Magic the Gathering Blog
Taronga Zoo
[A decklist by Neale Talbot]
This deck leans heavily on a shell developed by Rubin Zoo (and by extension of that, Naya Lightsaber by Mike Flores). I'd like to thank Baz & Jay for their help tuning the deck, Bjoern and his friends for playtesting it, and Marshall for his input in the sideboard.
Once Worldwake was released, I returned to the zoo list Kibler played at Pro-Tour Austin. Once I saw the dual man lands from Worldwake and the Next Big Thing, Tectonic Edge, I knew I wanted to be able to tutor for them using Knight of the Reliquary. Which is why I returned to the Rubin list for inspiration, as Flores' (quite rightly) forgoed the Knight with only Arid Mesa as it's main pump machine.
The result was Taronga Zoo.
Taronga Zoo has performed very well in testing. The results - before a new sideboard was built - were about 60:40 vs Jund, Vampires & Boros, 50:50 vs Grixis and Lightsaber, and 30:70 vs UWr. This gives us advantage over most of the field, with one particularly bad matchup.
Here's the list:
Taronga Zoo Decklist
// 24 Creatures
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Noble Heirarch
1 Dragonmaster Outcast
1 Scute Mob
3 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Ranger of Eos
3 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Baneslayer Angel
// 8 Instants
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Bolt
// 3 Planeswalkers
2 Ajani Vengeant
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
// 25 Lands
4 Forest
3 Mountain
4 Plains
1 Raging Ravine
2 Stirring Wildwood
3 Tectonic Edge
4 Arid Mesa
2 Sunpetal Grove
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Oran-Reif, the Vastwood
//
3 x Slingbow Trap
3 x Great Sable Stag
4 x Kor Firewalker
3 x Luminarch Ascension
2 x Burst Lightning
Maindeck
The deck has a lot of clear synergies, but a surprising one is mana denial. Between Ajani and Tectonic Edge, with a good draw you can keep your opponent on 2 effective mana for quite a while.
Although only 24 creatures are listed, you're really running 27+ - three more from the three manlands, and an infinite number you can pump out via Elspeth.
Knight of the Reliquary is a champ, able to tutor up Oran-Rief, a man-land, or a Tectonic Edge. This deck considers Edge almost a spell, rather than a land - "1, destroy target non-basic land, give Knight of the Reliquary +1/+1". Sounds good to me.
In testing the Manlands have been great. They give you extra reach post Day of Judgment, as well as a beat-down machine. Occasionally you'll lose one to a Terminate, but if you play smart you'll generally get around Lightning Bolt. And when they do die, they're only pumping Knight of the Reliquary. Modular, right?
Ranger has a lot of good targets, but one great move late game is grabbing both a Scute Mob and the Dragonmaster Outcast. The sort of devil's choice you love to give your opponent. Or a win condition if they don'thave any removal in hand.
Sideboard
The sideboard is mainly to shore up some of your worse matchups, though UWr is always going to be a dog. We had a fair bit of discussion about Luminarch Ascension, Summoning Trap or River Boa, but Luminarch won the day. You lay it down, then apply pressure, and hopefully UWr is spending so many resources in defence they can't get rid of the Ascension. Hopefully.
Slingbow Trap is pretty spectacular. For G you can kill Abyssal Persecutor, Vampire Nocturnus, Malakir Bloodwitch, Vampire Nighthawk or Broodmate Dragon. For 3G it kills Baneslayer or a Broodmate token. Sure, it's conditional in that they have to be attacking, but when does Vampires not attack?
Great Sable Stag helps the UWr and Grixis matchups, with some splash damage for Jund. The main thing is to try to play it with the ability to pump with Oran-Rief and get it out of Lightning Bolt range.
Kor Firewalker is just nuts - NUTS - against RDW, and can also turn a match against Grixis. Grixis' only real removal options are Into the Roil or Sorin.
Burst Lightning helps against Malakir Bloodwitch, slowing down Boros, nuking a Ball Lightning, or just pushing damage across to your opponent.
Exploring Options
Other options we considered were:
* Dropping the Heirarchs for Loam Lions and turning on the aggro.
