Kozilek's Return definitely seems better than Flames in your deck, since I don't see any sources for a third color, and Return can at least be gotten back with Dark-Dwellers. I guess neither really plays well with Goggles...
Something about Nahiri that just occurred to me--you can ultimate her to grab Goggles. Is this something that ever becomes relevant? Should let you quadruple a spell if you already have Goggles, right?
Yeah, my opponents were always wary when she was at 8 (for some reason they think I have an Ulamog in the deck LOL). Game 1 she is fantastic as I can dig my deck for key burn spells and such. But when on the draw, she is a liability and I always shave some copies to make room for TKS.
Also, I failed to mention that when she hits 8, I am so far ahead in terms of card advantage that I stuck with using her +2 all throughout. In a way, it mitigate my flooding issue since I just pitched the lands I drew to her ability.
Just came fresh from a 7-3 finish in our Standard WMCQ which was good for 45th out of 470+ players. Here's the list I played which I took from a page out of Mihara's Goggles list with a few changes.
It was an excruciating 10 rounder so I can't remember all the matchups.
RD 1 vs Jund L(2-1)
Game 1 was the only game I played perfectly sitting on my burn spells with Goggles in play and him draining his life with his card draw searching for an answer. Games 2 and 3 spelled differently though with him landing multiple Kalitas and me not drawing enough action to counter it. Game 3 ended with him at 7 life, me needing 1 more mana to finish him off with Fall of the Titans + Fiery Temper.
RD 2 vs Esper Control W(2-0)
Not really what's up with his deck but he literally countered all of my card draw spells. That paved the way to a resolved Chandra which he literally had no answer. Game 2 was the same. I baited all of my TKS and Smashers, kept pressuring with Needle Spires and when he literally gassed his hand, I resolved Chandra for the win.
RD 3 vs Esper Control W(2-1)
Game 1 was a nightmare. He literally had an answer to everything I had and when he resolved a Sphinx of the Final word, I scooped. Game 2, I boarded in my Eldrazi suite and was able to come back on a curve of TKS to Smasher. Game 3 was where he made a crucial misplay. My hand was Thought Knot Seer (which he bounced previously using Silumgar's Command), Chandra, a couple of burn spells and Goggles. He has 6 lands and proceeded to play Narset, leaving him 2 mana open. Her +1 revealed a Negate. I was expecting him to pass the turn leaving mana for Negate but instead, he opted to cast Transgress the Mind. I'm thinking he has a removal spell of some sort. Oddly enough, he took out TKS. That gave me a window to resolve Chandra and I won the game right there as he had no answer.
RD 4 vs RG Goggles Ramp W(2-0)
Never really put up a fight and was rattled when he received a warning (casted a Tormenting Voice without a red source). I just waited till I resolved a Chandra and won from there.
RD 5 vs GW Tokens W(2-0)
Game 1 he was stuck at 3 lands and Game 2 he flooded badly. This is a bad MU for me and I don't consider this as a legit win. Although Game 2 had me curving TKS at 4 which prevented him from casting a turn 5 Avacyn that sealed the deal.
RD 6 vs U/W with Skyspawner W(2-0)
Not sure what his deck was but I managed to kill him twice with Fall of the Titans + Goggles. for 12 damage Game 1 then for 15 the next game. Mage Ring Network is sometimes a crazy card if unchecked.
RD 7 vs Bant Displacer/Humans not sure W(2-1)
Probably the best magic I have played for a long time. Game 1 he wrecks me with multiple Cocos and me running out of burn spells for his creatures. Game 2 I fought back behind a resolved Goggles which effectively killed all creatures he put out with Collected Company. Game 3 is a nailbiter. He casted Coco on T4 and revealed 2 Displacers. I was thinking oh well I put out a good fight and was on defense the whole game. In a couple of turns I was down to 1 and was staring at a board of 2 Displacers, a Reflector Mage (which bounced my Goblin DD) and a 5/4 Tireless Tracker. Luckily enough, I drew Chandra in time, proceeded to wipe the board and then successfully resolved Goggles the next turn. I won the game with my lone Goblin DD while sitting on burn spells to fend off his creatures.
