12-10-2011 Note: Updated decklist: -2 Claustrophobia, -2 Endless Ranks of the Dead, +2 Silent Departure, +2 Unbreathing Horde)
This obviously isn't a tier 1 deck... and probably not even tier 2. But I've been playing with it in the Tournament Practice room and have had some success.
The idea of the deck is simple:
Step 1: Cast a lot of cheap zombies an stall with removal.
Step 2: Fill graveyard.
Step 3: Cast Rooftop Storm.
Step 4: Cast Creeping Renaissance naming 'creatures' and dump your entire zombie horde on the field.
There are a few tricks in this deck to keep in mind:
While Creeping Renaissance is usually used for creatures in most decks, naming 'enchantments' instead of 'creatures' is a completely viable option in this deck. With 11 enchantments in the deck, not only do you get Rooftop Storm back, but you get up to 6 removal spells back to your hand as well, because of this...
Use your Dead Weights and Claustrophobias liberally. Because they all can be returned back to your hand multiple times, cast these spells early and often. But let's not forget...
Endless Ranks of the Dead acts as a late game finisher and an alternate win condition. When playing the deck, you're never going to be in a rush to cast it, but when it gets going there's not much your opponent can do about it.
Grimgrin, Corpse-Born is obviously a big beater that acts as additional removal, but it also saves your army from Sever the Bloodline.
Grimgrin + Rooftop Storm + Ghoulraiser combo; particularly effective after you cast a Creeping Renaissance, if you have Rooftop Storm in play, first you need to drop Grimgrin and cast a Ghoulraiser. You then sacrifice the Ghoulraiser in response to its own grave digging effect and dig itself out the graveyard. Infinitely loop. This is especially effect to get Grimgrin out of Blasphemous Act range. (I usually announce how many times I'm going to do it to not annoy my opponent too much.)
Note: This deck intentionally stayed away from the other skaabs and token generators. The more creature cards in the graveyard, the more effective it becomes.
Like I said, I've had some success with this deck, but it's still missing something. I'm looking forward to the next pair of expansions to see if this can actually work. The cards that I want to replace the most are:
Deranged Assistant - No matter how good its ability seems to be, it still remains the only non-zombie creature in the deck. This deck wants zombies.
Forbidden Alchemy - This spell is basically never cast for its flashback cost. Because of the way this deck is set up, once you get into 5, 6, and 7 mana territory, that stage of the game is reserved for Creeping Renaissance, Grimgrin, and Rooftop Storm. Those are the only spells you ever want to cast once you get that much mana.
Endless Ranks of the Dead - Endless Ranks works okay, but it can easily be replaced with an even better zombie enchantment in the future.
Claustrophobia - 3 mana is a little much for removal for this deck. I'm going to be on the look out for 1 or 2 mana enchantment removal. (I tried Sensory Deprivation, but it's just not powerful enough.) Because of Creeping Renaissance, you want to be able to grab 3-6 removal spells at a time and cast as many of them as possible. 3 mana is too much.
TL;DR - This is a fun deck to play, but Dark Ascension can't get here soon enough. Hopefully the next expansion includes more effective zombies and cheap enchantment removal.
I think you should have played runecaster's pike and invisible stalker in the u/r deck (taking out lost in the mists and witchbane orb). and definitely going 9/7 on the lands there.. how are you going to flash back devil's play and/or cast burning vengence on turn 3?
You're probably right about the Invisible Stalker + Runechanter's Pike. Even if I wasn't attacking with it, first striking blockers sounds kind of sexy. But at the time, I figured with only 4 creatures, Runechanter's Pike would likely be a dead draw.
I think I drew Devil's Play twice during the entire draft and never flash backed it. I also must have gotten lucky on the draw because I always had that single mountain I needed.
Very interesting. I've been curious about mill ever since I learned how viable it actually is. Pick order feels so wrong to me as sensory deprivation and ghostly possession are always dismissed by me. Gotta break myself of that thought process if I wish to draft this deck.
I've a question. How viable was trepanation blade? You mention that it should only be considered in a creature heavy/mill light build, but I've always contended that it has a place in mill since it is more effective than millstone. I've never tested that hypothesis out though so I'm wondering how well it ran in your deck.
I have mixed feelings about Trepanation Blade. Most of the time it feels like I need every creature untapped to be used as blockers. Especially against white decks, I just assume they always have Rebukes in their hand and I'm happy to just sit back and give them a dead card in hand. I still think it's only really good if you have either a lot of token guys or maybe an Abby Griffin or two?
Another problem is that it kind of ties up mana for Lost in the Mist. On the other hand, I might be valuing those counters too highly.
I've never been a serious drafter, but for the past month, especially with the holidays, it feels like all I've been doing is drafting Innistrad on MTGO. I got on a hot streak right away and banged out 6-7 drafts in a row, making it into the finals every time. After that, I got knocked out 4-5 times in a row in the 1st or 2nd rounds. I took a little break, sold some cards, and decided I was going to try something new: I was going to force the Mill Strategy in Innistrad as much as humanly possible.
My First Attempt at Forcing Mill
I enter a 4-3-2-2 draft. And after the 2nd pack, my cards looked a little like this:
My first pick from the first pack was Angel of Flight Alabaster. I had no intentions of attacking with it, but a 4/4 flier is a 4/4 flier and I figured it could bring back unlimited Spirits from the grave for even more blockers. I kind of lost faith with my 2nd pick and went with Unburial Rites, but the next pack that was passed to me had a Curse of the Bloody Tome so I just went all-in Mill from there.
The great thing about Mill is that things like Sensory Deprivation, Dream Twist, and Ghostly Possession are almost guaranteed to wheel back to you, so I picked the Voiceless Spirit and Chapel Geist high and got everything I needed went it came back.
The 3rd pack was a little unfortunate:
Bloodline Keeper. It's not what I needed. I wasn't going UB (unfortunately), but I wasn't going to pass it up. I didn't know if this was even going to work, so I at least wanted to pick up some tickets after I crashed and burned.
Ludevic's Test Subject is passed to me next and my deck ends up looking something like this:
(Note the Labratory Maniac in my sideboard that I was happy to hate-draft.)
Game 1 started off with a keepable hand, just as long as I picked up a 3rd land:
I get the land I need, I drop a curse and a blocker, and things are going well:
Things get out of hand for my opponent real quick:
By turn 10, the inevitable happens:
Game 2 goes less than good for me.
Once again, I get out an early Curse, but this time it gets hit almost immediately with a side boarded Urgent Exorcism:
I never draw another mill card and things go from back to worse:
He ties up the series 1-1 and we go on to game 3.
Everything runs perfectly this time around. I get early control, keep control, and watch the cards in his library slowly run out of gas:
I never even have to cast either one of the Feelings of Dread in my hand. It was all over.
Versus a solid GW Humans deck, I go 2-1, and move onto the next round.
I don't have screenshots of the rest of the draft, but I end up beating my next opponent and losing in the finals. In the end, I win 3 packs, and the deck performed much better than I expected. With my 3 prize packs, I queue up immediately and figure I'd keep going all night long until I stopped winning and ran out of replacement packs...
