Checking out for the night, but before I do, GP Brisbane update: Taufik Indrakesuma is on Cheeri0s and is 6-0 going into round 7. I confirmed his deck choice on Twitter. Super excited to see his list and watch his performance for the tournament.
Currently 8-0 with moments left in R9, but 4/5 of the other x-0 decks are highly favored, so he only needs any luck if he's paired with Esper.
There seem to be feature matches but I can't find the stream.
Edit: Also he has the highest win % in the room at >76%.
Edit2: My bad, apparently a couple of x-1s have 77%, edging him slightly in games but down in points.
None of these lower equipments....and the BW list is not slower or more disruptive, it's disruption is just proactive. It still has the same speed with maybe minor effects on numbers from losing SV.
For the dangerously aggressive lists with SSG+Prairie, I recommend going up to 23 or 24 equipment. The reason being, you want your chains to be as long as possible before finding Retract or Recall. Having 5 or 6 more equipments means that your odds of chaining longer are more reliable.
I think these are finally ready for community eyes and feedback. Here are some very strong departures from the standard shell:
This deck eschews maindeck interaction (Swan Song) for a powerful dig spell. Turn 1 on the play, the odds of hitting Paladin or Sram with Commune are 57.43% with no mulligan OR a mulligan to 6 (because if Paladin is not the 7th card, you scry it away essentially getting the same top 5 as if you had drawn 7!). On a mull to 5, it's 56.66%. The sideboard is mostly cute but highly effective interaction. Instant speed 3/3 Paladin seems really good, especially when it bypasses all of Grixis control's blue answers to us.
Oh, also, you get to play 4 Horizon Canopy!! Turn 1 needs Green now for Commune, so just go ahead and slam those free card draws for when you're bricking. This will be slightly more recognizable, since Canopy is a known card in the UW versions; but it seems pretty worth it for when it comes up, and you still get to present as "not Cheeri0s" in most Game Ones with T1 Fetch-->Temple Garden.
Like all lists, this one has some room for tweaking: +/- 1 or 2 equipments, Noxious Revival numbers, maindecking some of the protection. An EOT Savage Summoning in Game 1 could really confuse someone even if they know the deck.
This deck is way different, and it's doubtful anyone will peg you for Cheeri0s in game 1. Discard makes you very aggressive against the decks that are trying to interact with you. Everyone who came here today knowing that Cheeri0s is taking off? They're in for a world of hurt. Discard also allows you to protect your combo while still making proactive turn 1 plays AND curving into the Turn 2 kill. Swan Song requires you to wait until Turn 3. Discard also gives you perfect information. What could be more dangerous than the premier Turn 2 kill deck opening with knowledge of their opponent's hand and a head start on interaction??
And Spoils...oh boy, Spoils. Yes, it's bad. But it's not awful, in this list. Not as a 2-of emergency button. Not with 8 dudes massively reducing your need to use it. Always lead with dudes and recover (if needed) with Spoils, so that you've drawn more cards. Most of them time, this will be a mid-combo cast when you just can't find Retract in time. It's a very safe cast at that point, assuming your opponent hasn't led with Goblin Guide double Bolt your face. Spoils is bad, and entirely optional here; but it does provide a strong Turn 1 window alongside 6 discard spells. That's 8 things you can do on Turn 1, all proactive, all very powerful, all providing a perfect mana curve into a combo kill.
Optional tweaks here include: -1 or 2 Spoils NOT +Spoils; +1 Grapeshot if you keep Spoils in; +/- 1-2 Discard Spells (Duress is worse than IOK), or replacing 1-3 with Thoughseize; +1 MD Hurkyl's (I think my personal version currently has it over the second Duress); +1-3 Equipments, Sigil is actually really good here since your bricks will likely land on discard spells, rip their hand apart and start the grindy beatdown plan.
Do not add the second Plains. I know it's rough, especially with Polluted Delta not fetching the one Plains you do have. But with 6 discard spells, you really don't want to open on just Plains and be hoping for that topdeck fetch.
Also you may have noticed that there's no sideboard. I have no idea what to do in BW aside from discard, Silence, Paths.
Ok guys. This isn't exactly secret, several of you have been working on it. But I think this is approximately optimal.