RD 8 vs RW Humans L(2-1)
Punted this one big time. Won Game 1 in a comfortable fashion, sitting back on Goggles + burn spells to kill of his creatures. Game 2, I had him on the ropes. I had Stasis Snare, Radiant Flames, Chandra and Goggles. Just needed to sequence them properly to pull out the win. He had 2 creatures in play + Needle Spires and 3 cards in hand. I'm not sure what I was thinking but I wanted to hit the homerun. So I resolved Chandra and proceeded to wipe the board completely forgetting the fact that he has an active Needle Spires in play. It snowballed from there with Spires killing Chandra and me not getting any board presence after. Game 3 I was stuck on 3 lands and was completely annihilated by multiple Lieutenants.
I think the correct line of play was to cast Radiant Flames for 2 and pass the turn. If he has another creature, I should have killed it with a burn spell or Stasis Snare and then casted Chandra. Fatigue probably got the best of me.
Round 9 vs BW Control L(2-0)
Completely outdrawn and outplayed in this matchup. Couldn't keep up with his card advantage and always curving out with Gideon + Ob Nixilis to Secure the Wastes. At this point I was completely out of T8 contention
Round 10 vs Bant Company W(2-0)
Another intense matchup. Game 1 I burned him out with Fall + Goggles. Game 2 I was again down to 1 life before I was able to pull of a gigantic Fall of the Titans + Goggles again.
Overall, deck was a blast to play. If I would change anything in the deck, it would be the sideboard. Those Radiant Flames are too slow. Probably replace them with Kozilek's Return or Dual Shot. Not sure. Also, I want to make space for a third Stasis Snare but not sure what to cut.
Also, Nahiri was boarded out a lot of times. Not sure what should I do with her in the future.
I got out with a bad start at 0-2, losing to Mardu and Abzan Whip in rounds 1 and 2 respectively. I've somewhat managed to rattle off 4 consecutive wins against Temur Aggro, Abzan Aggro and 2 Abzan Midrange decks in the later rounds thanks to good draws.
Some notes on my losses
Mardu - I seem to notice that Abzan Midrange has a strong game 1 against this deck but is an uphill battle for games 1 and 2. I'm not sure if its the matchup or if I'm sideboarding incorrectly. What I notice on some Mardu players is that they side out Hordeling Outburst when they are on the draw but against the guy who beat me, he kept them in all 3 games. There's a game where I did not bring in my Drown in Sorrows, a decision I sorely regret, (I'm on the play) presuming he boarded them out, and in the end I was gobbled up by 5 Goblin Tokens I think. So what's the general rule for this? Here's my SB guide as I remember.
on the play
+2 bile blight
+2 read the bones
+2 end hostilities
-4 caryatid
-1 sorin
-1 thoughtseize
on the draw
+2 end hostilities
+2 bile blight
+2 drown in sorrow
+2 read the bones
-2 anafenza
-1 wingmate roc
-4 caryatid
-1 sorin
Abzan Whip - this matchup is really hard pre and post board. I really think Thoughtseize shines in this matchup but unfortunately, I only drew them once in the whole 2 games. I think I've really got to aggro out this deck as reaching Hornet Queen mana is really hard to win against without drawing any sweepers and god forbid they have Whip in play.
Magma Jet vs Read the Bones
I chose Jet over Bones simply because the former costs 2 mana and helps you set up your land drops. You don't also lose life which is huge.
No Underworld Cerberus and Despise in MD
5 drop slot is quite crowded. Ideally, I want to bring in Cerberus against heavy removal decks. Despise is a bad card MD IMO.
Although this deck stomps out aggro, I struggle against the powerhouses of Abzan and Jeskai even UB control. One of the problems I face is I run out of gas before they do and then they refill via Dig or Abzan Charm and I get run over. I can't simply one for one them and expect to win.
I'm not really sure what the deck wants to do. You have Sylvan Caryatid but what exactly are you trying to ramp into? Hall of Triumph and Gather Courage are out of place in this deck. Even the 1 of Marauder is a bit lost. The shell in itself is almost the same as a generic G/B devotion. You almost have the framework, just get rid of the bad cards.
How about casting Hall of Triumph on t4 and buffing 3 creatures? And you have mana open to pump a Boon of Erebos? A lot can be made on 4 mana not just casting an underpowered bestowed creature that won't give you instant advantage.
Its not a 3/3. Again, I mentioned that the 1/1 body is what makes it underwhelming. There are a lot of 1/1s that can kill it at any given time. Yes the 2 life loss is actually good. The problem is, in order for it to be efficient, you need to spend 4 mana in one turn to bestow it on a creature (and god just pray they don't have removal). In an aggro deck, I really don't feel comfortable spending 4 mana in 1 turn on a play that will just net a loss of 2 life. That isn't impressive in my book.
