Anyways, I've been having difficultly with UW humans. Grand Abolisher is annoyingbut manageable and hexproof is hexproof. Any ideas on ways of dealing with this deck? There is Slagstorm but that only goes so far. All I can think of is racing them but since we are aiming for mid-range, it makes it difficult to match their early game and dropping a titan doesn't always stabilize against them.
Have you tried a combination of Circle of Flame and Whipflare in your sideboard? Circle of Flame keeps their Elite Vanguards, Lawkeepers, and weak Champions at bay until they drop an Honor of the Pure, and even then, it allows your Manic Vandals to keep their Saint at bay. Furthermore, Whipflare just kills lots of stuff, including unpumped Saint. Just make sure you can remove their pump with Liquimetal Coating or Ratchet Bomb, and you should have a good chace at winning. This strategy also applies to other weenie aggro, so it's not wasted sideboard space.
If you want to go the Tainted Strike route, Porcelain Legionnaire is probably better than Cloistered Youth (which I actually like as a card, but the Legionnaire is too nuts to pass up). Legionnaire gives aggro fits, and is decent vs. any blue not running Wring Flesh. Also, Blade Splicer. That first strike + infect from Tainted Strike on a 3-power creature is too tasty to pass up, as it makes Titans and such much easier to deal with, plus first strike + swords is just really powerful, and the Splicer gives you two bodies to equip to. And keep in mind, if you have two of any combination of Splicer+Golem and Legionnaire, that can usually hold off a Titan or a bunch of aggro critters. One last word of advice: I know you're trying to keep your curve low, but if you find you want something to replace or run alongside Skythrix, Archon of Justice is REALLY good right now, and helps solve a lot of problems.
Good luck! I'm interested to see how this develops. BW is one of my favorite color combos, and I couldn't get 8x Crusaders to a work at a competitive level, so if you can pull it off, I tip my hat to you.
I've run a few hundred trials with a BW control deck with Memoricide, Surgical Extraction, and Life's Finale, and the best I've gotten was almost good enough to break 50% in this meta, but not quite. Here's some things I've learned if you want any chance at success:
1. You need to put more pressure on your opponents. If you don't, they will eventually overpower you with either planeswalkers, Gavony, Moorland, Droughtyard, Wolf Run, Mirran Crusader, Angelic Destiny, Mikeaus, Shrines, Mayor, Inkmoth Nexus, Lashwrithe, and any number of other nasty things that are tough for you to deal with.
2. Aggro will walk all over you if you don't get some bodies down or run at least 6, but possibly up to 12 wrath effects (put in 4 more post-board). You have Day of Judgment, Black Sun's Zenith, Life's Finale, Phyrexian Rebirth, Divine Reckoning, and Ratchet Bomb to choose from, so find what works best for you.
3. You could use some real finishers. I've found Archon of Justice to be the real deal in this metagame, because it puts pressure down early, it flies, so it deals with planeswalkers, and if they kill it you remove one of the things they slipped past your discards and extracts that could kill you (see 1). Batterskull is also really nice and helps you a lot against aggro. Also, Rune-Scarred Demon as a 4-of is amazing if you reliably hit 7 mana with good health to spare. Once you cast your first one, you just keep chaining them. Most decks can't deal with this. Other options are the Titans, Wurmcoil, and Bloodgift Demon, and if you feel up to it, praetors and Army of the Damned. Sun Titan can be nice for getting back Oblivion Rings (why aren't you running them?) and Nevermore. Last, Karn can be a catch-all if you get the mana.
4. You want some ramp, and right now, with Viridian Emissaries losing popularity and everyone packing ping (1 damage) removal for Birds of Paradise, the time is ripe to abuse Palladium Myr. I've already used it to great success against most decks, so try it out. Ramping up 2 mana on turn 3 is very powerful, and allows for very early 5-drops and 6 drops, and potentially an early finish with Rune-Scarred Demons.
5. Get some Ghost Quarters. They deal with so many of your traditional problems.
Here's a sample decklist that will hopefully give some inspiration. It's been tested a decent amount, although don't expect it to perform miracles - the meta just isn't that great for such a deck right now, but once the next set is released, who knows? Keep in mind the mainboard is geared against non-aggro. Use sideboard Batterskulls, Wurmcoils, Grave Titans, Black Sun's Zeniths, Timely Reinforcements, or whatever to deal with that. If Liliana is giving you trouble, Blade Splicer isn't a bad solution if you don't catch her with discard.
I know I'm not running Distress, but it's hard to stay with the extract theme and still have game against aggro, so it's tough to fit. By all means use it in the sideboard or something, or main instead of, say, Nevermore. It's a great card right now, and helps you fight planeswalkers. I hope that gives you some ideas!
"Because Garruk and Jund were made for each other"
I introduce to you a serious deck that I've run hundreds of trials with against the current best decks in Standard. With the ever-changing metagame, what I am posting today may not be optimal in a few weeks, but this color combination is very robust and can adapt to just about anything. The core of the deck originated as a mishmash of a Primeval Titan deck similar to Wolf Run Ramp and Wolf Run Green, and a BW board-control deck I've been trying to make work. Unlike traditional Wolf Run ramp decks, I replaced three of the Titans with Wurmcoil Engines, leaving only one as a Green Sun's Zenith target. Besides these, Garruk, and the Wolf Run/Inkmoth Nexus plan, you also have my two favorite sinister ladies currently in standard - Glissa, the Traitor and Olivia Voldaren, who I will discuss shortly. Glissa and Olivia, along with Life's Finale, are why we're running black, although black offers some other important options if the metagame calls for it. Finally, out of the sideboard, Thrun, the Last Troll, Garruk, Primal Hunter, and Karn Liberated offer alternate win conditions. There is also a sub-theme of deathtouch creatures, which combine well with Wolf Run, although sadly Olivia isn't included. A warning: This deck does not play itself, and takes skill and practice to use to its full potential, but it is incredibly powerful and fun to use when you're able to appreciate the options it presents.
If you bothered counting, you'll have noticed that it's 70 cards, not including sideboard! There are actually a few good reasons for running so many cards.
First is that you want to run four Wolf Runs, two Inkmoths, and two Ghost Quarters, without hurting your mana base. It's very nice to be able to count on drawing at least one Wolf Run naturally in most matchups. You have nine ways to get your single Primeval Titan, so you'll have no problem getting whatever you need.
Next, and also on land issues, I find that I want a good number of basics - Forests for early ramping and a few Swamps and Mountains for fetching. On top of this, I also want a good amount of duals. By running more colored land, the manabase is much smoother, I'm able to fetch whatever I need when I need it, and the colorless that are really supposed to be fetched don't mess me up as much.
The solution to running so many lands is actually really simple in this deck. If you want a 60-card list, just subtract one from a few of the 4-ofs, and then subtract a few lands. I run 4 of just about everything to balance the high land count, to have one more creature to fetch if I need it, and finally, to stand up better against Nephalia Drownyard and other mill, which CAN kill you sometimes, and will at least remove some options from your deck.
The final reason to run so many cards is also pretty simple: It messes up your opponent's sideboarding. All of your cards are good, and many can perform similar functions, but attack from slightly different angles. Your opponent might not see all of your threats the first game, and the chances of him or her sideboarding wrong increase because of this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE GENERAL GAMEPLAN
This deck is very adaptable and requires a good amount of practice to get good with. Generally, your go-to plan is to apply as much offensive pressure as possible, sandbag a threat or two in hand, Life's Finale if it gets desperate, and then finish them off with Wolf Run. If they're faster than you, block with Glissa and your chumps while Garruk and Oliva whittle away at their offenses and wait to draw a Life's Finale or Wurmcoil Engine. If they're control, knowing how to bait is key, but sometimes you just have too many threats for them to deal with anyway! The key here is to know which threats you can risk getting countered early and which ones you should save to play when they drop a bomb.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CARD BY CARD EXPLANATION
I won't go over some of these, because they are either obvious or already used similarly to other ramp decks.
Some may question this with the rise of cards such as Gut Shot and Wring Flesh. I've tested Caravan Vigil for this reason, but the truth is, you really want the early ramp, the mana flexibility, and the body. Olivia, Garruk, or GSZ-]Glissa turn 3 is so much better than turn 4. The body is a flying finisher with Wolf Run, can be sacrificed to Garruk's tutor ability, which will come in handy sometimes, and can chump block to keep you and, more often, your planeswalkers alive. Also, it messes with the ever-annoying Liliana of the Veil and other edict effects. It can even feed Olivia if you're desperate for some reason, and the fact that it produces any color makes using Olivia much more reliable. So what if they use Gut Shot or Wring Flesh? It means less cards they can side in that are good against your real threats, or at least they'll waste them before your Wolf Running Inkmoths and Emissaries come online. Remember that you can GSZ for these on turn 2.