The 6-1 Blue/White Mill Deck
Moments after the previous draft ends, all queued up and ready to go in another 4-3-2-2, the 2nd Forced Mill draft begins and it could not have gone any better.
My first pick, first pack was a Geist-Honored Monk and was drafting mill from the start and I never looked back. I ended up with a deck that looked something like this:
Not only did I get an Undead Alchemist passed to me in the 2nd pack, but the same happened with (yet another) Ludevic's Test Subject in the 3rd. I get all the pieces I need... except I was a little light on the mill. I would have liked 1 or 2 more mill cards, but this deck out have to do.
I want to point out my sideboard that includes: Nevermore, 2x Paraselene, Labratory Maniac, 2x Ghoulcaller's Chant, Ancient Grudge, Bramblecrush, Make a Wish, Naturalize, and Witchbane Orb. Every single one of these cards was hate drafted by me. And between the cards for the deck and all the hate drafting I was doing, there was very little left over. Almost every single one of my picks through the entire draft was a quality pick.
I end up going 6-1 with this deck and win the entire thing.
(Even though I won, I definitely thing I got a little lucky on the draw, getting an early Curse almost every game. All of my mill cards could have easily been bunched up near the bottom of my deck, but luckily for me they weren't. It should also be noted that I never played the Geist-Honored Monk a single time. For some reason she just wasn't coming and in the end... I didn't really need her anyway.)
I take a little break, but I soon sit down once again. I then take 3 of my 4 prize packs and queue up immediately.
Blue/Black Mill Deck as a 2nd Option
This time I enter a 8-4 draft because I'm feeling a little lucky. But a few picks into the draft it's very clear that white isn't available at all. I stick with the blue, but this time instead of stick with white as my 2nd color, I switch it over to black. I high draft a couple Dead Weights and even end up with a Nephalia Drownyard by the end. For my big bodies, I snag a Morkut Banshee and throw in a Screeching Bat because I get a little desperate for creatures.
Most importantly, I end up grabbing (yet another) Undead Alchemist.
I end up winning the entire draft again.
It's like I can't lose.
At this point, I have 9 prize packs leftover. I queue up in the 8-4 draft again and again and again...
...I end up losing in the 2nd round, the 1st round, and the 2nd round in quick succession. And because these were all 8-4 drafts I log off with nothing to show for it.
Maybe I just started off the night with a hot streak and the universe evened it all out with a cold streak, but at this point I log out for the night. Either way, it wouldn't be too long before I would try it again.
The Emergency Blue/Red Mill Deck
Over the next 3 weeks I end up force drafting mill at least 7 or 8 times, all in 4-3-2-2. I only get bounced in the 1st round once. (Although, I think in 3 or 4 of those attempts I don't make it past the 2nd round.)
Either way, like I said, 3 weeks have passed.
At this point I'm happy with drafting either UW or UB as my colors and just going with it. But in this very last draft, white and black aren't completely dried up.
In the 1st pack, I first pick a Fiend Hunter and think things are going to be business as usual. But by the end, I barely have any white, black is non-existent, and I don't have a single Curse. I open up the 2nd pack and find a Devil's Play as my rare. At this point, I think all hope is lost and I just start rare drafting for tickets. I get passed a Gavony Township and I pick that up too. I take a couple Dream Twists, but nothing else too interesting. Most importantly, I only have a single Clostrophobia and a pair of Sensory Deprivations for removal. All hope seems to be lost...
...and then something hits me in pack 3, pick 3.
Still with no white or black, I make the emergency decision to make the switch to red and I grab the 1st of 2 Burning Vengeances that come my way. The draft concludes and I put together a Mill Deck with a grand total of 3 creatures:
(I'm so desperate for cards that I end up main decking a Witchbane Orb and 3x Lost in the Mist.)
Do you see what I saw at pack 3, pick 3?
At that point, I had already drafted 5x Dream Twists. Together with a Think Twice and a Devil's Play, that was more than enough for me to start running Burning Vengences for additional, efficient control. I had a good feeling about this... I think?
In my first round, I end up getting matched with a pretty good, high aggro, GR Werewolf deck:
But with 5x Dream Twist, I easily prevent a single werewolf from transforming and I completely annihilate him.
Versus GR Werewolves, I go 2-0.
In fact, with this deck, I think I beat him in record time. I don't think either one of our games went past Round 7. I got the chance to see his entire deck and I don't know if I should feel bad or not because it looked super solid. He just had the misfortune of running into me.
In the 2nd round, I get matched with a very aggressive WR deck, featuring lots of tokens, Rally the Peasants, and Instigator Gang. But this story is going to take an interesting twist because it's not his deck or the match-up that I want to talk about, it's the colorful story told by MattyEdge in chat.
I play my first Dream Twist and the story just writes itself:
Friendly enough banter, don't you think?
I wonder if he'll change his tune after game 2?
The match starts and the banter picks up again:
The banter dies down, but it was finally over, he leaves me with some parting words:
Versus WR Aggro Tokens, I go 2-0.
(MattyEdge went from friendly, to chatty, to angry very fast. Funny stuff.)
I don't remember what type of deck I was up against, but I end up losing in the finals. Still, I consider the draft to be a huge success, especially after drafting so miserably in the first 2 packs.
Who knew a deck with 1x Fortress Crab, 1x Riot Devils, and 1x Selhoff Occultist could be so effective?
(Success.)
Drafting Mill in Innistrad: Tips & Tricks
Like I said, I no expert drafter, but over the past month of drafting nothing but mill, here are some of my personal rules:
You should be shooting for UW Mill whenever possible. Not only does white have a ton of draftable creatures idle for blocking (Voiceless Spirit, Chapel Geist, Doomed Traveler) and great removal (Rebuke, Smite the Monstrous, Fiend Hunter, Slayer of the Wicket), but they have 2 very important spells...
Ghostly Posession - This card always drafts extremely late. That's because in most decks it's terrible. But in this deck, as long as the creature doesn't have a tapping ability, it's essentially a Clostrophobia. Imagine if every Clostrophobia you find in pack was guaranteed to wheel back to you and you could pick it up as a 10th, 11th, 12th, or 13th pick? That's what this card becomes in this deck.
Feeling of Dread - With a Curse of the Bloodly Tome (or two) on the field, the ability to lock down a pair of creatures for 2 turns is amazing.
Note: The value of Doomed Travelers and Mausoleum Guards goes up the more Selhoff Occultists you have in your deck.
If white isn't coming your way, a suitable replacement is the UB Mill deck. With this deck, you want to high draft the usual black removal spells (Dead Weight, Victim of Night). It's important to note that you want to stay very far way from Tribute to Hunger. It doesn't work at all with blue enchantment removal (Clostrophobia, Sensory Deprivation). In addition to the removal, you want to look for a few other cards...
Typhoid Rats - Amazing blockers. Not much else to say. Get them. They're good when all you need to do is stall.
