vs. 01 Anachronity: Burn trumps combo. 6-0
vs. 02 CalvinSchwa: I goldfish on turn 4. 6-0
vs. 03 Mogg: Mogg has laid this out very nicely. 3-3
vs. 04 Feyd_Ruin: Tarfire and Lackey = dead Priest and Rhys, then Wort wins. 6-0
vs. 05 Jantesviker: I can push through OTP* 4-1
vs. 06 knobbodi: I get out-recurred. 0-6
vs. 07 tomsloger: Tarfire Rabblemaster, SGC/Wort on turn 5/6) beats him. 6-0
* Observe:
W: Lackey
J: Land
W: Swing for (19), SGC
J: Land, Sygg (eot tarfired)
W: Swing for 6 (13), Wort
J: TNN
W: Recur Tarfire. Swing with all; SGC gets blocked, throws self + Lackey. (3)
J: will die to Tarfire/swing with all.
I don't see a straightforward legalization. Island/Spell Pierce is pretty core to the deck, and running (say) Foil in that slot - or Daze and a CIPT island - changes the deck pretty significantly. Conversely, you can't really cut Yawgwin or Empty the Warrens. You could go with Lotus Petal over a Black Lotus, I guess?
vs. 01 CalvinSchwa: Counter Wheel, life gets boring. 2-2
vs. 02 CzarBomba: OTP, Sorin gets enough Loyalty to buy me a draw. 1-4
vs. 03 Mogg: I force through Sorin, who beats slow Smokestack. (Edit: And can handle a Nether Spirit) 6-0
vs. 04 Feyd_Ruin: ...I hate Leyline of the Void . 0-6
vs. 05 knobbodi: OTP, I can pay for Spell Pierce. 1-4
vs. 06 tomsloger: I can't see a win. 0-6
So I've brewed up this deck, and while it's not off to the most glorious of league starts, a lot of that is my own unfamiliarity with the metagame and misplays (especially the misplays).
The Main Deck is pretty solid; the deck switches pretty fluidly between aggro (with Vile Manifestation and to a lesser degree Gifted Aetherborn curving into Hollow One being a pretty beaty start) and the semi-combo finish (God-Pharoah's Gift is a complete beating), and Archfiend/token Archfiend is pretty brutal (just kills their board a LOT). I've fumbled a few games so far but I've usually felt like it's been me failing the deck.
Some quantity of Walking Ballista may be correct. Ruthless Sniper is pretty hit-and-miss - the 1 mana per counter adds up fast - so it might get his slot. Still, games where you drop him and pop their guys for mana and no cards down are great.
I've seen pure combo builds, but feel like the consistency of mono black, plus the aggro draws with the pretty beefy 2 drop Vile Manifestation (usually comes down as a 1/4), goes a long way to making this a contender for the best build (essentially, this deck does better in games where it *doesn't* hit Gate than other builds would).
It's not quite perfect, but it's fairly solid. The SB - the Hour of Glory is imortant vs. Scarab God and Ulamog and should probably have more buddies, Distended Mindbender comes in so often I'm considering starting it main (getting a creature into the bin via sacrifice while making them discard their best big AND small plays is amazing), Collective Brutality #4 got pushed out there and Doomfall is sort of a compromise between Hour of Glory and discard. (you need quite a lot of discard post SB because navigating counterspells AND abrade AND possibly more artifact kill is a nuisance!)
Indulgent Aristocrat and Faith of the Devoted are for base red decks that attack the life total directly - I'm not sure about them, but I did want the full 6 lifelink guys to bring back with Gift.
Yahenni's Expertise, ehn, it's a flex slot it can theoretically be pretty clutch.
Scarab Feast is good just as a cheap cycler that can mess up enemy plans (I hit a few pseudo-mirrors in the testing room ).
Sanitarium is there in case I felt like boarding in an extra land. Could conceivably eat the slot of one of the Deadlands, but seriously - every land that doesn't tap for black HURTS. You often want to cycle 3x Rotbeast/Horror on turn 3 to get a free Hollow One (or two!).