Dies to Dismember, I know. Yawn. This girl is one of the best I've ever seen for locking down ground aggro, and if they kill the first one, you have 11 ways you can get another. Remember, you only need one to totally stall the board while you build up your defenses and counterattack, even preventing your opponent's lifelink and deathtouch from working. She is crucial to giving Garruk and Olivia time to become overwhelming forces, and is great at defending against Wolf Running creatures, preventing all of the damage from getting through! Also, she is a decent better in a race situation, and is virtually unblockable if you're Wolf Running her. Next, she can recur your Solemn Simulacrums and Wurmcoil Engines for massive value, often with help from Garruk and Olivia, who can kill them for you. One of my favorite tricks is to get both Glissa and a Wurmcoil down, then every turn attack with the Engine, let it die so you get two baby Wurmcoils, then just replay the thing! Every turn! This is a key tactic to breaking down aggro in a standstill, and also works alright with Solemn Simulacrums, especially combined with Wolf Run. It's almost like having a Mimic Vat that keeps the creature around for two turns and has a 3/3 first strike deathtouch body, and people already play Mimic Vat without these advantages! Finally, being black, Doom Blade, currently popular, as well as Victim of Night can't hit her. Honestly, I recommend her and possibly a swamp as 1-ofs for any deck running GSZ, because she's that amazing against aggro.
She comes down early. She flies. She assassinates phantasmalcrreatures. She dodges Doom Blade and Victim of Night. She gets huge quickly, destroys weenies early game, and steals your opponent's finishers. If they can't kill her or evade her, she can be one of the most oppressive cards in the metagame. She will kill their weenies and utility creatures. She will steal anything bigger than her, or just become bigger than it. Remember that you can use her abilities at instant speed to take out things like Inkmoths, or as a combat trick. When you have her, your board position is constantly improving, while your opponent's shrinks to nothing. I actually play her very much like I'd play a planeswalker. Just make sure you grab enough red and black mana to do what you want with her, and don't steal more than you need, in case they find removal. Also, keep in mind that she can feed off of your own creatures and can kill them to trigger their effects, and also that she can turn creatures into vampires in response to Victim of Night. A pet peeve of mine is when many people dismiss interesting legendaries such as Glissa and especially Olivia as JUST EDH/Commander generals, or worse, Limited-only bombs. They are elegantly-designed cards that take creativity to unlock their true power, and many so-called, self-proclaimed Spikes just don't seem to want to bother trying.
There are a few reasons I run this over thethreeTitans. First, it's easier on the manabase, freeing you up to use Olivia's abilities because double of any color is much less of an issue without Titans. Second, it's better than at least Primeval against aggro, and sometimes better than Inferno and Grave as well. Third, it's actually good AGAINST Primeval Titan. Because you don't have trouble finding a Wolf Run, you'd usually rather have the life and the two 3/3 Wurms than the two land fetches. Forth, because Birds, Glissa, and Olivia could potentially be killed before they have much impact, you'd like something that gives a lot of value when it dies. Fifth, Wurmcoil can trade with those nasty Dungrove Elders...TWICE! Sixth, the Engine is extremely good against Beast Within. Seventh, since you have two Doom Blade-proof and Victim of Night-proof threats, having a Go for the Throat-proof threat can make the choice of removal difficult on your opponents. Eighth, Wurmcoil and the babies are so nuts with Wolf Run, as both Lifelink and Deathtouch combine amazingly with Trample and huge power. Ninth, it can block creatureswithprotectionfromcolors, which can easily kill you otherwise. And tenth, Wurmcoil is NUTS with Glissa! Why not Batterskull? It could work, but we can ramp to six easily, and Wurmcoil offers more in this particular deck.
You have one for two reasons. First, is that you simply want to have access to a huge threat when you hit seven mana and have a GSZ. Second, you want a reliable way to fetch up any utility lands you need, and even with a single copy, you have 9 ways of getting it.
Costing 4 mana is very key. On the play, you can slip it under Dissipate and other 3-cost counterspells and then proceed to wreck them. It can come down early and kill a key weenie or mana creature, or start creating wolves to block. He's very easy to flip, and the deathtouch wolves are seriously awesome at playing defense. His tutor ability is also not too difficult to use, especially if you're willing to sacrifice Garruk and/or an early creature, some of which you might prefer dead anyway. It's pretty common for me to grab Olivia after I make one or two deathtouch wolves, and then just take over the game. I've never used his Overrun ability, but you run a good number of creatures to fuel it if you need it. He's also good at keeping his [c title="larger incarnation"]Garruk, Primal Hunter[/c] and Liliana of the Veil off the table, which can both be devastating against you. The trickiest thing about using him is deciding how to use him, as he lends himself to tons of options, regardless of which mode he's in.
Why do we need this? Why not go white for Day of Judgement? Thanks to your mana ways of stalling aggro, plus countless ways of ramping, paying 6 is no problem at all! The added effect is actually very much worth two more mana. Ripping your opponent's three best creatures out of their deck is no joke. No more Mirran Crusader, Geist of Saint Traft, Angelic Overseer, Primeval Titan, Dungrove Elder, random Birthing Pod creatures (you can even break their chain), or control finishers to worry about! This deck is very very good at winning at attrition, as long as you eliminate the few key creatures that can stop you, and Life's Finale makes that possible. It's a board wipe that's almost universally amazing.
There are a few artifacts that can kill you pretty easily sometimes, and this is the best way to make sure that never happens. Generally used against Swords, Shrines, Wurmcoils, Batterskulls, Inkmoths, Birthing Pods, Mimic Vats, and Tempered Steel decks.
***Acidic Slime
These are split with Ancient Grudge because between them, killing 6 artifacts should be enough, and you still have Karn if you need to kill more. These are mainly for pesky enchantments such as Angelic Destiny, Honor of the Pure, Tempered Steel, Heartless Summoning, and Curse of Death's Hold, and are otherwise just Ancient Grudge 3 and 4. They get the nod over Naturalize because you tap out often, they can be fetched, they take out lands, and you generally want enchantment kill against aggro, where a deathtouch blocker shines.
His primary use is against blue control, where he makes racing much easier. If you can shut down Wolf Run, he can block Dungrove all day. He's handy against burn and is a good blocker against aggro. Sometimes his ability to regenerate through Life's Finale comes in handy, and if you can keep Thrun and a planeswalker through a board wipe, you're in excellent shape. He can also come in for Wurmcoils if you need to lower your curve a bit.
Garruk, Primal Hunter is one of the most dangerous threats to this deck, so it's nice to have extra Garruks to blank him. The card itself is extremely powerful, but the triple green can be tough if you also want to make good use of Olivia, so you might want to swap her out for this, especially if they're running something that can easily kill her. He can be just as good at taking over a game as her, and he's such a different type of threat that it can throw your opponent off balance. He's also an answer to Liliana of the Veil, who can be problematic. If you play a Garruk Relentless first, sacrifice him using his attack or tutor ability before you play this, which will gain you tempo. If you can land him against control, he might be all you need to win, and with Glissa playing defense, it shouldn't be too difficult to draw a ton of cards or create a bunch of Wurms with him. He's also a nice play the turn before you drop a Life's Finale.
Karn is yet another card that can completely take over a game as long as he is defended. You have tons of chump blockers, an amazing defender in Glissa, Garruks creating endless streams of chumps, and Life's Finale for emergencies, so defending him is very possible. He answers just about everything, so side him into matches where you know you'll have time to abuse him.
She is here mainly for the Mono-Black Infect matchup, which is stacked against us, although she can be tangentially useful against the Inkmoth plan in a pinch. She isn't as reliable as some people give her credit for, but as a 1-of, she does usually pull her weight. She is also nice both with and against Black Sun's Zenith, and can very flavorfully render her buddy Thrun practically immortal. If you feel like you don't need her, a third Garruk, Primal Hunter, a Black Sun's Zenith, or another silver bullet, such as Acid Web Spider, is a good alternative.
This Angel Oak is the last nail in the coffin against aggro and burn. Just playing one can give them huge problems, since you can tutor for it so easily. Don't forget that you can pump the power with Wolf Run to kill attackers. Whomping Willow indeed!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANALYSIS OF MATCHUPS
***UB Control (And other Draw-Go, such as Solar Flare)
~~How to Lose
The best way to lose against these decks is to let them drop their finisher with plenty of countermagic left and enough leftover mana to use it. Their ideal game plan is to kill everything they don't absolutely have to counter, take some hits, and drop a resilient finisher with counterspell backup. Liliana of the Veil can be a real nuisance if you're not playing a proactive game or get a bad draw, so try to resolve Garruk or some cheap creatures. At worst, try to have Wurmcoil Engine deal with her, and hope it's not too late.
~~How to Win
There are three ways to win. The first is to race them, which gets much easier with Thrun post-board and should always be your first plan. If you can pull off a turn 3 Garruk Relentless or turn 4 Primal Garruk, you also stand a good shot at racing. If you can't kill them before they drop their finisher, you have two other avenues of victory open to you, as long as you've pressured them enough to force them to drop their finisher without counter mana open. The first is to kill the finisher with either Life's Finale or Karn, using the same card to strip them of any future kill conditions. The second is to drop a creature that trumps theirs and is resilient to removal. This is usually Olivia, who conveniently can dodge Mana Leak even if they can cast it, or Wurmcoil Engine, which beats finishers such as Consecrated Sphinx and Grave Titan, and trades evenly with their own Wurmcoils. You could even race their finisher with a Primeval Titan or an Inkmoth Nexus, or even a chump, especially if you have a Wolf Run out and they're out of removal. This matchup is one of the main reasons we run 4x Wolf Run, so the odds are good of having one by the time they drop their finisher. If you drop an early Thrun, with a Wolf Run out, you might just want to race with those two cards alone, instead of risking your other spells being countered or destroyed. Finally, if they are running Burning Vengeance, your outs are Wurmcoil Engine, Acidic Slime, and post-board, Tree of Redemption and Karn, so make sure you resolve one of these.
