- H1jAcK
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Member for 19 years and 3 months
Last active Sun, Sep, 15 2019 19:00:23
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Feb 4, 2014H1jAcK posted a message on Launch Giveaway!I have a couple favorite cards. I've collect Birds of Paradise, because that was the card I lost the first time I got ripped off in a trade. I've got two in Japanese, and a French 4ED Bird that has a black border despite being 4ED. My other favorite card is Vizzerdrix. I once decided to start collecting a really bad card, and I picked Vizzerdix, and now I have over 250 of them. -JackPosted in: Announcements
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Jun 17, 2008H1jAcK posted a message on I HAZ 1000 posts!THAT'S FREAKIN' AWESOME, MAN!Posted in: TarmoBlog
Hope the next 1000 are just as good. In bed.
And nice custom tag. I like it. -Jack -
Oct 4, 2007H1jAcK posted a message on New Advancements In Fatal Self InjuryThat is simultaneously the funniest and most horrible thing I have heard. Ever. Thank you for a few moments of humor. I hope this blog didn't apply to you, because then I'll look like a total ass. -JackPosted in: JollyTheOctopuss Blog
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2 Reverse Engineer
2 Aetherflux Reservoir
2 Paradox Engine
4 Greenbelt Rampager
4 Servant of the Conduit
4 Cultivator's Caravan
2 Hedron Archive
1 Prophetic Prism
2 Ornithopter
1 Deadlock Trap
1 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
4 Traverse the Ulvenwald
4 Renegade Map
4 Spire of Industry
4 Botanical Sanctum
2 Inventor's Fair
5 Forest
5 Island
1 Aether Hub
3 Aether Hub
4 Cinder Glade
2 Game Trail
4 Evolving Wilds
6 Forest
4 Mountain
4 Hedron Crawler
4 Servant of the Conduit
Ramp 4-drops (8)
4 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
4 Hedron Crawler
Sorceries (7)
4 Attune with Aether
3 Traverse the Ulvenwald
3 Harnessed Lightning
3 Kozilek's Return
Big Stuff (8)
2 Ishkanah, Grafwidow
4 World Breaker
1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1 Emarakul, the Promised End
Turn 2 mana dork into a turn 3 Chandra or Archive leads to turn 4 World Breakers, which on the play can be enough of a backbreaking play to just end the game. Kiora, Master of the Depths is also able to do this, and the deck can be played in three colors using Oath of Nissa. Obviously, though, it trades off a lot of utility, but it has played well for me.
To the Slaughter can be played off a Torrential Gearhulk; Ruinous Path cannot. I assume that's the reasoning.
6 Forest
4 Aether Hub
1 Botanical Sanctum
1 Blooming Marsh
1 Island
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
Creatures (16)
4 Glint-Nest Crane
2 Combustible Gearhulk
3 Noxious Gearhulk
4 World Breaker
2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
4 Attune with Aether
4 Traverse the Ulvenwald
Mana Rocks (6)
2 Corrupted Grafstone
4 Cultivator's Caravan
The Rest (15)
3 Kozilek's Return
4 Aetherworks Marvel
4 Glassblower's Puzzleknot
4 Woodweaver's Puzzleknot
1 Mind's Dilation
1 Combustible Gearhulk
1 Noxious Gearhulk
2 Apetite for the Unnatural
2 Flaying Tendrils
3 Harnessed Lightning
3 Negate
The mana base seems weird, I know, but try it. 16 land with 4 Attune/3 Traverse also works, and is probably a bit more reliable. You have to be willing to aggressively mulligan to a hand with a green source and a Lay of the Land. Two land is usually also keepable.
I played this list today with a few changes:
+1 Forest
+1 Metalwork Colossus
+1 Corrupted Grafstone
-1 Traverse the Ulvenwald
-1 Noxious Gearhulk
-1 Aetherworks Marvel
Only had 11 people show up, but the deck ran really smoothly. I went 2-2, losing to RW Vehicles and UW Spirits, though both matches were close. I played the same vehicles player in top 8 and lost, but they were still very close matches. I had Incendiary Sabotage in the sideboard, but am going to try it instead as Flaying Tendrils. I'm still fine-tuning a lot of the pieces, but the deck can play fair-ish by ramping into Gearhulks/World Breaker, or just go over the top with Marvel. This deck is less consistent with being able to cast the Ulamogs or Emrakuls, so the numbers are lower, as they are mostly dead cards in hand for the first 10-12 turns of the game - this could be solved with a few Tormenting Voice, have not tested. Combustible Gearhulk has a good number of combination to accidentally kill someone, so either side is fine.
The big advantage of playing so few lands, and fetching most of them out in the early game, is that a Marvel, even on turn 4, is likely to hit something worthwhile. As I mentioned, the fewer Ullys and Emmys is because the deck can't have a lot of dead cards. In return, I get a lot of value hits: mana rocks to ramp into the dead cards in hand, puzzleknots to reload the Marvel, or an Attune effect to thin the deck for the next Marvel and shuffle up threats that have made their way to the bottom for whatever reason.