This version is fast. No, really fast. No, you're not understanding. It's really, really fast. My first 2 games with it were a Turn 2 kill on the play and a turn 1 kill on a mull to 6. It's totally exposed, no protection. 13 lands works out fine, because you often jam Opal into dude turn 1. You can be reckless with Opals because SSG can cast your Grapeshot.
Cascade Bluffs is for filtering SSGs into Retracts and Recalls. You run AT LEAST 2 Recalls because SSG makes it so easy to use them mid-combo. That gives you between 6 and 8 Retract effects which is a level of broken that I can't begin to describe. It doesn't work in other versions; the 5th Retract is great but more Recalls get too heavy to support at 2cmc. SSG also makes it much easier to land 2+ dudes on turn 2 while comboing.
You very, very rarely brick. With 2 fewer lands getting in your way, SSG casting Recalls and Srams, 4 more Equipments than normal, and almost nothing but sleek combo, a turn that starts going gets there often.
This version is not great. It has no resilience. It has no way to dig. It has no interaction whatsoever outside of Affinity, and Infect decks that are about to kill you with Inkmoth. But if you want to play the absolute, no holds barred, fastest deck this format will ever see; here it is.
Options include: +4 Serum Powder; +1 Noxious Revival (I'm always always saying to run at least 2, but not in this build, it's just another brick too often); +1-2 Hurkyl's; -1-4 equipments; +1 Sideboard. The problem with all of these optional additions is that it's just so difficult to make room in this particular 60; all Cheeri0s decks are extremely tight on space, but this one is the most firm. The unusually high equipment count makes it smooth. The land count is carefully balanced to leverage the extra mana from SSG without leaving you stranded on Turn 1. The 6th Retract effect is crucial in keeping you from fizzling.
Well, that's this one. It's so super fast. And fragile. And difficult to tweak. Play this version if all you want out of this deck is to kill people before they finish shuffling, and you don't care about your overall win rate.
SV was the very last card I drew. I've put in many, many hours with Cheeri0s since I picked up the Legacy version years ago and then made this one. I'm always unlucky to an incredible degree (my friends for as long as I remember have been shrugging amd saying "because the universe hates you"), but I don't recall ever bricking off double Glimpse or Paladin with so few cards left in the deck.
No problem, I love to see people using Powder in just about any deck, so I'm glad to share any wisdom I have about it.
I played several matchups the other night with a friend; some thinngs that happened:
1) I opened with 5 lands on 4 separate occasions, and kept all of them because they also had an engine. I lost each of those games horribly. I think it might be right to mulligan 4-5 lands even if the other cards are perfect.
2) I bricked off Paladin+Sram with 24 cards left in my deck. I think I had played something like 10 equipments and at least 1 Retract. I also cast SV as a last-ditch effort as my final spell. My list has 3 Noxious, didn't see them or the other Retract or even Opal+Grapeshot.
Serum Powder isn't very good for this deck; but proper use of Serum Powder also includes knowing when to mulligan even if you could Powder.
I've played decks that actually use Serum Powder very well, such as Vintage Dredge; just because you have Powder in your deck doesn't mean you build the rest of your deck around it. Using Powder is complex, and does not boil down to "it's in my hand, take the free mulligan". Sometimes you ship a Powder hand. Sometimes you Powder something highly important because you know your deck will still function (in Dredge, for instance, exiling Dread Return). Do not change your deck significantly "because Powder might exile something I need".
In fact, running Powder makes it that much more important that you only run 1 GS, as you have 4 bricks that other lists don't.
I've been running 1 maindeck and I would have to see something very amazing to cut it. 5 Retracts is incredible; you don't need 8, since unlike Paladin you're going to draw a bunch of cards when you see Retract.
I don't have results from 50 games, and I can't do the math since equipment chains are insanely complicated to calculate, but I can definitely say that I've used it enough, and bricked needing to to topdeck a bounce spell enough, that it feels right. I would even say that a super stripped down, straight-for-the-throat list would run 2 or 3 and very few if any other flex cards. Something like:
I've heard an unconfirmed rumour that another Cheeri0s pilot ended 8-1 with their only loss being the mirror.
Esper and Dredge are the other 2 undefeated decks.
There seem to be feature matches but I can't find the stream.
Edit: Also he has the highest win % in the room at >76%.