***Wolf Run Ramp
~~How to Lose
When you lose, it will almost always be to an early Garruk, Primal Hunter or an early Primeval Titan. Once either of these start applying pressure, it is very difficult to mount an effective defense. You will usually die to Wolf Running Titans or Inkmoths, or if you're not playing intelligently or are just unlucky, Garruk's ultimate, although you do have Life's Finale for that.
~~How to Win
Use your Glissas and Olivias as bait for their Beast Withins and Slagstorms. After that, you're probably safe to cast Garruk Relentless to prevent their Garruk from taking over. Your second Glissa or Olivia, which Garruk can help you get in a pinch, can dominate the game if they don't have the removal. A single Glissa and an Inkmoth can temporarily neutralize him in an emergency. Primeval Titan should just be blocked by Glissa, stolen by Olivia, or Life's Finaled out of the game. To deal with the Kessigs and Inkmoths, you have two Ghost Quarters, which you should use your own Titan to get, and Olivia can ping the Inkmoths out of the sky. Glissa defends really well against Wolf Run, and Wurmcoil can help you race it. Post-board, you can have more Garruks, Ancient Grudge for their Swords, Inkmoths, Wurmcoils, and Batterskulls, and Karn as a catch-all emergency button.
***Wolf Run Green
~~How to Lose
They want to pressure you with early Dungroves, followed by Garruks and Titans, and possibly Thruns, Batterskulls, and Wurmcoils. Once the pressure is on, it's very easy to fall behind scrambling to defend. Losing early momentum is a very common way to lose this match. The other way is being unable to answer their Garruks and Inkmoths.
~~How to Win
If you have a chance early on, you can use Garruk to kill their mana creatures, which can be really helpful as long as you can deal with them killing Garruk and dropping their own. Olivia is a decent response to their Garruk thanks to her flying, and Glissa with Wolf Run can cut through the blockers and reach him. Glissa really shines in this matchup, and there isn't much they can do about her besides Beast Within, which isn't a great answer. She can keep everything but the Inkmoths and Garruk, Primal Hunter at bay, so you can focus the rest of your resources on them. Olivia handles both, and is insane as always. Life's Finale in response to Garruk's ultimate can crush them, and dropping Life's Finale on a Thrun can get him through to Garruk. However, the most elegant answer to the Garruk problem is to just side in more of your own! The Inkmoths fall prey to your fetchable Ghost Quarters, as always, and you also have Ancient Grudge and Karn post-board.
If you play intelligently, this matchup heavily favors you. Try not to keep hands that will flip Mayor if they have him. Olivia is a real pain in the neck for them, eating their tokens and slaying Elspeth effortlessly. Just make sure to keep her big enough that they can't kill her with Mortarpod. Garruk should take out their Mentor of the Meek or Mayor of Avabruck before they get out of hand, then either get Oliva or start making deathtouch wolves. Wurmcoil is great for stabalizing, and their removal is terrible against it. Put them under seige with Glissa and an artifact creature if you get the chance. Save Acidic Slime for a huge Shrine. Otherwise, just GSZ for Primeval Titan and Ghost Quarter Gavony. Post-board, you can take out some black creatures to blank Celestial Purge, although they are very good here and Olivia keeps Elspeth in check, so it's a judgement call. It may be better to wait for Game 3 before you decide. Primal Garruk just dominates them, and his ultimate is Game Over. The Tree can be insurance against a bad start, and more Acidic Slimes or Ancient Grudge can be insurance against Shrines and any equipment they bring in.
***WG Humans
~~How to Lose
An early Champion of the Parish can kill you if not dealt with. Mirran Crusader, Angelic Destiny, and Angelic Overseer can also lead to random losses. It's the nature of aggro to get nuts draws and win randomly, so don't let it get to you. You can also lose to them if you allow them to build up with Mikaeus and Gavony Township, after which they will kill you with an Overrun effect, or just by having too many huge creatures for you to handle. A key mistake players make is thinking they're safe after they stabilize. This deck will always be able to kill you out of nowhere if you're not actively killing its creatures, so you need a plan to either race or start killing things.
~~How to Win
The best opener is a flipped, unthreatened Garruk and one of their early creatures dead, followed by a stream of deathtouch wolves. You might need to play some blockers before you get Garruk active. Glissa can stop them cold for awhile if they don't have Mirran Crusader or Angelic Destiny. Get Olivia active as soon as is practical, and start eating, and later stealing, their creatures, while flying over to beat them when possible. Glissa or Wurmcoil, possibly with the help of an Emissary or Simulacrum, can force them to overextend, at which point you cast Life's Finale, ripping out their Angelic Overseers and then their Mirran Crusaders. To deal with Angelic Destiny and Angelic Overseer, try to get Olivia to be even bigger than their flyer. Inkmoth plus Wolf Run can also kill the Indestrucible, Hexproof Angel. But basically, Olivia is key, as she can pick off their humans until the Angel is alone. If they use a Fiend Hunter on her, cast a Life's Finale to get her back and kill off their humans, and then dealing with the Angel is easy. Also, GSZ can grab Acidic Slime, who not only kills Angelic Destiny, but also leaves a very useful deathtouch blocker. You also have more Acidic Slimes post-board for Destiny. Remember to save your Simulacrums, Wurmcoils, and Inkmoths for blocking in desperate situation against Mirran Crusader, who can be extremely dangerous. Glissa plus an artifact creature can put them under seige after you stabalize, allowing you to overtake them in resources or chip away at their health. Try to save a GSZ to get Primeval Titan or Acidic Slime to kill Gavony, which can be bad news. Your sideboard cards are mostly all good in this matchup, so mix it up if you want to confuse your opponent. You might not want the Ancient Grudges until Game 3 if you're not sure they'll be useful. You still have your Slimes and Karn to deal with artifacts Game 2.
You want a blocker or a Garruk to stop their early rush. Pretty much everything you have can hold an unpumped Saint off, so just make sure you have a few creatures down in case they kill one of them. Try to save your GSZ for Acidic Slime for their pump, or otherwise for Moorland Haunt. Save your Simulacrums to block Mirran Crusader as usual, and use the usual tactics to force them to overextend into a Life's Finale, after which you should extract Crusaders followed by Geist of Saint Traft. Mid-late game you should draw into a Ghost Quarter, a second GSZ, or Primeval to kill their Moorland Haunt. Don't forget the power of a flipped Garruk in an aggro match. Olivia can kill a Phantasmal Image for 1R, and Kessig Wolf Run can do the same job for RG. Just have the Wolf Run target the Image! Post-board you have the usual bag of tricks, so feel free to mix it up if you think they have answers coming in, and don't forget the extra Acidic Slimes.
***Red Deck Wins
~~How to Lose
Double Shrine of Burning Rage Game 1 can be bad. It's usually this or a Koth of the Hammer you can't deal with that kills you. Wurmcoil gives you a good tool against them, but you won't always draw it. Stormblood Berserker is very effective at whittling down your life so their Shrines and Koth can finish you off. [/c]Hero of Oxid Ridge[/c] can also be the knockout blow at times, especially if you wipe the board, so be wary of it, and extract it if you can.
~~How to Win
Try to ramp up to a Wurmcoil Engine, but be careful to have another creature beside it if you can in case of a Threaten effect. Garruk can deal with their Stormblood Berserker and Chandra's Phoenix, and can also block forever against Koth's mountains if they run out of burn. They will burn some of your blockers, so it's good that you have so many. Try to play your other blockers before Glissa, so she'll have a higher chance of surviving to defend against Koth. GSZ-]Acidic Slime their Shrine if they tap out, which they sometimes are forced to because you can threaten to race them. Post-board, you have GSZ-]Tree to slow them down, and Thrun, who can block forever and can't be burned, plus Ancient Grudge for their Shrines and a more resilient Garruk, if you think you need it.
***Birthing Pod
~~How to Lose
Let them have a few turns with their Birthing Pod and you'll have a tough time winning. Even if they don't have a Pod, don't count on your long game beating thiers. They have many creatures that can give you fits, and you can never be sure which ones they're running.
~~How to Win
You want to save your GSZ to Acidic Slime their Pod, and when you Life's Finale, either take out their most dangerous creatures or cut the ones they need to chain up to them. Remember that Life's Finale feeds their Skaab Ruinator, so you might want to take that as one of your creatures. Also beware of Sun Titan bringing back Phantasmal Image, and other random creatures such as Sheoldred, Whispering One. You really have to be the aggressor here, because even without Pod they can be surprisingly tough. Post-board it becomes a whole lot better with Ancient Grudge, extra Acidic Slimes, and Karn, and you shouldn't have too many problems.