* Dropping the Bloodbraid Elfs for Explore and going for Mana Ramp.
* Playing a singleton Quicksand.
* Getting rid of M10 duals entirely and going the whole hog with manlands.
* Dropping red entirely and heading into some sort of GW Little Kid deck
I'm sure all of these will be attempted in time. But for now the deck is what it is. Hopefully this migraine will go away and I'll get to play it today at the Good Games 5k Trial. If not, I hope at the very least you get to have fun with it.
[A decklist by Neale Talbot]
This deck leans heavily on a shell developed by Rubin Zoo (and by extension of that, Naya Lightsaber by Mike Flores). I'd like to thank Baz & Jay for their help tuning the deck, Bjoern and his friends for playtesting it, and Marshall for his input in the sideboard.
Once Worldwake was released, I returned to the zoo list Kibler played at Pro-Tour Austin. Once I saw the dual man lands from Worldwake and the Next Big Thing, Tectonic Edge, I knew I wanted to be able to tutor for them using Knight of the Reliquary. Which is why I returned to the Rubin list for inspiration, as Flores' (quite rightly) forgoed the Knight with only Arid Mesa as it's main pump machine.
The result was Taronga Zoo.
Taronga Zoo has performed very well in testing. The results - before a new sideboard was built - were about 60:40 vs Jund, Vampires & Boros, 50:50 vs Grixis and Lightsaber, and 30:70 vs UWr. This gives us advantage over most of the field, with one particularly bad matchup.
Here's the list:
Taronga Zoo Decklist
// 24 Creatures
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Noble Heirarch
1 Dragonmaster Outcast
1 Scute Mob
3 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Ranger of Eos
3 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Baneslayer Angel
// 8 Instants
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Bolt
// 3 Planeswalkers
2 Ajani Vengeant
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
// 25 Lands
4 Forest
3 Mountain
4 Plains
1 Raging Ravine
2 Stirring Wildwood
3 Tectonic Edge
4 Arid Mesa
2 Sunpetal Grove
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Oran-Reif, the Vastwood
//
3 x Slingbow Trap
3 x Great Sable Stag
4 x Kor Firewalker
3 x Luminarch Ascension
2 x Burst Lightning
Maindeck
The deck has a lot of clear synergies, but a surprising one is mana denial. Between Ajani and Tectonic Edge, with a good draw you can keep your opponent on 2 effective mana for quite a while.
Although only 24 creatures are listed, you're really running 27+ - three more from the three manlands, and an infinite number you can pump out via Elspeth.
Knight of the Reliquary is a champ, able to tutor up Oran-Rief, a man-land, or a Tectonic Edge. This deck considers Edge almost a spell, rather than a land - "1, destroy target non-basic land, give Knight of the Reliquary +1/+1". Sounds good to me.
In testing the Manlands have been great. They give you extra reach post Day of Judgment, as well as a beat-down machine. Occasionally you'll lose one to a Terminate, but if you play smart you'll generally get around Lightning Bolt. And when they do die, they're only pumping Knight of the Reliquary. Modular, right?
Ranger has a lot of good targets, but one great move late game is grabbing both a Scute Mob and the Dragonmaster Outcast. The sort of devil's choice you love to give your opponent. Or a win condition if they don'thave any removal in hand.
Sideboard
The sideboard is mainly to shore up some of your worse matchups, though UWr is always going to be a dog. We had a fair bit of discussion about Luminarch Ascension, Summoning Trap or River Boa, but Luminarch won the day. You lay it down, then apply pressure, and hopefully UWr is spending so many resources in defence they can't get rid of the Ascension. Hopefully.
Slingbow Trap is pretty spectacular. For G you can kill Abyssal Persecutor, Vampire Nocturnus, Malakir Bloodwitch, Vampire Nighthawk or Broodmate Dragon. For 3G it kills Baneslayer or a Broodmate token. Sure, it's conditional in that they have to be attacking, but when does Vampires not attack?
Great Sable Stag helps the UWr and Grixis matchups, with some splash damage for Jund. The main thing is to try to play it with the ability to pump with Oran-Rief and get it out of Lightning Bolt range.