Moan of the Unhallowed - Not only do they make multiple blockers, but it also has flashback which works well with Ghoul Caller's Bells and Armored Skaabs.
If both white and black fail (as your 1st and 2nd options, in that order), apparently red may also be an emergency option. You never know how many Curse of Bloody Tomes and/or Dream Twists you're going to get, but if you find yourself getting overloaded with Dream Twists, you might want to start thinking about switching to red and gabbing a Burning Vengeance or 2.
You can never have too many Curse of the Bloody Tomes.
You can never have too many Dream Twists.
You can never have too many Feelings of Dread, but I wouldn't draft them higher than mill spells or straight removal.
Ideally, you want exactly 2x Ghoul Caller's Bells.
Ideally, you want exactly 2x Lost in the Mist.
If you're running low on mill, you want exactly 1x Celler Door.
If you're running low on mill and if you're running enough creatures with evasion (like tokens), you want exactly 1x Trepanation Blade.
Ideally, you want to run as few as 8-10 creatures with the rest dedicated to mill and removal.
Fortress Crab - This is one of the best blockers in the set. Ideally, you want 2-3 Fortress Crabs in your deck, depending on how top heavy your deck is with Lost in the Mists and/or rares.
Undead Alchemist is the best rare you can ever draft for your deck.
Even if you're going UW, Nephalia Drownyard may be worth splashing.
Other good rares include: Ludevic's Test Subject, Manor Gargoyle, Geist-Honored Monk, Angel of Flight Alabaster, and all the usual big bodies.
I'm extremely unimpressed with Creepy Doll. I guess it's an okay pick, but I've ran it 3-4 times already and I have yet to win a single flip whenever it blocks.
There is an insane amount of hate drafting you have to do if you want to run mill. Maybe it's just my luck, but I haven't been in a single draft without multiple copies of Labratory Maniac and/or Witchbane Orb. Besides those 2 biggies, the number 1 target you want to hate away is Paraselene. Not only does it get rid of all your Curses, but the majority of your removal will be in the form of enchantments.
I usually high draft the Curse of the Bloody Tomes and other obvious mill cards in the 1st pack and then let them slip away and wheel back in the 2nd and 3rd packs. You want to make sure that you're the only one going mill or I don't think it's ever going to work. That being said...
I've had fun with this strategy over the past month, but I'm fully aware that mill strategy only works if only one person is going for it in a single draft. Part of the reason I'm spilling my beans on it now is because I want to cut way down on drafting and MTGO in this month of December. There are just other things I need to get done.
It makes no sense for me to write all this and then continue to draft it.
One more thing: In the 15-16 drafts I've participated in, I was forced to abandon mill maybe 2-3 times. It's so easy to go for it when no one else is. (It's also hard to go for it when you open a bomb rare in another color, followed up by solid 2nd and 3rd picks that have nothing to do with mill.)
Anyway, hope you liked my story and I'll be adding it to my blog shortly as the 2nd entry in my Adventures in MTGO. I don't know how often I'll do them, but hopefully I'll have time to continue to write up more. Whether it be Draft or Sealed or Constructed or whatever... if you want to read more about a newbie (me) trying out new things in MTGO, feel free to check it out.
I've never ever heard of that. I guess I'm lucky not to have played against someone using irrelevant triggers in any of my MTGO time.
I'm with Phyrre. Now that I know of it, if I see it I'll report it. Although I'm very adept with my autoyield settings, so it will probably never happen to me.
Thinking on your opponent's time and playing quickly is fine. Douchebaggery is douchebaggery, online or in person.
~M
I don't really get this response and you didn't answer the question.
When I did it, I wasn't just trolling my opponent and laughing at him behind my monitor as this clock slowly ran out.
For example, in an NBA basketball game, where players, teams, and coaches make many actions as the clock ticks down -- actions they wouldn't normally take if the clock didn't exist. They do this because the clock is part of the game.
I've played magic casually for over a decade now, but have only played draft/sealed games maybe 30-ish or so times total in my life.
A couple of those times, I found myself against a really slow player and/or player with a very bad internet connection. Whether I'm winning or losing, whenever I see this, I always find myself doing everything I can to extend the game so their clock runs out.
Take this last time for example:
I was playing an Innistrad Draft and nearing the end of our first game I look at the clock. His clock reads ~7:30 and mine at ~12:30. At this point, I already know I lost the game. Instead of conceding, in the first turns I have left, I cast every spell I can, activate every ability I can, and double block any creatures I can.
In game 2, I think he finally realized what was up and began picking up the pace. I'm not sure if he started making mistakes, but I ended up winning the 2nd game and his clock was down to ~2:00.
In game 3, both of us are playing even faster as I try to keep the clock on him and eventually it runs out.
I'm not trash talking or anything like that, but I am doing this intentionally. I mean... I want to win.
---
Is playing the clock part of the game or is it dirty play? Both?
Have you ever done this?
Have you ever had someone do this to you? If so, do you blame them?
edit: I'm specifically talking about MTGO in this post.
I've been a little underwhelmed with the deck the past 2 days. My win percentage is definitely under 50%. Maybe 40%, but I don't have hard data. It's close to being good... but I think this deck may need an expansion.
With Moan of the Unhallowed vs. Bloodline Keeper, I figure the moan is just faster (especially with a Intangible Virtue in play). 2 tokens created instantly versus 2 tokens created over the next 2 turns. Also, this isn't a vampire deck so I'm not too sure how often it would ever transform. In general, I think it's better, but it might be worth thinking about sideboarding if there are specific matchups that the keeper is better.
Great write up. This looks like a great deck. I really like the trick with skirsdag high priest and midnight haunting. Can you explain some of your card choices? Any reason you went with Falkenrath Noble over Olivia or Bloodline keeper? Both seem like they would be stronger 4 drops. How has Ghost quarter been? Do you use it to fix mana or kill lands more often? Is it better than Shimmering Grotto? Are there any other cards you tried and found they didn't work?
Hello,
Honestly, Falkenwrath Noble is probably the not-so-obvious MVP of the deck. Bloodline Keeper is pretty good, but I think he's just really slow. There's also the double black mana that I want to stay away from. But you have to test out the deck for yourself and play around with the Noble to see how good he is.
Like I said in the OP, with Blasphemous Act, he can act as a late game finisher with direct damage. If you get into a situation where both you and your opponent are massing armies, you can hold him back in your hand. And when their life dips below 10 or so life, pay 4 mana for the Noble, then 1 mana for the Blasphemous Act and you win.
Because of all the creatures you're puttin on the field, it's good by itself. But with Blasphemous Act, it enables the deck to have an alternate win condition. This is something the Bloodline Keeper doesn't do at all. He makes a lot of tokens if he's untouched, but the deck already makes a lot of tokens. In the end, he just does more of the same.
edit: I'm thinking of reducing the Ghost Quarters down to 1. With 3 colors, it's kind of rough drawing both of them at the same time. With 8 duals and given the deck is mainly white, I don't run into mana problems too often. When I do, it's usually searching for that 2nd black mana to cast a Moan of the Unhallowed that kills me.
edit again: I just swapped out the Ghost Quarter for a Stensia Bloodhall and it's working out great. Once Burning Vengeance gets going, there's really nothing you can do... except zap them for 2 life a turn. Sometime's that's enough.