Bile Blight - you need a T2 efficient removal because there will be a LOT of hyper aggressive strategies that you need to answer in the early stages. Caryatid doesn't cut it, Downfall is too slow and Charm is too narrow. With Blight, you can answer creatures with 3 toughness below (Fleecemane, i'm looking at you!). I have 4 of in my deck
Silence the Believers - you can add this or not depending on your meta. For me, it serves as Hero's Downfall numbers 5 and 6. I have 2 in my deck
What I will cut or move in SB
Murderous Cut - this is purely a SB option. And having more than 2 is atrocious. The reason is that you can't possibly delve cast it on the 3rd time.
Aetherspouts - in my experience, this is a horrible card against fast aggro. Normally if you leave 5 mana open, they just slay you to death with just one creature. I'll cut it immediately. Maybe leave 1 slot in SB if I'm feeling good. But god that card is really awful.
Creatures/PW
It looks good. Haven't tested Jace yet but overall its clean.
Manabase
Painlands - I will not play 4 of these cards. Maybe 2 but that's stretching it. The reason is that I can't afford to lose 1 life every time I need to cast something relevant. Yes, Courser can offset this but the damage accumulated far exceeds it. I'll change it to something like this
depends on the meta. But as you mentioned, you'll need 3-4 Drown in Sorrow. Probably some Despise? Some countermagic in Negate, Gainsay or Stubborn Denial. Throw in some Erebos God and its good to go.
I don't like Spiteful Returned as a 2 drop in this deck. The 1/1 body is really underwhelming and most likely will just die on your first attack. The bestow part isn't really that good either. You're running 21-22 lands and already have a 5 drop bestow in Herald of Torment. Mana intensivewise, it isn't efficient. On top of that, it doesn't kill Courser of Kruphix even if you pump it with Boon of Erebos.
You can say that Boon Satyr is another reach tool that GW has aside from Caller of the Pride. Also, against control, I consider them as Advent of the Wurm nos 5-8. I'll pick them over Conclave any time of the day. Flash creatures are just too good to pass.
I'm so close to just giving up on standard for awhile
The type of Deck I'm liable to see at ANY point while playing
Mono Blue Devotion
Mono Black Devotion
Mono Green Devotion
Rabble Red
Red White Burn
Jund Planeswalkers
Blue White Control
Black/White
Esper Control
Maybe school has been out to long but I don't know how I bring in a sideboard against all of those, the newest one is Jund Planeswalkers, Mainboarding 4 Mizzium Mortars, and sideboarding Anger of the Gods along with 4 of every removal spell they can get their hands on; My sideboard is a wreck and I don't know what to bring week to week; The 4 Skylashers stay cause Mono Blue is so bad, but it seems like I'm losing more than half my matchups with Rabble Red, and haven't beat a Jund Planeswalker deck yet.
There are some SB guides on CFB.com (Juza) and TCGplayer.com (Wescoe) that have detailed inputs on what to bring against. Its not much but at least you have an idea what cards should go in and what should come out and how to play the matchup overall.
Jund PW is tough, I'll give you that but its not unwinnable. The key here is sequencing your 1 -2 drops and proper timing on when to use Banishing Light. Post board, I bring in my Reclamation Sage to take out Courser and an additional copy of Banishing Light. Sometimes, I also bring in Boon Satyr replacing a Soldier and a Land (if I'm on the draw)
I think Rabble Red is a very good matchup, barring mana screws and all. From my experience, the key cards that you should contain early are Firefist Striker and Legion Loyalist. When they are attacking and leaving pump spell mana open, don't hesitate to throw in your creatures and block. You'll exhause their cards in the long run and just outclass their creatures. I usually bring in my lifelink cards here in Ajani Steadfast and Unflinching Courage.
I'm having problems with mono black and jund monsters/walkers, especially game 2.
For mono black, pack rat seems to be the biggest problem. I still think it can be controlled with pithing needle. The problem i usually get is when they start drawing tons of removal.
As for jund, game 1 is easy. Games 2/3, after boarding, they have tons of spot removals while building tons of card advantage. I just can't do anything.
Please help. What should i be taking out and boarding in. Thanks!