Edit2: My bad, apparently a couple of x-1s have 77%, edging him slightly in games but down in points.
EDIT: 9-0 WE MADE IT
I think these are finally ready for community eyes and feedback. Here are some very strong departures from the standard shell:
4 Sram, Senior Edificer
4 Commune With Nature
4 Retract
4 Mox Opal
3 Noxious Revival
1 Grapeshot
4 Accorder's Shield
4 Cathar's Shield
4 Spidersilk Net
4 Paradise Mantle
4 Bone Saw
1 Sigil of Distinction
3 Temple Garden
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Windswept Heath
1 Flooded Strand
2 Plains
4 Rebuff the Wicked
4 Nature's Claim
3 Path to Exile
This deck eschews maindeck interaction (Swan Song) for a powerful dig spell. Turn 1 on the play, the odds of hitting Paladin or Sram with Commune are 57.43% with no mulligan OR a mulligan to 6 (because if Paladin is not the 7th card, you scry it away essentially getting the same top 5 as if you had drawn 7!). On a mull to 5, it's 56.66%. The sideboard is mostly cute but highly effective interaction. Instant speed 3/3 Paladin seems really good, especially when it bypasses all of Grixis control's blue answers to us.
Oh, also, you get to play 4 Horizon Canopy!! Turn 1 needs Green now for Commune, so just go ahead and slam those free card draws for when you're bricking. This will be slightly more recognizable, since Canopy is a known card in the UW versions; but it seems pretty worth it for when it comes up, and you still get to present as "not Cheeri0s" in most Game Ones with T1 Fetch-->Temple Garden.
Like all lists, this one has some room for tweaking: +/- 1 or 2 equipments, Noxious Revival numbers, maindecking some of the protection. An EOT Savage Summoning in Game 1 could really confuse someone even if they know the deck.
4 Sram, Senior Edificer
4 Retract
4 Mox Opal
1 Noxious Revival
1 Grapeshot
2 Spoils of the Vault
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Duress
4 Paradise Mantle
4 Accorder's Shield
4 Cathar's Shield
4 Spidersilk Net
3 Sigil of Distinction
2 Godless Shrine
2 Hallowed Fountain
3 Marsh Flats
1 Polluted Delta
1 Arid Mesa
1 Flooded Strand
1 Plains
4 Uhhh
4 Stuff?
4 ....I Guess????
3 ...
This deck is way different, and it's doubtful anyone will peg you for Cheeri0s in game 1. Discard makes you very aggressive against the decks that are trying to interact with you. Everyone who came here today knowing that Cheeri0s is taking off? They're in for a world of hurt. Discard also allows you to protect your combo while still making proactive turn 1 plays AND curving into the Turn 2 kill. Swan Song requires you to wait until Turn 3. Discard also gives you perfect information. What could be more dangerous than the premier Turn 2 kill deck opening with knowledge of their opponent's hand and a head start on interaction??
And Spoils...oh boy, Spoils. Yes, it's bad. But it's not awful, in this list. Not as a 2-of emergency button. Not with 8 dudes massively reducing your need to use it. Always lead with dudes and recover (if needed) with Spoils, so that you've drawn more cards. Most of them time, this will be a mid-combo cast when you just can't find Retract in time. It's a very safe cast at that point, assuming your opponent hasn't led with Goblin Guide double Bolt your face. Spoils is bad, and entirely optional here; but it does provide a strong Turn 1 window alongside 6 discard spells. That's 8 things you can do on Turn 1, all proactive, all very powerful, all providing a perfect mana curve into a combo kill.
Optional tweaks here include: -1 or 2 Spoils NOT +Spoils; +1 Grapeshot if you keep Spoils in; +/- 1-2 Discard Spells (Duress is worse than IOK), or replacing 1-3 with Thoughseize; +1 MD Hurkyl's (I think my personal version currently has it over the second Duress); +1-3 Equipments, Sigil is actually really good here since your bricks will likely land on discard spells, rip their hand apart and start the grindy beatdown plan.
Do not add the second Plains. I know it's rough, especially with Polluted Delta not fetching the one Plains you do have. But with 6 discard spells, you really don't want to open on just Plains and be hoping for that topdeck fetch.
Also you may have noticed that there's no sideboard. I have no idea what to do in BW aside from discard, Silence, Paths.