After 16 years of playing casual MTG, this is my first attempt at making an original competitive deck in any format. If this isn't "original" feel free to correct me and post links to all the similar deck threads. After getting the idea of this deck last night, I hopped on MTGO, and I threw it together. I played 10 or so solitaire matches, made some tweeks, then played 8 or so matches in the Tournament Practice room, then immediately joined the next available ISD Block Constructed tournament. Results? Story and screenshots after the deck description...
Blasphemous Tokens WBR **Note: The following has some tweeks that were made after the tournament completed. I have a screenshot of the original deck in the story.
**Deck has been modified since original posting. Replaced Liliana with Mausoleum Guards. Some comments below still reference Liliana. 11-8-2011 edit: Replaced Ghost Quarter with Stensia Bloodhall to finish off weakened opponents, especially for Burning Vengeance decks. 11-22-2011 edit: Got rid of Curse of Stalked Prey, upped Intangible Virtue to x4 and added Rally the Peasants x2.
The Idea
The idea was pretty simple: Make a lot of token creatures, cover them with some creature removal, and pump them up with enchantments. After scanning this forum, I've seen BW decks that are similar to this, but I think the most important addition in this deck are 4 copies of Blasphemous Act.
It seems a little counter-intuitive to put Blasphamous Act in such as aggresive, creature heavy deck, but that's what makes it so great. It's not uncommon for me to cast the spell for 3 or less mana. And in this deck, compared to some of the other decks I've played against, is that this deck has built in staying power after the board is wiped clean.
Doomed Necromancer and Moan of the Unhallowed in particular keep the deck going for it to catch its 2nd and 3rd winds. Midnight Haunting and Mikaeus put on the initial pressure (to get your opponent to empty his hand of his creatures). And the Giest-Honored Monk is just good at any point in the game. Another addition in this deck is the inclusion of a total of 6 buffing enchantments. After (a little) testing, I think 3 Intangible Virtue and 3 Curse of Stalked Prey is the right amount. The virtue needs no explanation, but I think the curse kind of puts it over the top.
With Curse of Stalked Prey, it makes your 1st turn Doomed Travelers an instant threat. And the same goes for the rest of your non-token creatures. The same can't be said for the tokens. But what makes it most beautiful is with a single Spirit Token, backed up by a virtue and curse, it becomes an instant threat to win the game -- and a single spirit can be the lone survivor after Blasphemous Act is played.
Skirsdag High Priest is kind of amazing... if they don't remove him right away (which is why there are only 2 copies in the deck). In this deck in particular, with Doomed Travler, Midnight Haunting, and Moan of the Unhallowed, there are plenty of opportunities to both activate Morbid and instantly get 2 fresh bodies to help pay for its activation cost. Throw in the virtues and all of your token creatures can attack freely and still tap if needed to activate the priest.
Now for the very last addition to the deck: Falkenrath Noble
Make a lot of creatures and get a lot of life, right? Not so fast. Imagine between yourself and your opponent, there are 8-10 creatures on the battlefield. Now cast a Blasphemous Act for 1 red mana. Guess what? You just drained your opponent for 8-10 life and probably just won the game. If not, there still might be that pesky Spirit Token in play or that Moan of the Unhallowed in your graveyard ready to be flashbacked.
As for the sideboard, I actually know very little about side-boarding. Like I said, I'm not a competitive player and I don't use side boards. I know even less about the current crop of popular Innistrad decks out there right now. This side board consists of cards that I just threw together.
My First ISD Constructed Tournament (Daily)
Like I said, I'm a casual player, and I've never played in any constructed tournament ever. I've drafted a handful of times with friends, but I've never gone to a live event. I'm 29 years old now and I just have other things that need doing. That said, I was looking forward to testing this deck out.
First, the original decklist:
(Note the differences between this and the deck posted above. Make special note of aweful sideboard I'm using. Half of those cards were just random cards I threw in to meet the 15 card requirement needed to start a game while I played solitaire matches. After that, I made a semi-proper sideboard, and then MTGO crashed. I logged back on and entered the tournament before checking the deck. Because of the crash, it reverted to an earlier save.)
Round 1, Game 1
In my first round I was matched against a really nasty RU Burning Vengeance deck (with some GW splashed in). In the 8 or so games I played against other people, I bumped into a similar deck twice and lost both times.
From what I can tell, this is my worst match-up.
(This is the reason for all the Urgent Exorcism and Nevermore in the sideboard. All of the direct damage and ever the Blasphemous Acts aren't needed. I plan on swapping them for all the anti-Burning Vengeance cards in the future.)
Round 1, Game 2
A lot of the same happens. I didn't draw a single Ugent Exorcism, the Burning Vengeances stayed in play for too long, and it was all down hill.
vs. RU Burning Vengeance
0-2
Round 2, Game 1
Not a good start. There are 4 rounds in this tournament and you have to win at least 3 of 4 to stave off elimination and make it into the money. The 11 booster prize is now out of the question. At this point, if I win the next 3 matches, I'll still be able to walk away with 6 boosters. (Win or go home!)
Round 2 matched me up against a GR Werewolf Deck and it wasn't even close, I destroyed him. But I can't take all the credit for this one. My opponent was severely mana screwed and even had to Ghost Quarter his own Mountain to grab a Forest because he had 2 Caravan Vigils in his hand that he couldn't cast.
Round 2, Game 2
Sometimes I don't even need Blasphemous Act against the wolves. It just doesn't have an answer against fliers with vigilance. I can hit him, he can't hit me, and I can block if needed. Doomed Traveler serves as a chump blocker, the spirits come out and the enchantments make them huge. If there get to be too many, cast a really cheap Blasphemous Act and only I can recover, he can't. Either way, easy, fast win and it would be a while until the next round started because this one was over so quickly.
vs. GR Werewolves
2-0
Round 3, Game 1
This game was a little tricky, mostly because this was the first time I had ever seen this deck before -- but apparenly, it's pretty popular because there's a thread about it on this very forum.
Round 3 matched me up against a UG Dredge deck (with some BW flashback splashed in). He starts off strong, but make a mistake and attacks into a Doomed Traveler when I had a High Priest in play and Midnight Haunting in hand. His Splinterfright gets pretty big, but I simply out race him.
Round 3, Game 2
This game was a much different story. In the end, I cast 2 of my Blasphemous Acts to fend off his army, but with graveyard recurrssion, and endless drawing power, he overwhelms me. I could never get going. None of my enchantments ever hit the battlefield and he crushes.