Personally, I am quite happy if my opponent played a Pack Rat on T2 instead of a removal spell. Technically, it places the black based player on a tough spot. Do they play a removal spell on one of my 3 creatures or do they create a rat token? If they do create a Rat token, it only has 2 power and will trade at least with 2 of my creatures should they block. If they choose to play a removal spell, I can still push for some damage and significantly delay their token generation. You can even use Banishing light on their Rat post combat if you have it. If they choose to create a token and not block, that will be ideally at least 6 points of damage (not considering your previous attacks) and it still puts them in a lot of pressure to answer our threats. In our last WMCQ, all of the black based decks paired against me didn't even bother making more than 1 rat token. Its just too slow and easily outclassed by my creatures.
What I notice with this deck is that it really shines against decks who pack a lot of removal(B/x decks, Jund planeswalkers, U/W/X control) compared with decks who jam the board with creatures (Green Devotion, Blue Devotion, Rabble Red)
Yeah, my opponents were always wary when she was at 8 (for some reason they think I have an Ulamog in the deck LOL). Game 1 she is fantastic as I can dig my deck for key burn spells and such. But when on the draw, she is a liability and I always shave some copies to make room for TKS.
Also, I failed to mention that when she hits 8, I am so far ahead in terms of card advantage that I stuck with using her +2 all throughout. In a way, it mitigate my flooding issue since I just pitched the lands I drew to her ability.
4 Needle Spires
4 Battlefield Forge
4 Drownyard Temple
4 Mage-Ring Network
3 Stone Quarry
7 Mountain
Craetures
2 Goblin Dark Dwellers
Instants/Sorceries
4 Fiery Impulse
4 Fiery Temper
4 Tormenting Voice
3 Lightning Axe
3 Exquisite Firecraft
3 Fall of the Titans
2 Magmatic Insight
3 Pyromancers Goggles
Planeswalkers
3 Nahiri, The Harbringer
3 Chandra, Flamecaller
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Reality Smasher
2 Hallowed Moonlight
2 Stasis Snare
2 Radiant Flames
1 Exquisite Firecraft
It was an excruciating 10 rounder so I can't remember all the matchups.
RD 1 vs Jund L(2-1)
Game 1 was the only game I played perfectly sitting on my burn spells with Goggles in play and him draining his life with his card draw searching for an answer. Games 2 and 3 spelled differently though with him landing multiple Kalitas and me not drawing enough action to counter it. Game 3 ended with him at 7 life, me needing 1 more mana to finish him off with Fall of the Titans + Fiery Temper.
RD 2 vs Esper Control W(2-0)
Not really what's up with his deck but he literally countered all of my card draw spells. That paved the way to a resolved Chandra which he literally had no answer. Game 2 was the same. I baited all of my TKS and Smashers, kept pressuring with Needle Spires and when he literally gassed his hand, I resolved Chandra for the win.
RD 3 vs Esper Control W(2-1)
Game 1 was a nightmare. He literally had an answer to everything I had and when he resolved a Sphinx of the Final word, I scooped. Game 2, I boarded in my Eldrazi suite and was able to come back on a curve of TKS to Smasher. Game 3 was where he made a crucial misplay. My hand was Thought Knot Seer (which he bounced previously using Silumgar's Command), Chandra, a couple of burn spells and Goggles. He has 6 lands and proceeded to play Narset, leaving him 2 mana open. Her +1 revealed a Negate. I was expecting him to pass the turn leaving mana for Negate but instead, he opted to cast Transgress the Mind. I'm thinking he has a removal spell of some sort. Oddly enough, he took out TKS. That gave me a window to resolve Chandra and I won the game right there as he had no answer.
RD 4 vs RG Goggles Ramp W(2-0)
Never really put up a fight and was rattled when he received a warning (casted a Tormenting Voice without a red source). I just waited till I resolved a Chandra and won from there.
RD 5 vs GW Tokens W(2-0)
Game 1 he was stuck at 3 lands and Game 2 he flooded badly. This is a bad MU for me and I don't consider this as a legit win. Although Game 2 had me curving TKS at 4 which prevented him from casting a turn 5 Avacyn that sealed the deal.
RD 6 vs U/W with Skyspawner W(2-0)
Not sure what his deck was but I managed to kill him twice with Fall of the Titans + Goggles. for 12 damage Game 1 then for 15 the next game. Mage Ring Network is sometimes a crazy card if unchecked.