SB definitely should consider more answers to big (4+ toughness) creatures though. They get annoying.
Okay, so Daze is mostly worthless worthless. DANG IT. I read it as 'that player'. =(
Probably because I was primed by expectations inherent in the name of the round.
vs. 01 Anachronicity: OTP, can't Cryptic with the spare mana, so still win. Daze not completely worthless! 3-3
vs. 02 CalvinSchwa: Vinyard speeds me up a turn so somehow win? 6-0
vs. 03 Feyd_Ruin: Nothing Feyd_Ruin does actually beats the combo! 6-0
vs. 04 Infinite Nutshell: ...I lose to counters under these round rules, darn it. 0-6
vs. 05 Mogg: ...I lose to counters, darn it. 0-6
vs. 06 knobbodi: ...daze is useless, Arcane Denial beats me, GAH. 0-6
vs. 07 tidalslimshady: Commandeer on Time Walk does nothing relevant, Time Stop too slow. 6-0
If Daze had been Mana Drain, Arcane Denial or - and this is the one it really should have been - THWART - things would've gone better. Ah well.
vs. 01 Anachronity: OTP, I get down Depths/Stage. OTD Stage copies Tomb FTD. 4-1
vs. 02 Calvin Schwa: Dust Bowl kills Karakas, then quick win. 6-0
vs. 03 Feyd_Ruin: Grand Abolisher doesn't touch lands. 6-0
vs. 04 Mogg: EOT recoil upkeep Consideration forces draw. 2-2
vs. 05 knobbodi: See 3. 6-0
vs. 06 tomsloger: He's way too slow. 6-0
Differences with Mogg's grid: I think he misread Grand Abolisher. I think this also flips a lot of other matchups (Tomb of Urami beats both 3 and 5 by itself).
vs. 01 Anachronity: If Commandeer didn't have CMC 7, I could win this. 0-6
vs. 02 CalvinSchwa: Chalice for 2 on turn 1, eventually Form FTW. 6-0
vs. 03 dethwing00: Chalice for 1 off Lotus (regrow, replay if countered), eventually Form FTW. 6-0
vs. 04 Feyd_Ruin: OTP, Chalice for 0. OTD, he can Erase Form. 3-3
vs. 05 Mogg: First turn Form (off Lotus regrow Lotus) FTW. 6-0
vs. 06 knobbodi: I lose the race by 1-2 turns even OTP. 0-6
vs. 07 tomsloger: My win-con costs too much mana OTD. OTP Chalice for 0 FTW. 3-3
Moral of story: Chalice was excellent tech, the rest of my deck needed to be a faster win-con than FoTD.
This week is headachey to work out lines. Can we not have this format again? Working out when people draw lands and when they make bears hurts my brainmeats.
vs. 01 Anachronity: I think my recursive elements win here. 6-0
vs. 02 Feyd_Ruin: I can life-gain to pull ahead of Syphon, bounce Bridge - all the answers. 6-0
vs. 03 Mogg: I think I pull this out by baiting Drains with EOT bounce Scroll. If he just goe bears then I think I can beat that (with Repeal) too. 6-0?
vs. 04 knobbodi: I get Eldrazi'd. 0-6
vs. 05 tomsloger: OTP I can disrupt him a bit I think FTW. 3-3?
vs. 06 tidalslimshady: Drain breaks the combo. 6-0
Going to throw Leyline of Singularity/Karakas (specifically Leyline of Singularity) under the bus.
It's just too good. It removes virtually all creature-based threats from the equation, and is part of the winning deck in way too many rounds. The format would be more interesting, with cards like Innocent Blood, Path to Exile and The Tabernacle at Pendrel Vale all potentially being the "right" kill spell.
vs 01 Calvin Schwa: ...I think I might win this OTP thanks to the Island of Wak-Wak making blocking Inky or Ornithoper ineffective? But probably 0-6.
vs. 02 Feyd_Ruin: Tokens bad vs. Ley/Kara. 6-0
vs. 03 Infinite Nutshell: Karakas. 6-0
vs. 04 knobbodi: Bridge. 0-6
vs. 05 Mogg: Karakas. 6-0
vs. 06 tomsloger: Karakas. 6-0
Have I mentioned lately that Leyline/Karakas is a bit too good?