Round 3, Game 3
This one was over real quick. On the 2nd turn he leaves 2 mana open and passes. From the first game (from his massive graveyard), I could see he was playing Ambush Vipers. I attack with my traveler, leave my high priest untapped, and he makes the same mistake twice. The traveler dies and I end up with a Skirsdag High Priest, 3x Spirit Tokens, and 1 Demon Token. Disgusted with himself, he instantly scoops and hands me the win.
vs. UG Dredge
2-1
Round 4, Game 1
Will I be able to pull off the come back and make it into the money? It all comes down to this! At this point I'm praying that I don't run into another RU Burning Vengeance deck. My sideboard just can't handle it and there are changes I already want to make to the deck.
Round 4 matches me with a WG Human deck. Ah, I know these well.
Tangent:
At this point I should say that 2 Saturdays ago, me and some ooooold friends I used to play magic with got together and we drafted Innistrad for the first time. We were all new to the cards. To put this in perspective, the last set we drafted together was Onslaught. It's been a while. We had a lot of fun and last Saturday we did it again. Flash forward to the past 2-3 days and I've basically been chain drafting and playing 6 booster Innistrad non-stop. Over the past 2-3 days I spent about 14 tickets and I just kept on winning. I kept using my prize packs to enter the next event and so far I've opened nearly 50 boosters... from 14 tickets.
The point is, this might be my first constructed tournament ever, but I feel like I know the Innistrad set very well. And for anyone who drafts, you all know that WG Humans is very popular.
Back to the story:
With no answer for Garruk (fliers or Brimstone Volley), he eventually overwhelms me and I'm in an 0-1 hole. My boosters are slipping through my fingers.
Round 4, Game 2
This game stalled early and it eventually became a race to see who could amass air superiority.
Obviously, I win that fight any day of the week and tie up the series 1-1.
Round 4, Game 3
At this point, I draw a very interesting opening hand:
No 1 or 2 drops in sight... but Blasphemous Act and the mana to cast it are both available. I decide to keep it.
At this point in the match, despite how long our games have been, I haven't cast a single Blasphemous Act. He doesn't know I have them. Everything falls into place. He dumps his entire army onto the battlefield. And after a well timed Blasphemous Act, it was all over.
vs. WG Humans
2-1
The only thing left for me to do was to claim what was rightfully mine:
Anyway, this was my deck and I'm open to suggestions. I especially want to hear suggestions about the sideboard. From what little testing I've done, this deck works remarkably well against any deck that doesn't mass flashback (like RU Burning Vengeance and UG Dredge). Threats from counter magic or enhantment removal are slim to none... although this may change.
Also, I hoped you enjoyed my little story. I'm very happy how the deck performed.
I'm probably going to repost this in my blog in a new section titled "Ninja_Bob's Misadventures in MTGO" or something. If anyone's interested, I'll try to enter more tournaments and continue to take screenshots. If enough people are interested, they can follow along with how this deck (and future decks?) end up doing. It's just an idea.
(You can also always find a link to my blog in my signature.)
edit: Whenever the next expansion comes out, I can easily see dropped the number of Geist-Honored Monks from 3 to 2 and also dropping Mikaeus from 2 to 1. There's plenty of room for improvement with this deck the way it is now. Also, the more I play with it, the more I hate the double black that Liliana brings. I need to find something else to take her place.
edit2: Hm... just played 5 matches in the tournament practice room. Didn't win a single one. I'm thinking of main decking a pair of Witchbane Orbs, Nevermores, or Urgent Exorcisms (In place of the Liliana slot). There are some serious holes in this deck.
I've known about MTG Salvation for a while and I usually only ever visited this site to check out spoiler lists, but I registered here on the forums yesterday.
I've been a casual MTG player since the 7th grade with Revised maybe... 16 years ago? Something like that. I've never been to a live event and I have no interest in it. In fact, I barely even ever play the game today. These days I play a handful of games a year with my brother and that's about it.
But I still have most of my cards and I just like making up decks when I'm bored. It's just a thing I do.
Anyway, you'll probably find me mostly in the more casual sub-forums here.
Whenever a new card comes out with the phrase "the same name" my mind immediately goes to my Relentless Rats deck. I think this is just too expensive (maybe) for that deck but I'm still on the look out. Thrumming Stone still looks to be king (but still too slow). Still, in casual play, it might be fun:
4 Diregaf Ghoul
4 Deranged Assistant
4 Armored Skaab
3 Ghoulraiser
2 Unbreathing Horde
2 Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
Control (6)
4 Dead Weight
2 Silent Departure
Other (12)
3 Rooftop Storm
2 Creeping Renaissance
4 Mulch
2 Forbidden Alchemy
1 Gnaw to the Bone
4 Woodland Cemetary
4 Hinterland Harbor
6 Island
8 Swamp
1 Forest
4 Undead Alchemist
4 Naturalize
12-10-2011 Note: Updated decklist: -2 Claustrophobia, -2 Endless Ranks of the Dead, +2 Silent Departure, +2 Unbreathing Horde)
This obviously isn't a tier 1 deck... and probably not even tier 2. But I've been playing with it in the Tournament Practice room and have had some success.
The idea of the deck is simple:
Step 1: Cast a lot of cheap zombies an stall with removal.
Step 2: Fill graveyard.
Step 3: Cast Rooftop Storm.
Step 4: Cast Creeping Renaissance naming 'creatures' and dump your entire zombie horde on the field.
There are a few tricks in this deck to keep in mind:
Like I said, I've had some success with this deck, but it's still missing something. I'm looking forward to the next pair of expansions to see if this can actually work. The cards that I want to replace the most are:
TL;DR - This is a fun deck to play, but Dark Ascension can't get here soon enough. Hopefully the next expansion includes more effective zombies and cheap enchantment removal.
>_<
You're probably right about the Invisible Stalker + Runechanter's Pike. Even if I wasn't attacking with it, first striking blockers sounds kind of sexy. But at the time, I figured with only 4 creatures, Runechanter's Pike would likely be a dead draw.
I think I drew Devil's Play twice during the entire draft and never flash backed it. I also must have gotten lucky on the draw because I always had that single mountain I needed.
I have mixed feelings about Trepanation Blade. Most of the time it feels like I need every creature untapped to be used as blockers. Especially against white decks, I just assume they always have Rebukes in their hand and I'm happy to just sit back and give them a dead card in hand. I still think it's only really good if you have either a lot of token guys or maybe an Abby Griffin or two?
Another problem is that it kind of ties up mana for Lost in the Mist. On the other hand, I might be valuing those counters too highly.
I've never been a serious drafter, but for the past month, especially with the holidays, it feels like all I've been doing is drafting Innistrad on MTGO. I got on a hot streak right away and banged out 6-7 drafts in a row, making it into the finals every time. After that, I got knocked out 4-5 times in a row in the 1st or 2nd rounds. I took a little break, sold some cards, and decided I was going to try something new: I was going to force the Mill Strategy in Innistrad as much as humanly possible.
My First Attempt at Forcing Mill
My first pick from the first pack was Angel of Flight Alabaster. I had no intentions of attacking with it, but a 4/4 flier is a 4/4 flier and I figured it could bring back unlimited Spirits from the grave for even more blockers. I kind of lost faith with my 2nd pick and went with Unburial Rites, but the next pack that was passed to me had a Curse of the Bloody Tome so I just went all-in Mill from there.
