller tournaments I have had mixed results. I have 4-1 and won the top with it before, and I had 1-3 into sadness as well. Overall in casual testing my win percentage is pretty damn high lately, so I figured if it's not broke, don't fix it.
I like my sideboard full of cards like Echoing Truth, Patrician's Scorn, Tolaria West helps us fetch Pact of Negation and Boseiju to fight through Counterspells, etc. I was rocking Torpor Orb originally for Pod and Twin, but the more I played I realized our match-up is fine. We want to always be proactive towards our deck unless we are being hated out by Blood Moon, Spellskite, discard, etc.
I don't like the idea of Duress or Thoughtseize because it doesn't further our strategy. If you want information, Gitaxian Probe is better as we go one card deeper. Discard spells seem really bad past turn 2 (or turn 3 if we're on the play).
That is at least the way I approach the deck. It has been working well.
I've been considering cutting 2 Shambling Shell for more business. It happens more often that you have too many Dredgers in your hand or graveyard, though there are those fringe situations where you do need to Dredge 3. Thought most of the time he is the "safe bet" to remove for Ichorid after you have pitched Street Wraith. Though, after playing for more than a year, these situations come up though infrequently, so I'm willing to take that risk in a 7-9 rounds of Swiss.
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Golgari Thug
2 Shambling Shell
4 Phantasmagorian
This should be enough, though I'll have to start goldfishing to see how often it occurs that I don't have a Dredger. I don't mulligan with the deck (at all), especially since we are rocking Gitaxian Probe and Street Wraith. Maybe I'll do 3 Shell as a conservative start, and replace the missing Shell with something spicy like Elesh Norn. That card seems nuts (or win-more, I can't decide).
I like Elesh Norn in his side. Worth trying it...
Kind of a weird sideboard. The more I play the deck, the more I dislike Leyline of Sanctity. I want to move away from it, but for now it is currently:
4 Ashen Rider
3 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Sickening Shoal
1 Serra Avatar
1 Noxious Revival
I'm attending a SCG Open in July, so I'm preparing for that. Shifting around my SB from my local tournament scene to a 9 or 10 round tournament.
4 Heritage Druid
4 Quirion Ranger
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Nettle Sentinel
4 Elvish Visionary
2 Llanowar Elves
2 Craterhoof Behemoth
1 Viridian Shaman
1 Birchlore Rangers
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
4 Glimpse of Nature
3 Natural Order
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Wooded Foothills
4 Gaea's Cradle
2 Bayou
1 Taiga
1 Dryad Arbor
2 Forest
4 Thoughtseize
3 Cabal Therapy
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Mindbreak Trap
1 Pithing Needle
1 Progenitus
1 Scavenging Ooze
Apparently Elderscale Wurm could be a thing in the sideboard. Being on the play, ramping into a N.O. grabbing that on turn 2/3 definitely help against a handful of decks. That over Progenitus?
I was originally rocking a Savannah in the MD with a Gaddock Teeg in the side, but I'm not too concerned about it right now. I think Mindbreak Trap fills that void. I took out 1 Trap though for a Pithing Needle. Seems like a necessary evil with the rise of Sneak & Show, and Miracles back on the scene.
Loving my main 60 lately. I like most of my SB lately, but Im going to adjust it Teferi has been so lackluster
3 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Gigadrowse
1 Drown in Sorrow
1 Silence
1 Dismember
1 Echoing Truth
1 Slaughter Pact
1 Favor of the Mighty
1 Patrician's Scorn
1 Tolaria West
It is the guitarists from Copeland with Mindy White (piano/vocals) from Lydia. Mindy is good friends with Haley Williams from Paramore and naturally has begun to sound like her after years of vocal lessons. Their first EP "Line 'em up" is a sincerely great alternative album that has awesome hints of 90s goodness and reverb and relaxing guitar effects. Their first two albums have gone much more the direction of pop a la Paramore I would say. I will link a song from each album.