***Tempered Steel
~~How to Lose
The typical way to lose to these decks is either to be swarmed by fast weenies, or otherwise be killed by Hero of Bladehold and Glint Hawk Idols. The Glink Hawk Idols are worth special mention because they dodge a lot of removal and can grow huge between Battle Cry, Contested War Zone, Tempered Steel, and other pump. The namesake enchantment, Tempered Steel, is probably their most dangerous card, and should be slimed if at all possible. Don't wait around for them to drop another one or a Hero of Bladehold. Unlike aggro decks of the past, these modern ones can easily kill you after you stabalize, so you need some way of applying pressure. Don't forget that two attacking Hero of Bladeholds is 20 damage, and factor in the possibility of them dropping a Contested War Zone into your calculations. Finally, remember that Inkmoths deal 3 poison under Tempered Steel.
~~How to Win
The truth is that this is a bad matchup for you unless you tailor your build or sideboard more against it. More maindeck Slimes, sideboard Naturalizes, or sideboard Slagstorm or Black Sun's Zenith are all good solutions. If you opt for more Primeval Titans and less Wurmcoils, you could also use Creeping Corrosion, but I prefer Ancient Grudge because it hits Inkmoths and not your own things. Beast Withins aren't optimal, but they can get the job done. Finally, Viridian Corrupter is a cheap GSZ target that destroys an artifact and blocks well. Using the build as-is, you really want an early Olivia that can eat a few of their creatures before they get pumped. If you have Olivia and three sources of red, you're in good shape. Gum up the board with as many blockers as you can muster, kill their Signal Pests or other weenies with Garruk, then try to tutor for Olivia, and attack with every chance you get. If you can hold them off and save a GSZ to Slime their first Tempered Steel, you have a chance. Try to save your Life's Finale for their Hero of Bladehold, then use it to rip the other 3 out of their deck, with Blade Splicers being the next best option. Don't get too frustrated if they draw two Tempered Steel. That card is nuts and can easily kill you, but the odds are against this scenario. After sideboard bring in everything you have that can deal with their big threats - Tempered Steel and Hero of Bladehold, plus possible Shrine of Loyal Legions. Thrun and Primal Garruk are good swaps for some creatures because their bigger, reusable bodies are great blockers, Garruk's ultimate is almost certainly a win, and they dodge Dispatch, along with the Celestial Purges and Leonin Relic-Warders they might board in.
***Mono-Black Infect
~~How to Lose
The most important thing to remember when playing against this deck, especially for your own peace of mind, is that it is meant to prey on ramp decks. It is a very difficult matchup just because of the nature of your strategy. Their Phyrexian Crusaders are Olivia-proof, your Wurmcoil lifegain doesn't matter, they sometimes run Sword of Feast and Famine main, Virulant Wound on a Birds hurts, they have flyers that can dodge your blockers and even wear Thrun down on the ground, and Skithryx and Lashwrithe, especially on an Inkmoth, can kill you out of nowhere. You will probably die to a Lashwrithe or Sword on a threat, Skythrix, or if you're really unlucky, just normal beats.
~~How to Win
We do have a few natural advantages against this type of deck, and we have to capitalize on them for any chance of success. Olivia is the key and probably your best hope. She can give herself counters to cancel the wither effect of the poison, she blocks and eats their Plague Stingers, Whispering Specters, and Inkmoths. If you survive long enough, she can even steal a Skythrix or Lashwrithed creature at instant speed. She is even immune Doom Blade and especially Victim of Night, which they often run. She can even turn your own creatures into vampires in response to Victim of Night! Just remember to leave her or an Inkmoth back to block if you think they might drop a hasty Skithrix. They do have Distress and Despise to deal with her, but the good news is that black Garruk can always get you another. Garruk is the other key card in this match. He can assassinate an early beater, then use one of your early drops to fetch Olivia. You should almost always fetch Olivia as soon as possible, even if it costs you Garruk. This frees you to drop another Garruk to kill something else, since the deathtouch Wolves aren't as useful here as they usually are, thanks to the flying and first strike on the opposing creatures. GSZ should be saved for Acidic Slime to deal with their equipment. Glissa is alright against Phyrexian Crusader and especially Phyrexian Vatmother, but should only be gotten in an emergency. Otherwise she is decent for racing, being immune to both Doom Blade and Victim of Night. Post-board, your Ancient Grudges and Acidic Slimes will do a lot of the heavy lifting, and you also have a singleton Melira. Don't overestimate Melira's usefulness - she is very easy for them to force you to discard or otherwise kill, especially since their removal is usually lacking for targets. At best she can buy you a few turns, so turn on the aggression when she's around, since any damage you sustain won't matter when she's gone. One of my favorite tricks is to use Olivia to turn Melira into a vampire in response to Victim of Night. If you can pull this off and they don't follow up with a Virulent Wound on Melira, you have a decent shot at winning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OTHER SIDEBOARD OPTIONS
Mayor of Avabruk
--This is great as a 1-of if control isn't running lots of spells that kill 1-toughness creatures.
Stingerfling Spider
--If a particular flyer is giving you trouble, this is a great 1-of bullet.
Acid Web Spider
--A specialized 1-of bullet against decks that use small flyers and equipment to win. A good alternative or companion to Melira against Mono-Black Infect that can also help against other weenie decks.
Creeping Corrosion
--Probably best along with Ancient Grudge if Tempered Steel is running rampant.
Naturalize
--Cheaper than Acidic Slime and at instant speed, but less powerful and versatile.
Beast Within
--Not a bad card by any means, but why deal with the drawback when you don't have to?
Dismember
--We usually want other removal, but this can be very powerful against Mono-Black Infect.
Batterskull
--If aggro and especially burn are a huge problem, you always have these. Nice with Inkmoths. You can use these instead of Wurmcoils main if you want a lower curve for some reason, or if you play many red decks with threaten effects.
Monomania
--Another draw-go killer, but good luck resolving it.
Hex Parasite/Phyrexian Revoker
--Useful, but only needed in very special situations. Try to find more aggressive solutions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FINAL WORDS
This is the third deck I've posted online that in my testing is good against most of the metagame. The first one was a WBR Firemane Angel deck during Kamigawa-Ravnica, ironically made to battle the original Solar Flare, just as modern Wolf Run decks rose to battle Neo-Solar Flare, and the second was a Gx Gleancrawler/Protean Hulk deck during Kamigawa-Time Spiral. Both decks were winning at least 75% of their matches against the top decks in the format! While hard to swallow, these results were the product of hundreds of games and constant tweaking, plus some unconventional deckbuilding principles, so sometimes I feel inspired to duplicate these results in new metagames. I've followed the same deckbuilding principles I've always used here, and while this deck isn't nearly as powerful as the other two, I would say it's around at least 60% against the field as a whole, although obviously that goes down if strategies such as Tempered Steel and Mono-Black Infect become popular. These results are based on a few hundred games against every deck listed. If you've noticed, I really like multicolored board-control decks (I LOVE The Rock and its many variants) with complex, underused cards and many small synergies that can deal with anything, grind out games, and win the attrition war. As a bonus, the legends, planeswalkers, and small synergies lend the deck a lot of flavor. Have fun telling Glissa to send yet another Wurmcoil Engine at your opponent while Olivia builds her vampire army.
I hope this deck isn't brushed off as "just another Wolf Run deck." I really think it plays a very different game after the early ramping, and Olivia, Glissa, and Life's Finale are all absurd cards right now that are being overlooked. They are, along with Garruk Relentless, also quite intricately designed, and offer many lines of play every turn. I consider this deck to be more "advanced" than traditional ramp, since it's about a lot more than just dropping big, dumb creatures that go "hurr durr" and slobber all over themselves like drunken yaks. Seriously, compare the difficulty of using Glissa, Olivia, Garruk Relentless, and Life's Finale to the difficulty of using Primeval Titan, Dungrove Elder, Primal Garruk, and Slagstorm, and also remember that your manabase is less stable, so you need to be better at mulliganing and ramping intelligently. Mindful playing and practice will take you far with this deck, and with these three colors you should be able to adjust your deck to handle any metagame. I really think this deck has a shot at taking Worlds, and I'd love to see some people pilot it.
Finally, I'm hoping this deck sparks a discussion on the merits of running more than 60 cards. I usually run 61 cards in any deck I plan to grind with, which has given me many wins against similar decks if we just can't kill each other. Ironically enough, I'm also a believer in the merits of Manamorphose for deck-shrinking. Deck size is something that I think people usually take for granted, and I don't expect most people to run more than the standard 60, but I think it can be an interesting topic of discussion. Also, how can this deck be improved, and am I missing any solutions to our bad matchups? I'd like to hear your thoughts.
EDIT: It seems that Chapin is running Olivia at Worlds, in, of all things, a board control deck that includes these three colors (plus blue, but that doesn't matter). I can't say I'm surprised. Maybe this will convince some people that I know what I'm talking about.
Have you tried a combination of Circle of Flame and Whipflare in your sideboard? Circle of Flame keeps their Elite Vanguards, Lawkeepers, and weak Champions at bay until they drop an Honor of the Pure, and even then, it allows your Manic Vandals to keep their Saint at bay. Furthermore, Whipflare just kills lots of stuff, including unpumped Saint. Just make sure you can remove their pump with Liquimetal Coating or Ratchet Bomb, and you should have a good chace at winning. This strategy also applies to other weenie aggro, so it's not wasted sideboard space.