The great thing about Mill is that things like Sensory Deprivation, Dream Twist, and Ghostly Possession are almost guaranteed to wheel back to you, so I picked the Voiceless Spirit and Chapel Geist high and got everything I needed went it came back.
The 3rd pack was a little unfortunate:
Bloodline Keeper. It's not what I needed. I wasn't going UB (unfortunately), but I wasn't going to pass it up. I didn't know if this was even going to work, so I at least wanted to pick up some tickets after I crashed and burned.
Ludevic's Test Subject is passed to me next and my deck ends up looking something like this:
(Note the Labratory Maniac in my sideboard that I was happy to hate-draft.)
I get the land I need, I drop a curse and a blocker, and things are going well:
Things get out of hand for my opponent real quick:
By turn 10, the inevitable happens:
Once again, I get out an early Curse, but this time it gets hit almost immediately with a side boarded Urgent Exorcism:
I never draw another mill card and things go from back to worse:
He ties up the series 1-1 and we go on to game 3.
I never even have to cast either one of the Feelings of Dread in my hand. It was all over.
Versus a solid GW Humans deck, I go 2-1, and move onto the next round.
I don't have screenshots of the rest of the draft, but I end up beating my next opponent and losing in the finals. In the end, I win 3 packs, and the deck performed much better than I expected. With my 3 prize packs, I queue up immediately and figure I'd keep going all night long until I stopped winning and ran out of replacement packs...
The 6-1 Blue/White Mill Deck
My first pick, first pack was a Geist-Honored Monk and was drafting mill from the start and I never looked back. I ended up with a deck that looked something like this:
Not only did I get an Undead Alchemist passed to me in the 2nd pack, but the same happened with (yet another) Ludevic's Test Subject in the 3rd. I get all the pieces I need... except I was a little light on the mill. I would have liked 1 or 2 more mill cards, but this deck out have to do.
I want to point out my sideboard that includes: Nevermore, 2x Paraselene, Labratory Maniac, 2x Ghoulcaller's Chant, Ancient Grudge, Bramblecrush, Make a Wish, Naturalize, and Witchbane Orb. Every single one of these cards was hate drafted by me. And between the cards for the deck and all the hate drafting I was doing, there was very little left over. Almost every single one of my picks through the entire draft was a quality pick.
I end up going 6-1 with this deck and win the entire thing.
(Even though I won, I definitely thing I got a little lucky on the draw, getting an early Curse almost every game. All of my mill cards could have easily been bunched up near the bottom of my deck, but luckily for me they weren't. It should also be noted that I never played the Geist-Honored Monk a single time. For some reason she just wasn't coming and in the end... I didn't really need her anyway.)
I take a little break, but I soon sit down once again. I then take 3 of my 4 prize packs and queue up immediately.
Blue/Black Mill Deck as a 2nd Option
Most importantly, I end up grabbing (yet another) Undead Alchemist.
I end up winning the entire draft again.
It's like I can't lose.
...I end up losing in the 2nd round, the 1st round, and the 2nd round in quick succession. And because these were all 8-4 drafts I log off with nothing to show for it.
Maybe I just started off the night with a hot streak and the universe evened it all out with a cold streak, but at this point I log out for the night. Either way, it wouldn't be too long before I would try it again.
The Emergency Blue/Red Mill Deck
Either way, like I said, 3 weeks have passed.
At this point I'm happy with drafting either UW or UB as my colors and just going with it. But in this very last draft, white and black aren't completely dried up.
In the 1st pack, I first pick a Fiend Hunter and think things are going to be business as usual. But by the end, I barely have any white, black is non-existent, and I don't have a single Curse. I open up the 2nd pack and find a Devil's Play as my rare. At this point, I think all hope is lost and I just start rare drafting for tickets. I get passed a Gavony Township and I pick that up too. I take a couple Dream Twists, but nothing else too interesting. Most importantly, I only have a single Clostrophobia and a pair of Sensory Deprivations for removal. All hope seems to be lost...
...and then something hits me in pack 3, pick 3.
Still with no white or black, I make the emergency decision to make the switch to red and I grab the 1st of 2 Burning Vengeances that come my way. The draft concludes and I put together a Mill Deck with a grand total of 3 creatures:
(I'm so desperate for cards that I end up main decking a Witchbane Orb and 3x Lost in the Mist.)
Do you see what I saw at pack 3, pick 3?
At that point, I had already drafted 5x Dream Twists. Together with a Think Twice and a Devil's Play, that was more than enough for me to start running Burning Vengences for additional, efficient control. I had a good feeling about this... I think?
But with 5x Dream Twist, I easily prevent a single werewolf from transforming and I completely annihilate him.
Versus GR Werewolves, I go 2-0.
In fact, with this deck, I think I beat him in record time. I don't think either one of our games went past Round 7. I got the chance to see his entire deck and I don't know if I should feel bad or not because it looked super solid. He just had the misfortune of running into me.
I play my first Dream Twist and the story just writes itself:
Friendly enough banter, don't you think?
I wonder if he'll change his tune after game 2?
The banter dies down, but it was finally over, he leaves me with some parting words:
Versus WR Aggro Tokens, I go 2-0.
(MattyEdge went from friendly, to chatty, to angry very fast. Funny stuff.)
Who knew a deck with 1x Fortress Crab, 1x Riot Devils, and 1x Selhoff Occultist could be so effective?
(Success.)
Drafting Mill in Innistrad: Tips & Tricks
Like I said, I no expert drafter, but over the past month of drafting nothing but mill, here are some of my personal rules:
I've had fun with this strategy over the past month, but I'm fully aware that mill strategy only works if only one person is going for it in a single draft. Part of the reason I'm spilling my beans on it now is because I want to cut way down on drafting and MTGO in this month of December. There are just other things I need to get done.
It makes no sense for me to write all this and then continue to draft it.
One more thing: In the 15-16 drafts I've participated in, I was forced to abandon mill maybe 2-3 times. It's so easy to go for it when no one else is. (It's also hard to go for it when you open a bomb rare in another color, followed up by solid 2nd and 3rd picks that have nothing to do with mill.)
Anyway, hope you liked my story and I'll be adding it to my blog shortly as the 2nd entry in my Adventures in MTGO. I don't know how often I'll do them, but hopefully I'll have time to continue to write up more. Whether it be Draft or Sealed or Constructed or whatever... if you want to read more about a newbie (me) trying out new things in MTGO, feel free to check it out.
Later.
I don't really get this response and you didn't answer the question.
When I did it, I wasn't just trolling my opponent and laughing at him behind my monitor as this clock slowly ran out.
For example, in an NBA basketball game, where players, teams, and coaches make many actions as the clock ticks down -- actions they wouldn't normally take if the clock didn't exist. They do this because the clock is part of the game.
Is it part of the game or isn't it?
(Why does it exist at all?)
A couple of those times, I found myself against a really slow player and/or player with a very bad internet connection. Whether I'm winning or losing, whenever I see this, I always find myself doing everything I can to extend the game so their clock runs out.