4 Evolving Wilds
6 Forest
4 Island
1 Swamp
3 Sunken Hollow
2 Llanowar Wastes
1 Yavimaya Coast
Creatures (18)
4 Prized Amalgam
3 Haunted Dead
4 Deathmist Raptor
3 Den Protector
2 Decimator of the Provinces
2 Hangarback Walker
4 Pieces of the Puzzle
2 Gather the Pack
3 Languish
2 Traverse the Ulvenwald
3 Crush of Tentacles
2 Coax from the Blind Eternities
Instant (4)
4 Grapple with the Past
Enchantment (1)
1 Vessel of Nascency
1 Decimator of Provinces
3 Distended Mindbender
2 Elder Deep-Fiend
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
3 Transgress the Mind
1 Languish
3 Pilgrim's Eye
The goal to survive aggro is casting/recurring creatures, Languish, and now Crush (+ Protector is a backup combo). 21 lands seems light, but Traverse and Grapple smooth out draws really well. I haven't actually tested Coax yet, just had the idea. Pieces of the Puzzle performs very well in this build.
4 Evolving Wilds
2 Hissing Quagmire
3 Sunken Hollow
2 Llanowar Wastes
3 Yavimaya Coast
6 Forest
4 Swamp
1 Island
4 Prized Amalgam
4 Haunted Dead
4 Deathmist Raptor
4 Den Protector
2 Decimator of the Provinces
Enchantment (4)
4 Vessel of Nascency
4 Grapple with the Past
Sorecery
2 Traverse the Ulvenwald
4 Gather the Pack
Planeswalker (3)
3 Liliana, the Last Hope
Might not be quite what you were going for, but there's my idea.
Last night, I ran 4 Advocate, 3 Recruiter, 3 Selfless Spirit, and 2 Lambholt Pacifist. I'm going to take out a Recruiter for a miser's Jace, VP. I can agree with the arguments against Pacifist main, but it brick walls opposing Advocates, as well as forces control to do something turn 2/3.
As for Displacer, I haven't found the mana base changes to hurt much, but I'm also on 26 lands. Even if he doesn't have an immediate impact on the board, considering all the possibilities Displacer opens up (Reflector, Avacyn, Queller), he's a must-answer. He's basically an engine like Tracker, but works with what you have already. I also like, with Displacer in the deck, playing Queller aggressively eot without countering anything, since Displacer can get me that value later.
I finally packed a Tamiyo, so she'll be a 1-of in my sideboard tomorrow, and I'm going to try her alongside a Kiora, Master of the Depths. Her +1 ability can help fight through a Thalia, and the -2 is a good restock.
Random idea, would this deck do well with more flash creatures? I'm going to try testing a list without Sylvan Advocate, with Rattlechains in its stead. My thoughts on Rattlechains are that is allows us another flash play when Queller/CoCo aren't right but we still want to do something on the mana held up; it gives another evasive two drop to pressure gw tokens (this is the main matchup I'm concerned about) or any control deck; and it can be used to save a Spell Queller from spot removal. I am also including 3 Bounding Krasis and 1 Void Grafter to push the flash package. Without Sylvan Advocate, playing a 2/1 in its place, Dromoka's Command becomes a weaker turn 3 play. Instead of four D Command, I'm going with a 2/2 split of D/Ojutai Command. The O Command also gains some value being able to bring back Selfless Spirit or Rattlechains at instant speed to stop a kill spell. Rough list:
2 Lumbering Falls
3 Forest
2 Yavimaya Coast
4 Plains
3 Canopy Vista
4 Evolving Wilds
4 Prairie Stream
3 Island
Creature (27)
4 Selfless Spirit
3 Duskwatch Recruiter
4 Rattlechains
4 Reflector Mage
4 Spell Queller
3 Bounding Krasis
2 Tireless Tracker
1 Void Grafter
2 Archangel Avacyn
4 Collected Company
2 Dromoka's Command
2 Ojutai's Command
3 Declaration in Stone
2 Negate
1 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
2 Ojutai's Command
2 Dromoka's Command
3 Lambholt Pacifist
2 Tragic Arrogance
Other possibly interesting creatures with flash: Harbinger of the Tides, Silumgar Sorcerer, Mizzium Meddler, Nebelgast Herald, Vile Redeemer
I like Harbinger because you can CoCo it, and it can flash in at the same cost. Double blue is rough, but it could really mess with combat math, being flashed in to block. Sorcerer is more flying redundancy, and stops opposing Avacyns while also triggering our own. It may not stop the cast triggers of some of the Big Bads, but it does get rid of the body. Sorcerer does suffer from the UU cost, too. Mizzium Meddler seems like a weaker version of Void Grafter, that also dies to Ultimate Price, but it can still blank a kill spell, especially burn-oriented ones (if that ever becomes a thing). Herald feels like a weaker Bounding Krasis, with the monocolor issue again, but does give more flying redundancy, and is slightly less mana intensive. Not as good on defense, but plays well with the other spirits in the deck. This card would really push the deck into Bant CoCo Spirits, and I don't like that as much. Redeemer is just silly wrath recovery, probably still as bad as it's always been. Also requires warping mana base a bit.