Good luck! I'm interested to see how this develops. BW is one of my favorite color combos, and I couldn't get 8x Crusaders to a work at a competitive level, so if you can pull it off, I tip my hat to you.
1. You need to put more pressure on your opponents. If you don't, they will eventually overpower you with either planeswalkers, Gavony, Moorland, Droughtyard, Wolf Run, Mirran Crusader, Angelic Destiny, Mikeaus, Shrines, Mayor, Inkmoth Nexus, Lashwrithe, and any number of other nasty things that are tough for you to deal with.
2. Aggro will walk all over you if you don't get some bodies down or run at least 6, but possibly up to 12 wrath effects (put in 4 more post-board). You have Day of Judgment, Black Sun's Zenith, Life's Finale, Phyrexian Rebirth, Divine Reckoning, and Ratchet Bomb to choose from, so find what works best for you.
3. You could use some real finishers. I've found Archon of Justice to be the real deal in this metagame, because it puts pressure down early, it flies, so it deals with planeswalkers, and if they kill it you remove one of the things they slipped past your discards and extracts that could kill you (see 1). Batterskull is also really nice and helps you a lot against aggro. Also, Rune-Scarred Demon as a 4-of is amazing if you reliably hit 7 mana with good health to spare. Once you cast your first one, you just keep chaining them. Most decks can't deal with this. Other options are the Titans, Wurmcoil, and Bloodgift Demon, and if you feel up to it, praetors and Army of the Damned. Sun Titan can be nice for getting back Oblivion Rings (why aren't you running them?) and Nevermore. Last, Karn can be a catch-all if you get the mana.
4. You want some ramp, and right now, with Viridian Emissaries losing popularity and everyone packing ping (1 damage) removal for Birds of Paradise, the time is ripe to abuse Palladium Myr. I've already used it to great success against most decks, so try it out. Ramping up 2 mana on turn 3 is very powerful, and allows for very early 5-drops and 6 drops, and potentially an early finish with Rune-Scarred Demons.
5. Get some Ghost Quarters. They deal with so many of your traditional problems.
Here's a sample decklist that will hopefully give some inspiration. It's been tested a decent amount, although don't expect it to perform miracles - the meta just isn't that great for such a deck right now, but once the next set is released, who knows? Keep in mind the mainboard is geared against non-aggro. Use sideboard Batterskulls, Wurmcoils, Grave Titans, Black Sun's Zeniths, Timely Reinforcements, or whatever to deal with that. If Liliana is giving you trouble, Blade Splicer isn't a bad solution if you don't catch her with discard.
8 Plains
8 Swamp
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Ghost Quarter
Creatures
4 Palladium Myr
4 Archon of Justice
4 Sun Titan
4 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Batterskull
1 Mimic Vat
Enchantments
4 Oblivion Ring
4 Nevermore
Sorceries
4 Memoricide
4 Day of Judgment
2 Life's Finale
I know I'm not running Distress, but it's hard to stay with the extract theme and still have game against aggro, so it's tough to fit. By all means use it in the sideboard or something, or main instead of, say, Nevermore. It's a great card right now, and helps you fight planeswalkers. I hope that gives you some ideas!
~~~WOLF RUN JUND~~~
"Because Garruk and Jund were made for each other"
I introduce to you a serious deck that I've run hundreds of trials with against the current best decks in Standard. With the ever-changing metagame, what I am posting today may not be optimal in a few weeks, but this color combination is very robust and can adapt to just about anything. The core of the deck originated as a mishmash of a Primeval Titan deck similar to Wolf Run Ramp and Wolf Run Green, and a BW board-control deck I've been trying to make work. Unlike traditional Wolf Run ramp decks, I replaced three of the Titans with Wurmcoil Engines, leaving only one as a Green Sun's Zenith target. Besides these, Garruk, and the Wolf Run/Inkmoth Nexus plan, you also have my two favorite sinister ladies currently in standard - Glissa, the Traitor and Olivia Voldaren, who I will discuss shortly. Glissa and Olivia, along with Life's Finale, are why we're running black, although black offers some other important options if the metagame calls for it. Finally, out of the sideboard, Thrun, the Last Troll, Garruk, Primal Hunter, and Karn Liberated offer alternate win conditions. There is also a sub-theme of deathtouch creatures, which combine well with Wolf Run, although sadly Olivia isn't included. A warning: This deck does not play itself, and takes skill and practice to use to its full potential, but it is incredibly powerful and fun to use when you're able to appreciate the options it presents.
Here's the deck:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8 Forest
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Woodland Cemetery
4 Kessig Wolf Run
2 Swamp
2 Mountain
2 Inkmoth Nexus
2 Ghost Quarter
Creatures
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Viridian Emissary
4 Glissa, the Traitor
4 Olivia Voldaren
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Acidic Slime
1 Primeval Titan
4 Garruk Relentless
Sorceries
4 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Rampant Growth
4 Life's Finale
4 Thrun, the Last Troll
3 Karn Liberated
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Acidic Slime
1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
1 Tree of Redemption
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHY SEVENTY CARDS???
First is that you want to run four Wolf Runs, two Inkmoths, and two Ghost Quarters, without hurting your mana base. It's very nice to be able to count on drawing at least one Wolf Run naturally in most matchups. You have nine ways to get your single Primeval Titan, so you'll have no problem getting whatever you need.
Next, and also on land issues, I find that I want a good number of basics - Forests for early ramping and a few Swamps and Mountains for fetching. On top of this, I also want a good amount of duals. By running more colored land, the manabase is much smoother, I'm able to fetch whatever I need when I need it, and the colorless that are really supposed to be fetched don't mess me up as much.
The solution to running so many lands is actually really simple in this deck. If you want a 60-card list, just subtract one from a few of the 4-ofs, and then subtract a few lands. I run 4 of just about everything to balance the high land count, to have one more creature to fetch if I need it, and finally, to stand up better against Nephalia Drownyard and other mill, which CAN kill you sometimes, and will at least remove some options from your deck.
The final reason to run so many cards is also pretty simple: It messes up your opponent's sideboarding. All of your cards are good, and many can perform similar functions, but attack from slightly different angles. Your opponent might not see all of your threats the first game, and the chances of him or her sideboarding wrong increase because of this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE GENERAL GAMEPLAN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CARD BY CARD EXPLANATION
***Birds of Paradise
Some may question this with the rise of cards such as Gut Shot and Wring Flesh. I've tested Caravan Vigil for this reason, but the truth is, you really want the early ramp, the mana flexibility, and the body. Olivia, Garruk, or GSZ-]Glissa turn 3 is so much better than turn 4. The body is a flying finisher with Wolf Run, can be sacrificed to Garruk's tutor ability, which will come in handy sometimes, and can chump block to keep you and, more often, your planeswalkers alive. Also, it messes with the ever-annoying Liliana of the Veil and other edict effects. It can even feed Olivia if you're desperate for some reason, and the fact that it produces any color makes using Olivia much more reliable. So what if they use Gut Shot or Wring Flesh? It means less cards they can side in that are good against your real threats, or at least they'll waste them before your Wolf Running Inkmoths and Emissaries come online. Remember that you can GSZ for these on turn 2.
***Glissa, the Traitor
Dies to Dismember, I know. Yawn. This girl is one of the best I've ever seen for locking down ground aggro, and if they kill the first one, you have 11 ways you can get another. Remember, you only need one to totally stall the board while you build up your defenses and counterattack, even preventing your opponent's lifelink and deathtouch from working. She is crucial to giving Garruk and Olivia time to become overwhelming forces, and is great at defending against Wolf Running creatures, preventing all of the damage from getting through! Also, she is a decent better in a race situation, and is virtually unblockable if you're Wolf Running her. Next, she can recur your Solemn Simulacrums and Wurmcoil Engines for massive value, often with help from Garruk and Olivia, who can kill them for you. One of my favorite tricks is to get both Glissa and a Wurmcoil down, then every turn attack with the Engine, let it die so you get two baby Wurmcoils, then just replay the thing! Every turn! This is a key tactic to breaking down aggro in a standstill, and also works alright with Solemn Simulacrums, especially combined with Wolf Run. It's almost like having a Mimic Vat that keeps the creature around for two turns and has a 3/3 first strike deathtouch body, and people already play Mimic Vat without these advantages! Finally, being black, Doom Blade, currently popular, as well as Victim of Night can't hit her. Honestly, I recommend her and possibly a swamp as 1-ofs for any deck running GSZ, because she's that amazing against aggro.
***Olivia Voldaren
She comes down early. She flies. She assassinates phantasmal crreatures. She dodges Doom Blade and Victim of Night. She gets huge quickly, destroys weenies early game, and steals your opponent's finishers. If they can't kill her or evade her, she can be one of the most oppressive cards in the metagame. She will kill their weenies and utility creatures. She will steal anything bigger than her, or just become bigger than it. Remember that you can use her abilities at instant speed to take out things like Inkmoths, or as a combat trick. When you have her, your board position is constantly improving, while your opponent's shrinks to nothing. I actually play her very much like I'd play a planeswalker. Just make sure you grab enough red and black mana to do what you want with her, and don't steal more than you need, in case they find removal. Also, keep in mind that she can feed off of your own creatures and can kill them to trigger their effects, and also that she can turn creatures into vampires in response to Victim of Night. A pet peeve of mine is when many people dismiss interesting legendaries such as Glissa and especially Olivia as JUST EDH/Commander generals, or worse, Limited-only bombs. They are elegantly-designed cards that take creativity to unlock their true power, and many so-called, self-proclaimed Spikes just don't seem to want to bother trying.