vs. 02 CalvinSchwa: I goldfish on turn 4. 6-0
vs. 03 Mogg: Mogg has laid this out very nicely. 3-3
vs. 04 Feyd_Ruin: Tarfire and Lackey = dead Priest and Rhys, then Wort wins. 6-0
vs. 05 Jantesviker: I can push through OTP* 4-1
vs. 06 knobbodi: I get out-recurred. 0-6
vs. 07 tomsloger: Tarfire Rabblemaster, SGC/Wort on turn 5/6) beats him. 6-0
* Observe:
W: Lackey
J: Land
W: Swing for (19), SGC
J: Land, Sygg (eot tarfired)
W: Swing for 6 (13), Wort
J: TNN
W: Recur Tarfire. Swing with all; SGC gets blocked, throws self + Lackey. (3)
J: will die to Tarfire/swing with all.
vs. 01 CalvinSchwa: Counter Wheel, life gets boring. 2-2
vs. 02 CzarBomba: OTP, Sorin gets enough Loyalty to buy me a draw. 1-4
vs. 03 Mogg: I force through Sorin, who beats slow Smokestack. (Edit: And can handle a Nether Spirit) 6-0
vs. 04 Feyd_Ruin: ...I hate Leyline of the Void
vs. 05 knobbodi: OTP, I can pay for Spell Pierce. 1-4
vs. 06 tomsloger: I can't see a win. 0-6
4 Vile Manifestation
4 Gifted Aetherborn
4 Lurching Rotbeast
4 Hollow One
4 Archfiend of Ifnir
4 Horror of the Broken Lands
4 Gate to the Afterlife
1 Razaketh's Rite
2 God-Pharoah' Gift
4 Desert of the Glorified
1 Hostile Desert
4 Ifnir Deadlands
13 Swamp
1 Collective Brutality
1 Doomfall
1 Ruinous Path
1 Hour of Glory
1 Yahenni's Expertise
2 Distended Mindbender
2 Scarab Feast
3 Faith of the Devoted
2 Indulgent Aristocrat
1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
The Main Deck is pretty solid; the deck switches pretty fluidly between aggro (with Vile Manifestation and to a lesser degree Gifted Aetherborn curving into Hollow One being a pretty beaty start) and the semi-combo finish (God-Pharoah's Gift is a complete beating), and Archfiend/token Archfiend is pretty brutal (just kills their board a LOT). I've fumbled a few games so far but I've usually felt like it's been me failing the deck.
Some quantity of Walking Ballista may be correct. Ruthless Sniper is pretty hit-and-miss - the 1 mana per counter adds up fast - so it might get his slot. Still, games where you drop him and pop their guys for mana and no cards down are great.
I've seen pure combo builds, but feel like the consistency of mono black, plus the aggro draws with the pretty beefy 2 drop Vile Manifestation (usually comes down as a 1/4), goes a long way to making this a contender for the best build (essentially, this deck does better in games where it *doesn't* hit Gate than other builds would).
It's not quite perfect, but it's fairly solid. The SB - the Hour of Glory is imortant vs. Scarab God and Ulamog and should probably have more buddies, Distended Mindbender comes in so often I'm considering starting it main (getting a creature into the bin via sacrifice while making them discard their best big AND small plays is amazing), Collective Brutality #4 got pushed out there and Doomfall is sort of a compromise between Hour of Glory and discard. (you need quite a lot of discard post SB because navigating counterspells AND abrade AND possibly more artifact kill is a nuisance!)
Indulgent Aristocrat and Faith of the Devoted are for base red decks that attack the life total directly - I'm not sure about them, but I did want the full 6 lifelink guys to bring back with Gift.
Yahenni's Expertise, ehn, it's a flex slot it can theoretically be pretty clutch.