First EP - "Anxious"
First Album - "Can't Explain"
Second Album - "Erase it All"
I have no clue how that is possible without sideboarding lands, and even then... Are you sure they werent confusing the trick with Serra Avatar against Painter? They mill your entire deck, Serra Avatar gets shuffled back in, passed to your turn you draw and win because your entire yard is there? That's always a fun trick.
I have never heard of any other interaction with Painter, whether it is sideboarding into it, or anything.
Friday Night Grinder (5 rounds, single elimination)
2-1 Tarmo-Twin
2-0 UWR Control
2-0 Merfolk
1-2 BW Tokens
I was really disappointed in myself for messing up my combo during game 2 of a highly favorable match-up (I use to play Tokens, and combo always smashes). I messed up game 2 by going off with a Simian Spirit Guide to fuel my Ad Nauseam, and then when I was looking for the 3rd Spirit Guide in my deck, I realized I had sided it out as my final card. I couldn't go off because my lands were tapped and I couldn't use my Lotus Bloom and Pentad Prism because of his Stony Silence. I hate myself for tossing the game, take a risky hand game 3, and when he slams the Sword of War and Peace, I'm put on a clock that is too fast when I can't find another Angel's Grace or Unlife (he made me discard one). Pretty upset I was on such a good streak and lost a very favorable match-up, but it was lessons to be learned for the big tournament the next day. No byes, no bueno!
Grand Prix Minneapolis
2-0 Blood Moon
1-2 Affinity
2-0 UR Delver
1-2 Storm
2-1 Hatebears
2-0 8-Rack
0-2 Dega Midrange
4-3 drop
I get eliminated round 7 to once again my own stupid mistake. My head was pounding and I was pretty tired, but even with some medicine I couldn't get out of that funk. Dega seemed like Jund: they have 2 or 3 cards that hurt us badly (Inqusition, Thoughtseize, Liliana) and they just have a bunch of dead cards and beaters. Game 1 was rough, but game 2 was better for me as I started with a Leyline of Sanctity in play. That was a curve ball and gave me some turns. I was facing lethal because Mirran Crusader plus Elspeth Knight-Errant is a fast clock, so I play Serum Visions. I keep both scrys on top, because I had an Unlife in play and an Ad Nauseam in hand, I only had 1 source of black because Stony Silence had shut off my Prism. I draw my card next turn and realize I was full-on zombie mode; i needed to put the Gemstone Mine on top of my deck, not the Pentad Prism, because of Stony Silence. I rage to myself and realize I'm not going to day 2. Who knows, maybe I would of not won game 3, but it was a little irritating I eliminated myself from both tournaments after putting up decent results and winning some tough match-ups.
Quick summary of other losses:
Affinity: Mull to 5 game one, when he puts down an Inkmoth Nexus game one I knew I wouldnt get there. I had the win the next turn I died. I win game 2 fairly easy. Game 3 is the same as game one besides no mulligans... He has the win just one turn faster as all I had to do was put down a land from my hand and win. I really wish I had drawn one of my 3 Hurkyl's Recall that game.
Storm: Game one he wins, I can't do much but hope he has a crappy hand but he gets it turn 3. Game 2 I start with a Leyline, and being on the play helps to, so I get there pretty quick. Game 3 I start with double Leyline, but he combos off for 20 minutes and finds his Echoing Truth on the very bottom of the deck.
I was pretty happy with the deck, and think I will keep rocking it during the upcoming Modern PTQ season.
Ive been testing at the LGS all day.. what do i do for Twin? I brought in Favor of the Mighty, Dismember, slaughter pact, and Teferi but their Blood Moon blew me out. Do i say forget Favor and Teferi, dnd bring in Echoing Truth and Patricas Scorn?