Is Stratus Dancer a good answer to gw tokens lists like Osyp's? He was maindecking 3 Tragic Arrogance, trying to figure out an efficient way to trump that.
SCG Open - Columbus, OH
Here's the day 2 metagame breakdown as well:
I think in the scenario that the creature dies immediately, Tracker ends up being a little better since you can follow it with a land to replace Tracker even if it dies.
1 Hamlet Captain
1 Lambholt Pacifist
4 Atarka's Command
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
3 Declaration in Stone
Round 1 vs 5c Walkers (W 2-0): There's not a lot to say about this match. He played Nissa, Sorin, and Sarkhan that I saw, and he cast an Engulf the Shore when he had no Islands out. Like I said, nothing to say about this match.
Round 2 vs BW Control (L 1-2): Game 2, I was stuck on two mana. Game 3, I drew very little other than land. Game 1, though, was a good back and forth, and showed me that this deck could be trouble. It plays such a critical mass of removal, it can be hard to punch through.
Round 3 vs Abzan Walkers (W 2-1): Playing against this list was very similar to the BW control deck; a critical mass of removal, backed by Kalitas and Walkers. Game 1 was going my way until I couldn't get around his Kalitas, then he played a second the turn after I finally killed the fist. Game 3 also required me to play around a Kalitas, but sideboarding in Declaration in Stone helped a lot here. Atarka's Command also gave me the W here, letting me attack for just over lethal with the pump+burn, while I was dead on board next turn.
Round 4 vs GW Humans (W 2-0): He mana screwed two games in a row. Woo.
Hamlet Captain is better than I thought. Even just bringing in the one from the side, if they didn't have an answer, he could get out of hand. I had a turn of attacking with HC, and flashing in Heron's Grace Champion. Hanweir Militia Captain let me down, but that may have been because he also had removal thrown at him immediately. I'll swap HMC for HC and see how it feels. Heron's Grace Champion is an absolute beast, usually giving 10+ life; that said, I still wouldn't run more than two for obvious (CoCo) reasons.
I sided Thalia in in nearly every match, but never missed her in my game 1s. If I can find a slot, I'll go back to 1 in the main. I also need to make a cut for a 25th land. Firemantle Mage was extremely underwhelming, since I had no other allies. Maybe in multiples, it'd be more playable, but if you're only counting on getting his trigger once, it's not worth it. Maybe a sideboard package with him and Lantern Scout could be an interesting way to out-aggro aggro. I got to see Foul Emissary in my hand and on a CoCo, and it didn't feel good in either place: Duskwatch just does it so much better.
The deck seems very strong, but definitely needs some refining (especially since my list had subpar test cards). Hanweir Garrison ends up having a huge target on his head, and against the control decks, I usually held on to them until after a Laguish. Den Protector is as good as you'd expect, nothing more, nothing less. Getting a CoCo back feels great, but not so great I wouldn't cut him for something else. He's worth testing, and probably just comes down to personal preference.
I also have a crazy idea I'm just going to throw out there, feel free to tell me I'm crazy.
3 Forest
1 Island
1 Mountain
2 Plains
4 Evolving Wilds
3 Yavimaya Coast
2 Port Town
1 Shivan Reef
3 Canopy Vista
1 Battlefield Forge
4 Cinder Glade
3 Lambholt Pacifist
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Duskwatch Recruiter
4 Tireless Tracker
4 Hanweir Garrison
4 Reflector Mage
2 Heron's Grace Champion
4 Dromoka's Command
2 Declaration in Stone
4 Collected Company
I'm not great with complicated mana bases, I'd definitely take some help on that if anyone is good at it.
1 Hanweir Battlements
3 Battlefield Forge
4 Forest
2 Plains
1 Mountain
4 Canopy Vista
4 Cinder Glade
4 Evolving Wilds
CoCo'able Creatures (26)
3 Thalia's Lieutenant
1 Foul Emissary
4 Duskwatch Recruiter
3 Lambholt Pacifist
4 Hanweir Militia Captain
2 Den Protector
4 Hanweir Garrison
4 Tireless Tracker
1 Firemantle Mage
2 Heron's Grace Champion
Spells (8)
4 Dromoka's Command
4 Collected Company
Whateverboard (15)
1 Hamlet Captain
1 Lambholt Pacifist
1 Declaration in Stone
2 Incendiary Flow
4 Ride Down
3 Tragic Arrogance
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
About some of my choices:
While flipping a Hanweir Battlements is neat, if you can't win with one, you're probably not winning with two. Because it can be such a swingy play, I'll keep one in there as a good mana dump (both in haste and flipping). Really, though, the Garrison does enough work on his own without flipping, and makes humans, which are more relevant than eldrazi. I haven't done enough testing, but I'm not sold on Hamlet Captain, so I'm running Hanweir Militia Captain instead. Den Protector was a last minute thought, but seems like it could be very good. Enough Lieutenants, and it'll basically be unblockable. Ride Down and Incendiary Flow in the side are just fun cards I wanted to try out if they ever seem relevant.