Scarab Feast is good just as a cheap cycler that can mess up enemy plans (I hit a few pseudo-mirrors in the testing room
Sanitarium is there in case I felt like boarding in an extra land. Could conceivably eat the slot of one of the Deadlands, but seriously - every land that doesn't tap for black HURTS. You often want to cycle 3x Rotbeast/Horror on turn 3 to get a free Hollow One (or two!).
SB definitely should consider more answers to big (4+ toughness) creatures though. They get annoying.
Probably because I was primed by expectations inherent in the name of the round.
vs. 01 Anachronicity: OTP, can't Cryptic with the spare mana, so still win. Daze not completely worthless! 3-3
vs. 02 CalvinSchwa: Vinyard speeds me up a turn so somehow win? 6-0
vs. 03 Feyd_Ruin: Nothing Feyd_Ruin does actually beats the combo! 6-0
vs. 04 Infinite Nutshell: ...I lose to counters under these round rules, darn it. 0-6
vs. 05 Mogg: ...I lose to counters, darn it. 0-6
vs. 06 knobbodi: ...daze is useless, Arcane Denial beats me, GAH. 0-6
vs. 07 tidalslimshady: Commandeer on Time Walk does nothing relevant, Time Stop too slow. 6-0
If Daze had been Mana Drain, Arcane Denial or - and this is the one it really should have been - THWART - things would've gone better. Ah well.
vs. 01 Anachronity: OTP, I get down Depths/Stage. OTD Stage copies Tomb FTD. 4-1
vs. 02 Calvin Schwa: Dust Bowl kills Karakas, then quick win. 6-0
vs. 03 Feyd_Ruin: Grand Abolisher doesn't touch lands. 6-0
vs. 04 Mogg: EOT recoil upkeep Consideration forces draw. 2-2
vs. 05 knobbodi: See 3. 6-0
vs. 06 tomsloger: He's way too slow. 6-0
Differences with Mogg's grid: I think he misread Grand Abolisher. I think this also flips a lot of other matchups (Tomb of Urami beats both 3 and 5 by itself).
vs. 02 CalvinSchwa: Chalice for 2 on turn 1, eventually Form FTW. 6-0
vs. 03 dethwing00: Chalice for 1 off Lotus (regrow, replay if countered), eventually Form FTW. 6-0
vs. 04 Feyd_Ruin: OTP, Chalice for 0. OTD, he can Erase Form. 3-3
vs. 05 Mogg: First turn Form (off Lotus regrow Lotus) FTW. 6-0
vs. 06 knobbodi: I lose the race by 1-2 turns even OTP. 0-6
vs. 07 tomsloger: My win-con costs too much mana OTD. OTP Chalice for 0 FTW. 3-3
Moral of story: Chalice was excellent tech, the rest of my deck needed to be a faster win-con than FoTD.
vs. 01 Anachronity: I think my recursive elements win here. 6-0
vs. 02 Feyd_Ruin: I can life-gain to pull ahead of Syphon, bounce Bridge - all the answers. 6-0
vs. 03 Mogg: I think I pull this out by baiting Drains with EOT bounce Scroll. If he just goe bears then I think I can beat that (with Repeal) too. 6-0?
vs. 04 knobbodi: I get Eldrazi'd. 0-6
vs. 05 tomsloger: OTP I can disrupt him a bit I think FTW. 3-3?
vs. 06 tidalslimshady: Drain breaks the combo. 6-0
All very uncertain.
as far as I can tell; Mental Misstep works, everything else is much too slow. =)
It's just too good. It removes virtually all creature-based threats from the equation, and is part of the winning deck in way too many rounds. The format would be more interesting, with cards like Innocent Blood, Path to Exile and The Tabernacle at Pendrel Vale all potentially being the "right" kill spell.
vs. 02 Feyd_Ruin: Tokens bad vs. Ley/Kara. 6-0
vs. 03 Infinite Nutshell: Karakas. 6-0
vs. 04 knobbodi: Bridge. 0-6
vs. 05 Mogg: Karakas. 6-0
vs. 06 tomsloger: Karakas. 6-0
Have I mentioned lately that Leyline/Karakas is a bit too good?