Take this last time for example:
I was playing an Innistrad Draft and nearing the end of our first game I look at the clock. His clock reads ~7:30 and mine at ~12:30. At this point, I already know I lost the game. Instead of conceding, in the first turns I have left, I cast every spell I can, activate every ability I can, and double block any creatures I can.
In game 2, I think he finally realized what was up and began picking up the pace. I'm not sure if he started making mistakes, but I ended up winning the 2nd game and his clock was down to ~2:00.
In game 3, both of us are playing even faster as I try to keep the clock on him and eventually it runs out.
I'm not trash talking or anything like that, but I am doing this intentionally. I mean... I want to win.
---
Is playing the clock part of the game or is it dirty play? Both?
Have you ever done this?
Have you ever had someone do this to you? If so, do you blame them?
edit: I'm specifically talking about MTGO in this post.
With Moan of the Unhallowed vs. Bloodline Keeper, I figure the moan is just faster (especially with a Intangible Virtue in play). 2 tokens created instantly versus 2 tokens created over the next 2 turns. Also, this isn't a vampire deck so I'm not too sure how often it would ever transform. In general, I think it's better, but it might be worth thinking about sideboarding if there are specific matchups that the keeper is better.
Hello,
Honestly, Falkenwrath Noble is probably the not-so-obvious MVP of the deck. Bloodline Keeper is pretty good, but I think he's just really slow. There's also the double black mana that I want to stay away from. But you have to test out the deck for yourself and play around with the Noble to see how good he is.
Like I said in the OP, with Blasphemous Act, he can act as a late game finisher with direct damage. If you get into a situation where both you and your opponent are massing armies, you can hold him back in your hand. And when their life dips below 10 or so life, pay 4 mana for the Noble, then 1 mana for the Blasphemous Act and you win.
Because of all the creatures you're puttin on the field, it's good by itself. But with Blasphemous Act, it enables the deck to have an alternate win condition. This is something the Bloodline Keeper doesn't do at all. He makes a lot of tokens if he's untouched, but the deck already makes a lot of tokens. In the end, he just does more of the same.
edit: I'm thinking of reducing the Ghost Quarters down to 1. With 3 colors, it's kind of rough drawing both of them at the same time. With 8 duals and given the deck is mainly white, I don't run into mana problems too often. When I do, it's usually searching for that 2nd black mana to cast a Moan of the Unhallowed that kills me.
edit again: I just swapped out the Ghost Quarter for a Stensia Bloodhall and it's working out great. Once Burning Vengeance gets going, there's really nothing you can do... except zap them for 2 life a turn. Sometime's that's enough.
After 16 years of playing casual MTG, this is my first attempt at making an original competitive deck in any format. If this isn't "original" feel free to correct me and post links to all the similar deck threads. After getting the idea of this deck last night, I hopped on MTGO, and I threw it together. I played 10 or so solitaire matches, made some tweeks, then played 8 or so matches in the Tournament Practice room, then immediately joined the next available ISD Block Constructed tournament. Results? Story and screenshots after the deck description...
**Note: The following has some tweeks that were made after the tournament completed. I have a screenshot of the original deck in the story.
4 Doomed Traveler
2 Skirsdag High Priest
2 Mausoleum Guard
2 Falkenrath Noble
3 Geist-Honored Monk
2 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
More Creatures (7)
4 Midnight Haunting
3 Moan of the Unhallowed
Buff (6)
4 Intangible Virtue
2 Rally the Peasants
4 Blasphemous Act
2 Geistflame
2 Brimstone Volley
Land (24)
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Clifftop Retreat
7 Plains
4 Swamp
4 Mountain
1 Stensia Bloodhall
4 Urgent Exorcism
3 Nevermore
2 Rolling Temblor
2 Brimstone Volley
3 Witchbane Orb
1 Plains
**Deck has been modified since original posting. Replaced Liliana with Mausoleum Guards. Some comments below still reference Liliana.
11-8-2011 edit: Replaced Ghost Quarter with Stensia Bloodhall to finish off weakened opponents, especially for Burning Vengeance decks.
11-22-2011 edit: Got rid of Curse of Stalked Prey, upped Intangible Virtue to x4 and added Rally the Peasants x2.
The Idea
The idea was pretty simple: Make a lot of token creatures, cover them with some creature removal, and pump them up with enchantments. After scanning this forum, I've seen BW decks that are similar to this, but I think the most important addition in this deck are 4 copies of Blasphemous Act.
It seems a little counter-intuitive to put Blasphamous Act in such as aggresive, creature heavy deck, but that's what makes it so great. It's not uncommon for me to cast the spell for 3 or less mana. And in this deck, compared to some of the other decks I've played against, is that this deck has built in staying power after the board is wiped clean.
Doomed Necromancer and Moan of the Unhallowed in particular keep the deck going for it to catch its 2nd and 3rd winds. Midnight Haunting and Mikaeus put on the initial pressure (to get your opponent to empty his hand of his creatures). And the Giest-Honored Monk is just good at any point in the game. Another addition in this deck is the inclusion of a total of 6 buffing enchantments. After (a little) testing, I think 3 Intangible Virtue and 3 Curse of Stalked Prey is the right amount. The virtue needs no explanation, but I think the curse kind of puts it over the top.
With Curse of Stalked Prey, it makes your 1st turn Doomed Travelers an instant threat. And the same goes for the rest of your non-token creatures. The same can't be said for the tokens. But what makes it most beautiful is with a single Spirit Token, backed up by a virtue and curse, it becomes an instant threat to win the game -- and a single spirit can be the lone survivor after Blasphemous Act is played.
Skirsdag High Priest is kind of amazing... if they don't remove him right away (which is why there are only 2 copies in the deck). In this deck in particular, with Doomed Travler, Midnight Haunting, and Moan of the Unhallowed, there are plenty of opportunities to both activate Morbid and instantly get 2 fresh bodies to help pay for its activation cost. Throw in the virtues and all of your token creatures can attack freely and still tap if needed to activate the priest.
Now for the very last addition to the deck: Falkenrath Noble
Make a lot of creatures and get a lot of life, right? Not so fast. Imagine between yourself and your opponent, there are 8-10 creatures on the battlefield. Now cast a Blasphemous Act for 1 red mana. Guess what? You just drained your opponent for 8-10 life and probably just won the game. If not, there still might be that pesky Spirit Token in play or that Moan of the Unhallowed in your graveyard ready to be flashbacked.
As for the sideboard, I actually know very little about side-boarding. Like I said, I'm not a competitive player and I don't use side boards. I know even less about the current crop of popular Innistrad decks out there right now. This side board consists of cards that I just threw together.
Like I said, I'm a casual player, and I've never played in any constructed tournament ever. I've drafted a handful of times with friends, but I've never gone to a live event. I'm 29 years old now and I just have other things that need doing. That said, I was looking forward to testing this deck out.