Kor Firewalker is just nuts - NUTS - against RDW, and can also turn a match against Grixis. Grixis' only real removal options are Into the Roil or Sorin.
Burst Lightning helps against Malakir Bloodwitch, slowing down Boros, nuking a Ball Lightning, or just pushing damage across to your opponent.
Exploring Options
Other options we considered were:
* Dropping the Heirarchs for Loam Lions and turning on the aggro.
* Dropping the Bloodbraid Elfs for Explore and going for Mana Ramp.
* Playing a singleton Quicksand.
* Getting rid of M10 duals entirely and going the whole hog with manlands.
* Dropping red entirely and heading into some sort of GW Little Kid deck
I'm sure all of these will be attempted in time. But for now the deck is what it is. Hopefully this migraine will go away and I'll get to play it today at the Good Games 5k Trial. If not, I hope at the very least you get to have fun with it.
Labels: deckbuilding, standard, taronga zoo
Weekend Magic: Terrible Casual Combo In Extended
Dear lord, I love trying out some janky, terrible decks in the casual room on MtGO. It's someowhat of a Sunday-morning hobby of mine while the kids are busy destroying each other.
As such I thought I'd post on a Monday whatever terrible brew I'd been giggling about over the weekend, starting with today's deck, one that abuses the Best-Worst Casual Combo in Extended.
Here's the deck:
// 24 Creatures
4 x Merrow Witsniper
4 x Silvergill Adept
4 x Stonybrook Banneret
4 x Lord of Atlantis
4 x Merrow Reejeray
4 x Merfolk Sovereign
// 8 Spells
4 x Spell Snare
4 x Sage's Dousing
// 4 Artifacts
4 x Cloudstone Curio
// 24 Lands
4 x Izzet Boilerworks
4 x Misty Rainforest
4 x Scalding Tarn
4 x Mutavault
8 x Island
Here's the combo: With a Cloudstone Curio and a Merrow Reejeray in play you can effectively keep replaying two Witsnipers over and over again, using the Reejeray to untap the land you paid for mana and the Cloudstone Curio to rebounce the Witsniper. In this way you get to mill your opponent one card at a time. What a terrible, horrible, and hilarious way to kill your opponent.
Here's the problem: I very, very rarely got the combo online. Not because it was impossible or imporobable to do so, but more often than not having multiple Lords on the battlefield meant the deck was beating down far more effectively than 'going off'.
Which is sort of a shame, because there's little more satisfying than killing your opponent with a Witsniper.
Dear lord, I love trying out some janky, terrible decks in the casual room on MtGO. It's someowhat of a Sunday-morning hobby of mine while the kids are busy destroying each other.
As such I thought I'd post on a Monday whatever terrible brew I'd been giggling about over the weekend, starting with today's deck, one that abuses the Best-Worst Casual Combo in Extended.
Here's the deck:
// 24 Creatures
4 x Merrow Witsniper
4 x Silvergill Adept
4 x Stonybrook Banneret
4 x Lord of Atlantis
4 x Merrow Reejeray
4 x Merfolk Sovereign
// 8 Spells
4 x Spell Snare
4 x Sage's Dousing
// 4 Artifacts
4 x Cloudstone Curio
// 24 Lands
4 x Izzet Boilerworks
4 x Misty Rainforest
4 x Scalding Tarn
4 x Mutavault
8 x Island
Here's the combo: With a Cloudstone Curio and a Merrow Reejeray in play you can effectively keep replaying two Witsnipers over and over again, using the Reejeray to untap the land you paid for mana and the Cloudstone Curio to rebounce the Witsniper. In this way you get to mill your opponent one card at a time. What a terrible, horrible, and hilarious way to kill your opponent.
Here's the problem: I very, very rarely got the combo online. Not because it was impossible or imporobable to do so, but more often than not having multiple Lords on the battlefield meant the deck was beating down far more effectively than 'going off'.
Which is sort of a shame, because there's little more satisfying than killing your opponent with a Witsniper.