***Wurmcoil Engine
There are a few reasons I run this over the three Titans. First, it's easier on the manabase, freeing you up to use Olivia's abilities because double of any color is much less of an issue without Titans. Second, it's better than at least Primeval against aggro, and sometimes better than Inferno and Grave as well. Third, it's actually good AGAINST Primeval Titan. Because you don't have trouble finding a Wolf Run, you'd usually rather have the life and the two 3/3 Wurms than the two land fetches. Forth, because Birds, Glissa, and Olivia could potentially be killed before they have much impact, you'd like something that gives a lot of value when it dies. Fifth, Wurmcoil can trade with those nasty Dungrove Elders...TWICE! Sixth, the Engine is extremely good against Beast Within. Seventh, since you have two Doom Blade-proof and Victim of Night-proof threats, having a Go for the Throat-proof threat can make the choice of removal difficult on your opponents. Eighth, Wurmcoil and the babies are so nuts with Wolf Run, as both Lifelink and Deathtouch combine amazingly with Trample and huge power. Ninth, it can block creatures with protection from colors, which can easily kill you otherwise. And tenth, Wurmcoil is NUTS with Glissa! Why not Batterskull? It could work, but we can ramp to six easily, and Wurmcoil offers more in this particular deck.
***Primeval Titan
You have one for two reasons. First, is that you simply want to have access to a huge threat when you hit seven mana and have a GSZ. Second, you want a reliable way to fetch up any utility lands you need, and even with a single copy, you have 9 ways of getting it.
***Garruk Relentless
Costing 4 mana is very key. On the play, you can slip it under Dissipate and other 3-cost counterspells and then proceed to wreck them. It can come down early and kill a key weenie or mana creature, or start creating wolves to block. He's very easy to flip, and the deathtouch wolves are seriously awesome at playing defense. His tutor ability is also not too difficult to use, especially if you're willing to sacrifice Garruk and/or an early creature, some of which you might prefer dead anyway. It's pretty common for me to grab Olivia after I make one or two deathtouch wolves, and then just take over the game. I've never used his Overrun ability, but you run a good number of creatures to fuel it if you need it. He's also good at keeping his [c title="larger incarnation"]Garruk, Primal Hunter[/c] and Liliana of the Veil off the table, which can both be devastating against you. The trickiest thing about using him is deciding how to use him, as he lends himself to tons of options, regardless of which mode he's in.
***Life's Finale
Why do we need this? Why not go white for Day of Judgement? Thanks to your mana ways of stalling aggro, plus countless ways of ramping, paying 6 is no problem at all! The added effect is actually very much worth two more mana. Ripping your opponent's three best creatures out of their deck is no joke. No more Mirran Crusader, Geist of Saint Traft, Angelic Overseer, Primeval Titan, Dungrove Elder, random Birthing Pod creatures (you can even break their chain), or control finishers to worry about! This deck is very very good at winning at attrition, as long as you eliminate the few key creatures that can stop you, and Life's Finale makes that possible. It's a board wipe that's almost universally amazing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SIDEBOARD EXPLANATIONS
There are a few artifacts that can kill you pretty easily sometimes, and this is the best way to make sure that never happens. Generally used against Swords, Shrines, Wurmcoils, Batterskulls, Inkmoths, Birthing Pods, Mimic Vats, and Tempered Steel decks.
***Acidic Slime
These are split with Ancient Grudge because between them, killing 6 artifacts should be enough, and you still have Karn if you need to kill more. These are mainly for pesky enchantments such as Angelic Destiny, Honor of the Pure, Tempered Steel, Heartless Summoning, and Curse of Death's Hold, and are otherwise just Ancient Grudge 3 and 4. They get the nod over Naturalize because you tap out often, they can be fetched, they take out lands, and you generally want enchantment kill against aggro, where a deathtouch blocker shines.
***Thrun, the Last Troll
His primary use is against blue control, where he makes racing much easier. If you can shut down Wolf Run, he can block Dungrove all day. He's handy against burn and is a good blocker against aggro. Sometimes his ability to regenerate through Life's Finale comes in handy, and if you can keep Thrun and a planeswalker through a board wipe, you're in excellent shape. He can also come in for Wurmcoils if you need to lower your curve a bit.
***Garruk, Primal Hunter
Garruk, Primal Hunter is one of the most dangerous threats to this deck, so it's nice to have extra Garruks to blank him. The card itself is extremely powerful, but the triple green can be tough if you also want to make good use of Olivia, so you might want to swap her out for this, especially if they're running something that can easily kill her. He can be just as good at taking over a game as her, and he's such a different type of threat that it can throw your opponent off balance. He's also an answer to Liliana of the Veil, who can be problematic. If you play a Garruk Relentless first, sacrifice him using his attack or tutor ability before you play this, which will gain you tempo. If you can land him against control, he might be all you need to win, and with Glissa playing defense, it shouldn't be too difficult to draw a ton of cards or create a bunch of Wurms with him. He's also a nice play the turn before you drop a Life's Finale.
***Karn Liberated
Karn is yet another card that can completely take over a game as long as he is defended. You have tons of chump blockers, an amazing defender in Glissa, Garruks creating endless streams of chumps, and Life's Finale for emergencies, so defending him is very possible. He answers just about everything, so side him into matches where you know you'll have time to abuse him.
***Melira, Sylvok Outcast
She is here mainly for the Mono-Black Infect matchup, which is stacked against us, although she can be tangentially useful against the Inkmoth plan in a pinch. She isn't as reliable as some people give her credit for, but as a 1-of, she does usually pull her weight. She is also nice both with and against Black Sun's Zenith, and can very flavorfully render her buddy Thrun practically immortal. If you feel like you don't need her, a third Garruk, Primal Hunter, a Black Sun's Zenith, or another silver bullet, such as Acid Web Spider, is a good alternative.
***Tree of Redemption
This Angel Oak is the last nail in the coffin against aggro and burn. Just playing one can give them huge problems, since you can tutor for it so easily. Don't forget that you can pump the power with Wolf Run to kill attackers. Whomping Willow indeed!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANALYSIS OF MATCHUPS
~~How to Lose
The best way to lose against these decks is to let them drop their finisher with plenty of countermagic left and enough leftover mana to use it. Their ideal game plan is to kill everything they don't absolutely have to counter, take some hits, and drop a resilient finisher with counterspell backup. Liliana of the Veil can be a real nuisance if you're not playing a proactive game or get a bad draw, so try to resolve Garruk or some cheap creatures. At worst, try to have Wurmcoil Engine deal with her, and hope it's not too late.
~~How to Win
There are three ways to win. The first is to race them, which gets much easier with Thrun post-board and should always be your first plan. If you can pull off a turn 3 Garruk Relentless or turn 4 Primal Garruk, you also stand a good shot at racing. If you can't kill them before they drop their finisher, you have two other avenues of victory open to you, as long as you've pressured them enough to force them to drop their finisher without counter mana open. The first is to kill the finisher with either Life's Finale or Karn, using the same card to strip them of any future kill conditions. The second is to drop a creature that trumps theirs and is resilient to removal. This is usually Olivia, who conveniently can dodge Mana Leak even if they can cast it, or Wurmcoil Engine, which beats finishers such as Consecrated Sphinx and Grave Titan, and trades evenly with their own Wurmcoils. You could even race their finisher with a Primeval Titan or an Inkmoth Nexus, or even a chump, especially if you have a Wolf Run out and they're out of removal. This matchup is one of the main reasons we run 4x Wolf Run, so the odds are good of having one by the time they drop their finisher. If you drop an early Thrun, with a Wolf Run out, you might just want to race with those two cards alone, instead of risking your other spells being countered or destroyed. Finally, if they are running Burning Vengeance, your outs are Wurmcoil Engine, Acidic Slime, and post-board, Tree of Redemption and Karn, so make sure you resolve one of these.
***Wolf Run Ramp
~~How to Lose
When you lose, it will almost always be to an early Garruk, Primal Hunter or an early Primeval Titan. Once either of these start applying pressure, it is very difficult to mount an effective defense. You will usually die to Wolf Running Titans or Inkmoths, or if you're not playing intelligently or are just unlucky, Garruk's ultimate, although you do have Life's Finale for that.
~~How to Win
Use your Glissas and Olivias as bait for their Beast Withins and Slagstorms. After that, you're probably safe to cast Garruk Relentless to prevent their Garruk from taking over. Your second Glissa or Olivia, which Garruk can help you get in a pinch, can dominate the game if they don't have the removal. A single Glissa and an Inkmoth can temporarily neutralize him in an emergency. Primeval Titan should just be blocked by Glissa, stolen by Olivia, or Life's Finaled out of the game. To deal with the Kessigs and Inkmoths, you have two Ghost Quarters, which you should use your own Titan to get, and Olivia can ping the Inkmoths out of the sky. Glissa defends really well against Wolf Run, and Wurmcoil can help you race it. Post-board, you can have more Garruks, Ancient Grudge for their Swords, Inkmoths, Wurmcoils, and Batterskulls, and Karn as a catch-all emergency button.