Sideboard:
3 Leyline of Sanctity
3 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Teferi
1 Silence
1 Drown in Sorrow
1 Patricia's Scorn
1 Echoing Truth
1 Favor of the Mighty
1 Tolaria West
1 Slaughter Pact
1 Dismember
BTW Im playing this at G.P. Minneapolis this weekend. I have No byes so Im hoping yo have some luck at the friday night grinders, because 9 rounds is back breaking. Feeling ppretty good about my list after testing it for 2 months. I think the only matchup i found irritating was Scapeshift; my other Blue Match-ups felt pretty good. always have Silence for that Counterflux! Otherwise Pact usually is good enough to surprise them. All other matchupslike Pod feel pretty good. I wish I had tested against Affinity more, but im packing 3 Hurkyls Recall. Not sure if I Want to try Drown In Sorrow in that matchup.
Jund I hadn't tested much against but I figured it was a great match-up. What caught me by surprise was he actually sided into Red Elemental Blast to counter my Gitaxian Probe. Usually I side out Gitaxian's, but I think during that match-up I kept 1 or 2 in, and he just happened to catch me by surprise. I didn't see him play much sideboard cards game 1 or 2 outside of Surgical, though I'm sure Grafdigger's Cage was in there somewhere. I will definitely have to test this match-up more.
On Chancellor: It is a fantastic Time Walk that a lot of people aren't prepared for. I caught a lot of the blue players like Esper and Sneak Attack by surprise, as they're usually wanting to Brainstorm or Ponder right away. We are one of the slower combo decks (though sometimes we shouldn't think of ourselves as combo) so putting them back a turn is nice. When I had double Chancellor my opponent didn't think of countering one of his other 1 or 2 drops, just so the Rest in Peace he had in hand would of hit sooner (though to be fair, he mulled to 5 so maybe he had a lot of lands and/or 3 drops).
It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while if Spy keeps getting hit by GY Hate (DRS, Surgical), my go-to card is Chancellor. It is pretty insane if it does hit the board.
I played a Legacy IQ this weekend and went 3-3.
63 players, 6 Rounds. Columbia, MO.
I started off 3-0, and then suddenly a series of unfortunate events.
2-1 Esper Stoneblade
2-0 Death & Taxes
2-0 Sneak Attack
1-2 Jund
1-2 Lands
0-2 Imperial Painter
If you have any questions, go ahead and ask.
It felt really terrible losing to Jund as we have that match-up on lock. I won game 1, and game 2 he made me stumble over my feet too much with perfectly timed Surgical Extraction's. Game 3 was the first game I just couldn't dredge any business at all and was going off the back of Shambling Shell. I figured I still had a great chance at Top 8 as long as I didn't get paired against the Lands player who had been playing side-by-side with me all day. So naturally I got paired against him. That is possibly our toughest match-up I say.
I was still hoping at a shot for top 16 (playmat, prizes, etc.) and have some diginity to end on a 4-2 finish. I had been praying to play Imperial Painter all day as we literally can't lose the match. It should go: they win game 1 unless they keep a terrible 5-cards or I somehow win incredibly fast, and then I sideboard into Serra Avatar and laugh as they can't win and put our whole graveyard into the bin without milling us infinitely. So game 2 he mulligans to 5, and I'm on the draw, so this should be perfect, right? He literally admits to drawing his ONLY Rest in Peace on the 2nd turn, and I cry.
This is the list I played, and I wouldn't of changed a thing.
The best card all day was Chancellor of the Annex, and I'm not even joking. I'm going to make a 4-of in the main after seeing how it made so many people trip over themselves throughout the day.
4 Golgari Thug
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Narcomoeba
4 Ichorid
4 Nether Shadow
4 Street Wraith
4 Balustrade Spy
4 Phantasmagorian
3 Chancellor of the Annex
1 Flayer of the Hatebound
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Dread Return
4 Bridge from Below
4 Ashen Rider
1 Serra Avatar
2 Sickening Shoal
1 Noxious Revival
4 Mindbreak Trap
3 Leyline of Sanctity
Besides 4 Nether Shadow and 2 Shambling Shell, my deck is all foiled out too. Some foreign language as well. Deck was named ALL SHINE NO LANDS.