4 Sram, Senior Edificer
4 Retract
4 Mox Opal
2 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Grapeshot
4 Paradise Mantle
4 Accorder's Shield
4 Cathar's Shield
4 Spidersilk Net
4 Bone Saw
4 Sigil of Distinction
4 Rugged Prairie
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Flooded Strand
1 Arid Mesa
1 Marsh Flats
1 Windswept Heath
3 Hallowed Fountain
1 Plains
Ok guys. This isn't exactly secret, several of you have been working on it. But I think this is approximately optimal.
This version is fast. No, really fast. No, you're not understanding. It's really, really fast. My first 2 games with it were a Turn 2 kill on the play and a turn 1 kill on a mull to 6. It's totally exposed, no protection. 13 lands works out fine, because you often jam Opal into dude turn 1. You can be reckless with Opals because SSG can cast your Grapeshot.
Cascade Bluffs is for filtering SSGs into Retracts and Recalls. You run AT LEAST 2 Recalls because SSG makes it so easy to use them mid-combo. That gives you between 6 and 8 Retract effects which is a level of broken that I can't begin to describe. It doesn't work in other versions; the 5th Retract is great but more Recalls get too heavy to support at 2cmc. SSG also makes it much easier to land 2+ dudes on turn 2 while comboing.
You very, very rarely brick. With 2 fewer lands getting in your way, SSG casting Recalls and Srams, 4 more Equipments than normal, and almost nothing but sleek combo, a turn that starts going gets there often.
This version is not great. It has no resilience. It has no way to dig. It has no interaction whatsoever outside of Affinity, and Infect decks that are about to kill you with Inkmoth. But if you want to play the absolute, no holds barred, fastest deck this format will ever see; here it is.
Options include: +4 Serum Powder; +1 Noxious Revival (I'm always always saying to run at least 2, but not in this build, it's just another brick too often); +1-2 Hurkyl's; -1-4 equipments; +1 Sideboard. The problem with all of these optional additions is that it's just so difficult to make room in this particular 60; all Cheeri0s decks are extremely tight on space, but this one is the most firm. The unusually high equipment count makes it smooth. The land count is carefully balanced to leverage the extra mana from SSG without leaving you stranded on Turn 1. The 6th Retract effect is crucial in keeping you from fizzling.
Well, that's this one. It's so super fast. And fragile. And difficult to tweak. Play this version if all you want out of this deck is to kill people before they finish shuffling, and you don't care about your overall win rate.
I've never been keen on Coasts, but in my Top Secret list the fastlands are amazing.
ktk, do you board in Paths against Burn, or Echoing Truth/Silence? Or do you stand pat with your maindeck Swan Songs and just be very fast and scary?
I played several matchups the other night with a friend; some thinngs that happened:
1) I opened with 5 lands on 4 separate occasions, and kept all of them because they also had an engine. I lost each of those games horribly. I think it might be right to mulligan 4-5 lands even if the other cards are perfect.
2) I bricked off Paladin+Sram with 24 cards left in my deck. I think I had played something like 10 equipments and at least 1 Retract. I also cast SV as a last-ditch effort as my final spell. My list has 3 Noxious, didn't see them or the other Retract or even Opal+Grapeshot.
I've played decks that actually use Serum Powder very well, such as Vintage Dredge; just because you have Powder in your deck doesn't mean you build the rest of your deck around it. Using Powder is complex, and does not boil down to "it's in my hand, take the free mulligan". Sometimes you ship a Powder hand. Sometimes you Powder something highly important because you know your deck will still function (in Dredge, for instance, exiling Dread Return). Do not change your deck significantly "because Powder might exile something I need".
In fact, running Powder makes it that much more important that you only run 1 GS, as you have 4 bricks that other lists don't.
I don't have results from 50 games, and I can't do the math since equipment chains are insanely complicated to calculate, but I can definitely say that I've used it enough, and bricked needing to to topdeck a bounce spell enough, that it feels right. I would even say that a super stripped down, straight-for-the-throat list would run 2 or 3 and very few if any other flex cards. Something like:
8 Paladin
4 Opal
4 Retract
2 Hurkyl's
2 Noxious
1 Grapeshot
24 Equips
15 Lands (at least 6 fetches)