***Wolf Run Green
~~How to Lose
They want to pressure you with early Dungroves, followed by Garruks and Titans, and possibly Thruns, Batterskulls, and Wurmcoils. Once the pressure is on, it's very easy to fall behind scrambling to defend. Losing early momentum is a very common way to lose this match. The other way is being unable to answer their Garruks and Inkmoths.
~~How to Win
If you have a chance early on, you can use Garruk to kill their mana creatures, which can be really helpful as long as you can deal with them killing Garruk and dropping their own. Olivia is a decent response to their Garruk thanks to her flying, and Glissa with Wolf Run can cut through the blockers and reach him. Glissa really shines in this matchup, and there isn't much they can do about her besides Beast Within, which isn't a great answer. She can keep everything but the Inkmoths and Garruk, Primal Hunter at bay, so you can focus the rest of your resources on them. Olivia handles both, and is insane as always. Life's Finale in response to Garruk's ultimate can crush them, and dropping Life's Finale on a Thrun can get him through to Garruk. However, the most elegant answer to the Garruk problem is to just side in more of your own! The Inkmoths fall prey to your fetchable Ghost Quarters, as always, and you also have Ancient Grudge and Karn post-board.
***WG Tokens
~~How to Lose
This is actually a very easy matchup. An early flipped Mayor of Avabruck can kill you, so mulligan with this in mind. If Elspeth Tirel gets some breathing space she can be problematic. Double Shrine of Loyal Legions early on, and a Triumph of the Hordes or other Overrun effect can get them there. Watch out for Hero of Bladehold and Geist-Honored Monk, especially with Intangible Virtue, Gavony Township, or an Overrun effect around. Gavony can get out of control if you can't apply enough pressure while defending. Mortarpods can mess you up if you're counting on Birds for mana. Celestial Purge out of the board can be a pain, as can Day of Judgement if they have a Shrine.
~~How to Win
If you play intelligently, this matchup heavily favors you. Try not to keep hands that will flip Mayor if they have him. Olivia is a real pain in the neck for them, eating their tokens and slaying Elspeth effortlessly. Just make sure to keep her big enough that they can't kill her with Mortarpod. Garruk should take out their Mentor of the Meek or Mayor of Avabruck before they get out of hand, then either get Oliva or start making deathtouch wolves. Wurmcoil is great for stabalizing, and their removal is terrible against it. Put them under seige with Glissa and an artifact creature if you get the chance. Save Acidic Slime for a huge Shrine. Otherwise, just GSZ for Primeval Titan and Ghost Quarter Gavony. Post-board, you can take out some black creatures to blank Celestial Purge, although they are very good here and Olivia keeps Elspeth in check, so it's a judgement call. It may be better to wait for Game 3 before you decide. Primal Garruk just dominates them, and his ultimate is Game Over. The Tree can be insurance against a bad start, and more Acidic Slimes or Ancient Grudge can be insurance against Shrines and any equipment they bring in.
***WG Humans
~~How to Lose
An early Champion of the Parish can kill you if not dealt with. Mirran Crusader, Angelic Destiny, and Angelic Overseer can also lead to random losses. It's the nature of aggro to get nuts draws and win randomly, so don't let it get to you. You can also lose to them if you allow them to build up with Mikaeus and Gavony Township, after which they will kill you with an Overrun effect, or just by having too many huge creatures for you to handle. A key mistake players make is thinking they're safe after they stabilize. This deck will always be able to kill you out of nowhere if you're not actively killing its creatures, so you need a plan to either race or start killing things.
~~How to Win
The best opener is a flipped, unthreatened Garruk and one of their early creatures dead, followed by a stream of deathtouch wolves. You might need to play some blockers before you get Garruk active. Glissa can stop them cold for awhile if they don't have Mirran Crusader or Angelic Destiny. Get Olivia active as soon as is practical, and start eating, and later stealing, their creatures, while flying over to beat them when possible. Glissa or Wurmcoil, possibly with the help of an Emissary or Simulacrum, can force them to overextend, at which point you cast Life's Finale, ripping out their Angelic Overseers and then their Mirran Crusaders. To deal with Angelic Destiny and Angelic Overseer, try to get Olivia to be even bigger than their flyer. Inkmoth plus Wolf Run can also kill the Indestrucible, Hexproof Angel. But basically, Olivia is key, as she can pick off their humans until the Angel is alone. If they use a Fiend Hunter on her, cast a Life's Finale to get her back and kill off their humans, and then dealing with the Angel is easy. Also, GSZ can grab Acidic Slime, who not only kills Angelic Destiny, but also leaves a very useful deathtouch blocker. You also have more Acidic Slimes post-board for Destiny. Remember to save your Simulacrums, Wurmcoils, and Inkmoths for blocking in desperate situation against Mirran Crusader, who can be extremely dangerous. Glissa plus an artifact creature can put them under seige after you stabalize, allowing you to overtake them in resources or chip away at their health. Try to save a GSZ to get Primeval Titan or Acidic Slime to kill Gavony, which can be bad news. Your sideboard cards are mostly all good in this matchup, so mix it up if you want to confuse your opponent. You might not want the Ancient Grudges until Game 3 if you're not sure they'll be useful. You still have your Slimes and Karn to deal with artifacts Game 2.
***WU Humans
~~How to Lose
Mirran Crusader and Geist of Saint Traft are not your friends. These combined with Angelic Destiny/Swords and Moorland Haunt are what will usually kill you. The other option is the nuts draw with Champion of the Parish and Phantasmal Image leading the charge.
~~How to Win
You want a blocker or a Garruk to stop their early rush. Pretty much everything you have can hold an unpumped Saint off, so just make sure you have a few creatures down in case they kill one of them. Try to save your GSZ for Acidic Slime for their pump, or otherwise for Moorland Haunt. Save your Simulacrums to block Mirran Crusader as usual, and use the usual tactics to force them to overextend into a Life's Finale, after which you should extract Crusaders followed by Geist of Saint Traft. Mid-late game you should draw into a Ghost Quarter, a second GSZ, or Primeval to kill their Moorland Haunt. Don't forget the power of a flipped Garruk in an aggro match. Olivia can kill a Phantasmal Image for 1R, and Kessig Wolf Run can do the same job for RG. Just have the Wolf Run target the Image! Post-board you have the usual bag of tricks, so feel free to mix it up if you think they have answers coming in, and don't forget the extra Acidic Slimes.
***Red Deck Wins
~~How to Lose
Double Shrine of Burning Rage Game 1 can be bad. It's usually this or a Koth of the Hammer you can't deal with that kills you. Wurmcoil gives you a good tool against them, but you won't always draw it. Stormblood Berserker is very effective at whittling down your life so their Shrines and Koth can finish you off. [/c]Hero of Oxid Ridge[/c] can also be the knockout blow at times, especially if you wipe the board, so be wary of it, and extract it if you can.
~~How to Win
Try to ramp up to a Wurmcoil Engine, but be careful to have another creature beside it if you can in case of a Threaten effect. Garruk can deal with their Stormblood Berserker and Chandra's Phoenix, and can also block forever against Koth's mountains if they run out of burn. They will burn some of your blockers, so it's good that you have so many. Try to play your other blockers before Glissa, so she'll have a higher chance of surviving to defend against Koth. GSZ-]Acidic Slime their Shrine if they tap out, which they sometimes are forced to because you can threaten to race them. Post-board, you have GSZ-]Tree to slow them down, and Thrun, who can block forever and can't be burned, plus Ancient Grudge for their Shrines and a more resilient Garruk, if you think you need it.
***Birthing Pod
~~How to Lose
Let them have a few turns with their Birthing Pod and you'll have a tough time winning. Even if they don't have a Pod, don't count on your long game beating thiers. They have many creatures that can give you fits, and you can never be sure which ones they're running.
~~How to Win
You want to save your GSZ to Acidic Slime their Pod, and when you Life's Finale, either take out their most dangerous creatures or cut the ones they need to chain up to them. Remember that Life's Finale feeds their Skaab Ruinator, so you might want to take that as one of your creatures. Also beware of Sun Titan bringing back Phantasmal Image, and other random creatures such as Sheoldred, Whispering One. You really have to be the aggressor here, because even without Pod they can be surprisingly tough. Post-board it becomes a whole lot better with Ancient Grudge, extra Acidic Slimes, and Karn, and you shouldn't have too many problems.
***Tempered Steel
~~How to Lose
The typical way to lose to these decks is either to be swarmed by fast weenies, or otherwise be killed by Hero of Bladehold and Glint Hawk Idols. The Glink Hawk Idols are worth special mention because they dodge a lot of removal and can grow huge between Battle Cry, Contested War Zone, Tempered Steel, and other pump. The namesake enchantment, Tempered Steel, is probably their most dangerous card, and should be slimed if at all possible. Don't wait around for them to drop another one or a Hero of Bladehold. Unlike aggro decks of the past, these modern ones can easily kill you after you stabalize, so you need some way of applying pressure. Don't forget that two attacking Hero of Bladeholds is 20 damage, and factor in the possibility of them dropping a Contested War Zone into your calculations. Finally, remember that Inkmoths deal 3 poison under Tempered Steel.