RD 7 vs Bant Displacer/Humans not sure W(2-1)
Probably the best magic I have played for a long time. Game 1 he wrecks me with multiple Cocos and me running out of burn spells for his creatures. Game 2 I fought back behind a resolved Goggles which effectively killed all creatures he put out with Collected Company. Game 3 is a nailbiter. He casted Coco on T4 and revealed 2 Displacers. I was thinking oh well I put out a good fight and was on defense the whole game. In a couple of turns I was down to 1 and was staring at a board of 2 Displacers, a Reflector Mage (which bounced my Goblin DD) and a 5/4 Tireless Tracker. Luckily enough, I drew Chandra in time, proceeded to wipe the board and then successfully resolved Goggles the next turn. I won the game with my lone Goblin DD while sitting on burn spells to fend off his creatures.
RD 8 vs RW Humans L(2-1)
Punted this one big time. Won Game 1 in a comfortable fashion, sitting back on Goggles + burn spells to kill of his creatures. Game 2, I had him on the ropes. I had Stasis Snare, Radiant Flames, Chandra and Goggles. Just needed to sequence them properly to pull out the win. He had 2 creatures in play + Needle Spires and 3 cards in hand. I'm not sure what I was thinking but I wanted to hit the homerun. So I resolved Chandra and proceeded to wipe the board completely forgetting the fact that he has an active Needle Spires in play. It snowballed from there with Spires killing Chandra and me not getting any board presence after. Game 3 I was stuck on 3 lands and was completely annihilated by multiple Lieutenants.
I think the correct line of play was to cast Radiant Flames for 2 and pass the turn. If he has another creature, I should have killed it with a burn spell or Stasis Snare and then casted Chandra. Fatigue probably got the best of me.
Round 9 vs BW Control L(2-0)
Completely outdrawn and outplayed in this matchup. Couldn't keep up with his card advantage and always curving out with Gideon + Ob Nixilis to Secure the Wastes. At this point I was completely out of T8 contention
Round 10 vs Bant Company W(2-0)
Another intense matchup. Game 1 I burned him out with Fall + Goggles. Game 2 I was again down to 1 life before I was able to pull of a gigantic Fall of the Titans + Goggles again.
Overall, deck was a blast to play. If I would change anything in the deck, it would be the sideboard. Those Radiant Flames are too slow. Probably replace them with Kozilek's Return or Dual Shot. Not sure. Also, I want to make space for a third Stasis Snare but not sure what to cut.
Also, Nahiri was boarded out a lot of times. Not sure what should I do with her in the future.
2 Anafenza, the Foremost
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Siege Rhino
2 Wingmate Roc
Planeswalkers (6)
3 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 Nissa, Worldwaker
Spells (13)
4 Abzan Charm
4 Hero's Downfall
1 Utter End
4 Thoughtseize
4 Forest
2 Plains
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
3 Temple of Malady
2 Temple of Silence
4 Windswept Heath
2 Caves of Koilos
3 Llanowar Wastes
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Bile Blight
3 Drown in Sorrow
2 Unravel the Aether
2 End Hostilities
1 Utter End
2 Murderous Cut
2 Read the Bones
1 Duneblast
I got out with a bad start at 0-2, losing to Mardu and Abzan Whip in rounds 1 and 2 respectively. I've somewhat managed to rattle off 4 consecutive wins against Temur Aggro, Abzan Aggro and 2 Abzan Midrange decks in the later rounds thanks to good draws.
Some notes on my losses
Mardu - I seem to notice that Abzan Midrange has a strong game 1 against this deck but is an uphill battle for games 1 and 2. I'm not sure if its the matchup or if I'm sideboarding incorrectly. What I notice on some Mardu players is that they side out Hordeling Outburst when they are on the draw but against the guy who beat me, he kept them in all 3 games. There's a game where I did not bring in my Drown in Sorrows, a decision I sorely regret, (I'm on the play) presuming he boarded them out, and in the end I was gobbled up by 5 Goblin Tokens I think. So what's the general rule for this? Here's my SB guide as I remember.
on the play
+2 bile blight
+2 read the bones
+2 end hostilities
-4 caryatid
-1 sorin
-1 thoughtseize
on the draw
+2 end hostilities
+2 bile blight
+2 drown in sorrow
+2 read the bones
-2 anafenza
-1 wingmate roc
-4 caryatid
-1 sorin
Abzan Whip - this matchup is really hard pre and post board. I really think Thoughtseize shines in this matchup but unfortunately, I only drew them once in the whole 2 games. I think I've really got to aggro out this deck as reaching Hornet Queen mana is really hard to win against without drawing any sweepers and god forbid they have Whip in play.