(Note the differences between this and the deck posted above. Make special note of aweful sideboard I'm using. Half of those cards were just random cards I threw in to meet the 15 card requirement needed to start a game while I played solitaire matches. After that, I made a semi-proper sideboard, and then MTGO crashed. I logged back on and entered the tournament before checking the deck. Because of the crash, it reverted to an earlier save.)
Round 1, Game 1
In my first round I was matched against a really nasty RU Burning Vengeance deck (with some GW splashed in). In the 8 or so games I played against other people, I bumped into a similar deck twice and lost both times.
From what I can tell, this is my worst match-up.
(This is the reason for all the Urgent Exorcism and Nevermore in the sideboard. All of the direct damage and ever the Blasphemous Acts aren't needed. I plan on swapping them for all the anti-Burning Vengeance cards in the future.)
Round 1, Game 2
A lot of the same happens. I didn't draw a single Ugent Exorcism, the Burning Vengeances stayed in play for too long, and it was all down hill.
vs. RU Burning Vengeance
0-2
Round 2, Game 1
Not a good start. There are 4 rounds in this tournament and you have to win at least 3 of 4 to stave off elimination and make it into the money. The 11 booster prize is now out of the question. At this point, if I win the next 3 matches, I'll still be able to walk away with 6 boosters. (Win or go home!)
Round 2 matched me up against a GR Werewolf Deck and it wasn't even close, I destroyed him. But I can't take all the credit for this one. My opponent was severely mana screwed and even had to Ghost Quarter his own Mountain to grab a Forest because he had 2 Caravan Vigils in his hand that he couldn't cast.
Round 2, Game 2
Sometimes I don't even need Blasphemous Act against the wolves. It just doesn't have an answer against fliers with vigilance. I can hit him, he can't hit me, and I can block if needed. Doomed Traveler serves as a chump blocker, the spirits come out and the enchantments make them huge. If there get to be too many, cast a really cheap Blasphemous Act and only I can recover, he can't. Either way, easy, fast win and it would be a while until the next round started because this one was over so quickly.
vs. GR Werewolves
2-0
Round 3, Game 1
This game was a little tricky, mostly because this was the first time I had ever seen this deck before -- but apparenly, it's pretty popular because there's a thread about it on this very forum.
Round 3 matched me up against a UG Dredge deck (with some BW flashback splashed in). He starts off strong, but make a mistake and attacks into a Doomed Traveler when I had a High Priest in play and Midnight Haunting in hand. His Splinterfright gets pretty big, but I simply out race him.
Round 3, Game 2
This game was a much different story. In the end, I cast 2 of my Blasphemous Acts to fend off his army, but with graveyard recurrssion, and endless drawing power, he overwhelms me. I could never get going. None of my enchantments ever hit the battlefield and he crushes.
Round 3, Game 3
This one was over real quick. On the 2nd turn he leaves 2 mana open and passes. From the first game (from his massive graveyard), I could see he was playing Ambush Vipers. I attack with my traveler, leave my high priest untapped, and he makes the same mistake twice. The traveler dies and I end up with a Skirsdag High Priest, 3x Spirit Tokens, and 1 Demon Token. Disgusted with himself, he instantly scoops and hands me the win.
vs. UG Dredge
2-1
Round 4, Game 1
Will I be able to pull off the come back and make it into the money? It all comes down to this! At this point I'm praying that I don't run into another RU Burning Vengeance deck. My sideboard just can't handle it and there are changes I already want to make to the deck.
Round 4 matches me with a WG Human deck. Ah, I know these well.
Tangent:
At this point I should say that 2 Saturdays ago, me and some ooooold friends I used to play magic with got together and we drafted Innistrad for the first time. We were all new to the cards. To put this in perspective, the last set we drafted together was Onslaught. It's been a while. We had a lot of fun and last Saturday we did it again. Flash forward to the past 2-3 days and I've basically been chain drafting and playing 6 booster Innistrad non-stop. Over the past 2-3 days I spent about 14 tickets and I just kept on winning. I kept using my prize packs to enter the next event and so far I've opened nearly 50 boosters... from 14 tickets.
The point is, this might be my first constructed tournament ever, but I feel like I know the Innistrad set very well. And for anyone who drafts, you all know that WG Humans is very popular.
Back to the story:
With no answer for Garruk (fliers or Brimstone Volley), he eventually overwhelms me and I'm in an 0-1 hole. My boosters are slipping through my fingers.
Round 4, Game 2
This game stalled early and it eventually became a race to see who could amass air superiority.
Obviously, I win that fight any day of the week and tie up the series 1-1.
Round 4, Game 3
At this point, I draw a very interesting opening hand:
No 1 or 2 drops in sight... but Blasphemous Act and the mana to cast it are both available. I decide to keep it.
At this point in the match, despite how long our games have been, I haven't cast a single Blasphemous Act. He doesn't know I have them. Everything falls into place. He dumps his entire army onto the battlefield. And after a well timed Blasphemous Act, it was all over.
vs. WG Humans
2-1
The only thing left for me to do was to claim what was rightfully mine:
(Hooray!)
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/2981679
Anyway, this was my deck and I'm open to suggestions. I especially want to hear suggestions about the sideboard. From what little testing I've done, this deck works remarkably well against any deck that doesn't mass flashback (like RU Burning Vengeance and UG Dredge). Threats from counter magic or enhantment removal are slim to none... although this may change.
Also, I hoped you enjoyed my little story. I'm very happy how the deck performed.
I'm probably going to repost this in my blog in a new section titled "Ninja_Bob's Misadventures in MTGO" or something. If anyone's interested, I'll try to enter more tournaments and continue to take screenshots. If enough people are interested, they can follow along with how this deck (and future decks?) end up doing. It's just an idea.
(You can also always find a link to my blog in my signature.)
edit: Whenever the next expansion comes out, I can easily see dropped the number of Geist-Honored Monks from 3 to 2 and also dropping Mikaeus from 2 to 1. There's plenty of room for improvement with this deck the way it is now. Also, the more I play with it, the more I hate the double black that Liliana brings. I need to find something else to take her place.
edit2: Hm... just played 5 matches in the tournament practice room. Didn't win a single one. I'm thinking of main decking a pair of Witchbane Orbs, Nevermores, or Urgent Exorcisms (In place of the Liliana slot). There are some serious holes in this deck.
Great in design and balance and it has endless possibilities.
Time to start digging into some lesser known/long forgotten tribes. (Maybe mercenaries? Hm... I don't think that's obscure enough...)
I've been a casual MTG player since the 7th grade with Revised maybe... 16 years ago? Something like that. I've never been to a live event and I have no interest in it. In fact, I barely even ever play the game today. These days I play a handful of games a year with my brother and that's about it.
But I still have most of my cards and I just like making up decks when I'm bored. It's just a thing I do.
Anyway, you'll probably find me mostly in the more casual sub-forums here.
10 rats in play?
Now I have 20.
Hm... time to search Gatherer for spiders.
But if I were to put together a deck based around 3 artifact cards, I'd probably just make a Kaldra deck instead. (Maybe both?)
Still, it's a nice change of pace to take a step away from equipment for a second.