~~How to Win
The truth is that this is a bad matchup for you unless you tailor your build or sideboard more against it. More maindeck Slimes, sideboard Naturalizes, or sideboard Slagstorm or Black Sun's Zenith are all good solutions. If you opt for more Primeval Titans and less Wurmcoils, you could also use Creeping Corrosion, but I prefer Ancient Grudge because it hits Inkmoths and not your own things. Beast Withins aren't optimal, but they can get the job done. Finally, Viridian Corrupter is a cheap GSZ target that destroys an artifact and blocks well. Using the build as-is, you really want an early Olivia that can eat a few of their creatures before they get pumped. If you have Olivia and three sources of red, you're in good shape. Gum up the board with as many blockers as you can muster, kill their Signal Pests or other weenies with Garruk, then try to tutor for Olivia, and attack with every chance you get. If you can hold them off and save a GSZ to Slime their first Tempered Steel, you have a chance. Try to save your Life's Finale for their Hero of Bladehold, then use it to rip the other 3 out of their deck, with Blade Splicers being the next best option. Don't get too frustrated if they draw two Tempered Steel. That card is nuts and can easily kill you, but the odds are against this scenario. After sideboard bring in everything you have that can deal with their big threats - Tempered Steel and Hero of Bladehold, plus possible Shrine of Loyal Legions. Thrun and Primal Garruk are good swaps for some creatures because their bigger, reusable bodies are great blockers, Garruk's ultimate is almost certainly a win, and they dodge Dispatch, along with the Celestial Purges and Leonin Relic-Warders they might board in.
***Mono-Black Infect
~~How to Lose
The most important thing to remember when playing against this deck, especially for your own peace of mind, is that it is meant to prey on ramp decks. It is a very difficult matchup just because of the nature of your strategy. Their Phyrexian Crusaders are Olivia-proof, your Wurmcoil lifegain doesn't matter, they sometimes run Sword of Feast and Famine main, Virulant Wound on a Birds hurts, they have flyers that can dodge your blockers and even wear Thrun down on the ground, and Skithryx and Lashwrithe, especially on an Inkmoth, can kill you out of nowhere. You will probably die to a Lashwrithe or Sword on a threat, Skythrix, or if you're really unlucky, just normal beats.
~~How to Win
We do have a few natural advantages against this type of deck, and we have to capitalize on them for any chance of success. Olivia is the key and probably your best hope. She can give herself counters to cancel the wither effect of the poison, she blocks and eats their Plague Stingers, Whispering Specters, and Inkmoths. If you survive long enough, she can even steal a Skythrix or Lashwrithed creature at instant speed. She is even immune Doom Blade and especially Victim of Night, which they often run. She can even turn your own creatures into vampires in response to Victim of Night! Just remember to leave her or an Inkmoth back to block if you think they might drop a hasty Skithrix. They do have Distress and Despise to deal with her, but the good news is that black Garruk can always get you another. Garruk is the other key card in this match. He can assassinate an early beater, then use one of your early drops to fetch Olivia. You should almost always fetch Olivia as soon as possible, even if it costs you Garruk. This frees you to drop another Garruk to kill something else, since the deathtouch Wolves aren't as useful here as they usually are, thanks to the flying and first strike on the opposing creatures. GSZ should be saved for Acidic Slime to deal with their equipment. Glissa is alright against Phyrexian Crusader and especially Phyrexian Vatmother, but should only be gotten in an emergency. Otherwise she is decent for racing, being immune to both Doom Blade and Victim of Night. Post-board, your Ancient Grudges and Acidic Slimes will do a lot of the heavy lifting, and you also have a singleton Melira. Don't overestimate Melira's usefulness - she is very easy for them to force you to discard or otherwise kill, especially since their removal is usually lacking for targets. At best she can buy you a few turns, so turn on the aggression when she's around, since any damage you sustain won't matter when she's gone. One of my favorite tricks is to use Olivia to turn Melira into a vampire in response to Victim of Night. If you can pull this off and they don't follow up with a Virulent Wound on Melira, you have a decent shot at winning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OTHER SIDEBOARD OPTIONS
--This is great as a 1-of if control isn't running lots of spells that kill 1-toughness creatures.
Stingerfling Spider
--If a particular flyer is giving you trouble, this is a great 1-of bullet.
Acid Web Spider
--A specialized 1-of bullet against decks that use small flyers and equipment to win. A good alternative or companion to Melira against Mono-Black Infect that can also help against other weenie decks.
Creeping Corrosion
--Probably best along with Ancient Grudge if Tempered Steel is running rampant.
Naturalize
--Cheaper than Acidic Slime and at instant speed, but less powerful and versatile.
Beast Within
--Not a bad card by any means, but why deal with the drawback when you don't have to?
Dismember
--We usually want other removal, but this can be very powerful against Mono-Black Infect.
Primeval Titan/Inferno Titan/Grave Titan
--These are all good, but usually unneeded.
Batterskull
--If aggro and especially burn are a huge problem, you always have these. Nice with Inkmoths. You can use these instead of Wurmcoils main if you want a lower curve for some reason, or if you play many red decks with threaten effects.
Black Sun's Zenith/Slagstorm/Blasphemic Act
--These are all good against swarm aggro, but each has a slightly different use.
Balefire Dragon
--This is a very strong, underrated card, but we usually want other solutions to creatures.
Distress/Memoricide
--Use these to kill any combo decks that you can't handle.
Sword of Feast and Famine
--Generally a very good card, but difficult to fit in anywhere.
Rune-Scarred Demon
--This is amazing in multiples in the right metagame. Gives a great end-game.
Army of the Damned
--It's very good against draw-go and ramp, but you usually want more Primeval Titans with it.
Genesis Wave
--This can be a game-ender, especially if you run Primeval Titans.
Surgical Extraction/Nihil Spellbomb
--Decent options against graveyard abuse, but should be a last resort.
Shrine of Infinite Power
--This has potential against Draw-Go if you run lots of one-drop mana creatures.
Gut Shot/Geistflame/Wring Flesh/Mortarpod/Curse of Death's Hold
--Good if small creatures and Inkmoths are everywhere.
Monomania
--Another draw-go killer, but good luck resolving it.
Hex Parasite/Phyrexian Revoker
--Useful, but only needed in very special situations. Try to find more aggressive solutions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FINAL WORDS
This is the third deck I've posted online that in my testing is good against most of the metagame. The first one was a WBR Firemane Angel deck during Kamigawa-Ravnica, ironically made to battle the original Solar Flare, just as modern Wolf Run decks rose to battle Neo-Solar Flare, and the second was a Gx Gleancrawler/Protean Hulk deck during Kamigawa-Time Spiral. Both decks were winning at least 75% of their matches against the top decks in the format! While hard to swallow, these results were the product of hundreds of games and constant tweaking, plus some unconventional deckbuilding principles, so sometimes I feel inspired to duplicate these results in new metagames. I've followed the same deckbuilding principles I've always used here, and while this deck isn't nearly as powerful as the other two, I would say it's around at least 60% against the field as a whole, although obviously that goes down if strategies such as Tempered Steel and Mono-Black Infect become popular. These results are based on a few hundred games against every deck listed. If you've noticed, I really like multicolored board-control decks (I LOVE The Rock and its many variants) with complex, underused cards and many small synergies that can deal with anything, grind out games, and win the attrition war. As a bonus, the legends, planeswalkers, and small synergies lend the deck a lot of flavor. Have fun telling Glissa to send yet another Wurmcoil Engine at your opponent while Olivia builds her vampire army.
I hope this deck isn't brushed off as "just another Wolf Run deck." I really think it plays a very different game after the early ramping, and Olivia, Glissa, and Life's Finale are all absurd cards right now that are being overlooked. They are, along with Garruk Relentless, also quite intricately designed, and offer many lines of play every turn. I consider this deck to be more "advanced" than traditional ramp, since it's about a lot more than just dropping big, dumb creatures that go "hurr durr" and slobber all over themselves like drunken yaks. Seriously, compare the difficulty of using Glissa, Olivia, Garruk Relentless, and Life's Finale to the difficulty of using Primeval Titan, Dungrove Elder, Primal Garruk, and Slagstorm, and also remember that your manabase is less stable, so you need to be better at mulliganing and ramping intelligently. Mindful playing and practice will take you far with this deck, and with these three colors you should be able to adjust your deck to handle any metagame. I really think this deck has a shot at taking Worlds, and I'd love to see some people pilot it.
Finally, I'm hoping this deck sparks a discussion on the merits of running more than 60 cards. I usually run 61 cards in any deck I plan to grind with, which has given me many wins against similar decks if we just can't kill each other. Ironically enough, I'm also a believer in the merits of Manamorphose for deck-shrinking. Deck size is something that I think people usually take for granted, and I don't expect most people to run more than the standard 60, but I think it can be an interesting topic of discussion. Also, how can this deck be improved, and am I missing any solutions to our bad matchups? I'd like to hear your thoughts.
EDIT: It seems that Chapin is running Olivia at Worlds, in, of all things, a board control deck that includes these three colors (plus blue, but that doesn't matter). I can't say I'm surprised. Maybe this will convince some people that I know what I'm talking about.