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Ashcloud Phoenix
4 Stormbreath Dragon
PW (3)
3 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
Lands (25)
4 Mountain
8 Swamp
4 Bloodfell Caves
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Temple of Malice
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Thoughtseize
4 Magma Jet
4 Lightning Strike
4 Hero's Downfall
4 Stoke the Flames
4 Anger of the Gods
3 Magma Spray
1 Liliana Vess
2 Murderous Cut
2 Despise
1 Read the Bones
2 Underworld Cerberus
I'll discuss my card choices
Magma Jet vs Read the Bones
I chose Jet over Bones simply because the former costs 2 mana and helps you set up your land drops. You don't also lose life which is huge.
No Underworld Cerberus and Despise in MD
5 drop slot is quite crowded. Ideally, I want to bring in Cerberus against heavy removal decks. Despise is a bad card MD IMO.
Although this deck stomps out aggro, I struggle against the powerhouses of Abzan and Jeskai even UB control. One of the problems I face is I run out of gas before they do and then they refill via Dig or Abzan Charm and I get run over. I can't simply one for one them and expect to win.
Bile Blight - you need a T2 efficient removal because there will be a LOT of hyper aggressive strategies that you need to answer in the early stages. Caryatid doesn't cut it, Downfall is too slow and Charm is too narrow. With Blight, you can answer creatures with 3 toughness below (Fleecemane, i'm looking at you!). I have 4 of in my deck
Silence the Believers - you can add this or not depending on your meta. For me, it serves as Hero's Downfall numbers 5 and 6. I have 2 in my deck
What I will cut or move in SB
Murderous Cut - this is purely a SB option. And having more than 2 is atrocious. The reason is that you can't possibly delve cast it on the 3rd time.
Aetherspouts - in my experience, this is a horrible card against fast aggro. Normally if you leave 5 mana open, they just slay you to death with just one creature. I'll cut it immediately. Maybe leave 1 slot in SB if I'm feeling good. But god that card is really awful.
Creatures/PW
It looks good. Haven't tested Jace yet but overall its clean.
Manabase
Painlands - I will not play 4 of these cards. Maybe 2 but that's stretching it. The reason is that I can't afford to lose 1 life every time I need to cast something relevant. Yes, Courser can offset this but the damage accumulated far exceeds it. I'll change it to something like this
Sideboard
depends on the meta. But as you mentioned, you'll need 3-4 Drown in Sorrow. Probably some Despise? Some countermagic in Negate, Gainsay or Stubborn Denial. Throw in some Erebos God and its good to go.
Hope this helps.
There are some SB guides on CFB.com (Juza) and TCGplayer.com (Wescoe) that have detailed inputs on what to bring against. Its not much but at least you have an idea what cards should go in and what should come out and how to play the matchup overall.
Jund PW is tough, I'll give you that but its not unwinnable. The key here is sequencing your 1 -2 drops and proper timing on when to use Banishing Light. Post board, I bring in my Reclamation Sage to take out Courser and an additional copy of Banishing Light. Sometimes, I also bring in Boon Satyr replacing a Soldier and a Land (if I'm on the draw)
I think Rabble Red is a very good matchup, barring mana screws and all. From my experience, the key cards that you should contain early are Firefist Striker and Legion Loyalist. When they are attacking and leaving pump spell mana open, don't hesitate to throw in your creatures and block. You'll exhause their cards in the long run and just outclass their creatures. I usually bring in my lifelink cards here in Ajani Steadfast and Unflinching Courage.
Don't give on this deck yet!
Personally, I am quite happy if my opponent played a Pack Rat on T2 instead of a removal spell. Technically, it places the black based player on a tough spot. Do they play a removal spell on one of my 3 creatures or do they create a rat token? If they do create a Rat token, it only has 2 power and will trade at least with 2 of my creatures should they block. If they choose to play a removal spell, I can still push for some damage and significantly delay their token generation. You can even use Banishing light on their Rat post combat if you have it. If they choose to create a token and not block, that will be ideally at least 6 points of damage (not considering your previous attacks) and it still puts them in a lot of pressure to answer our threats. In our last WMCQ, all of the black based decks paired against me didn't even bother making more than 1 rat token. Its just too slow and easily outclassed by my creatures.
What I notice with this deck is that it really shines against decks who pack a lot of removal(B/x decks, Jund planeswalkers, U/W/X control) compared with decks who jam the board with creatures (Green Devotion, Blue Devotion, Rabble Red)