Labels: deckbuilding
Team Grixis & Pro-active vs Reactive Control
I've been playing a Standard UBR deck on MtGO lately I've tentatively titled 'Team Grixis'. Here's the list, based on the good work at Affinity for Islands:
4 x Lighting Bolt
3 x Negate
2 x Essence Scatter
3 x Double Negative
2 x Grixis Charm
4 x Terminate
4 x Couriers Capsule
3 x Cruel Ultimatum
2 x Earthquake
1 x Sphinx of Jwar Isle
1 x Sphinx of Lost Truths
1 x Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1 x Chandra Nalaar
1 x Sorin Markov
1 x Liliana Vess
1 x Jace Beleren
4 x Scalding Tarn
4 x Verdant Catacombs
4 x Dragonskull Summit
2 x Crumbling Necropolis
3 x Mountain
4 x Island
5 x Swamp
It's a fun, fun deck to play, especially if you love games that go on for at minimum of ten turns. A recent concession on MtGO where someone quit because 'it was turn 13' got my head really spinning. Really? Turn 13 got you down? Have I got a Pickles lock to show you!
For a while I was convinced I needed to play Red Deck Wins as my old age and energy levels couldn't keep up over the course of an event. Then I realised, hey, you know what I do have? Infinite patience. Which is exactly what you need when playing control.
I remember I took the Fae and 5CC to a couple of FNMs in the last Standard season, and I would always win the mirror. Why? Because the young buck opposite me was determine to make something - anything - happen. Even if that meant losing. I have learnt that I don't feel that need. I can hold on forever, refusing to yield. So what if we're both playing draw-go? I dare you to tap out. I dare you.
Meanwhile, playing the deck has got me thinking, though, about the difference between pro-active and reactive control.
Pro-active vs reactive control
Blue is the colour synonymous with control for one simple reason - it engages in pro-active control. The ability to prevent a threat from ever reaching the battlefield through counter-magic has, historically, allowed blue to control the flow of the game, shaping it and moulding it in the right direction for victory. However, blue is at it's weakest at the moment. It's strongest counter (cancel) has a casting cost of 1UU, and beyond that it's left with a bunch of situational spells, most of which cannot cope against the inherent power of the Cascade mechanic.
As a result, control has moved into a far more reactive position. We have red options (Lightning Bolt, Terminate, Earthquake) or white options (Day of Judgment, Path to Exile, Oblivion Ring) and black options (Doom Blade, Infest, Gatekeeper of Malikir). These colours are stepping up their control game in response to the speed of play and card advantage that decks like Boros Bushwacker and Jund Cascade provide, and the gap in speed that blue has left behind.
Is prevention better than cure?
Any doctor will tell you prevention is better than cure. However, in Magic, the gamestate isn't that simple. The game allows one person to go first, and that person will have an inherent tempo advantage. A three-mana prevention spell such as Cancel is not much use when your opponent has dumped their biggest threats onto the battlefield before you have a chance to cast it.
At the same time, the diversification of threats at the moment means a situational counter such as Negate may sit in a hand unused as Goblin Guide after Goblin Guide hits play, or visa versa with a Luminarc Ascension with an Essence Scatter in hand. Again, blue's problem is that there is no 'soft' counter that can hit anything for a 2 mana casting cost in Standard at the moment.
As counters have progressively been neutered, answers have been getting better. Three good examples are Maelstrom Pulse, that can kill anything and it's brothers for a mere 1GB, Oblivion Ring, which can do the same for 2W, and Bituminous Blast, that is a two-for-one whenever it goes off.
This means that, as a whole, cards that are reactive answers to generic problems are currently stronger than cards that are narrow, active preventions for specific threats. Why risk running Essence Scatter when you know you'll hit a two-for-one at least with Day of Judgment?
Counter on the play, removal on the draw?
So, knowing the limitations of our active counters and our reactive answers, perhaps there is a new philosophy to enact - Active counters on the play, reactive answers on the draw.
For instance, ignoring the conditional Flash Freeze, the deck might have choose to play the following on the play:
4 x Lighting Bolt
4 x Essence Scatter
4 x Negate
4 x Double Negative
4 x Cancel
2 x Terminate
And this on the draw:
4 x Lighting Bolt
4 x Terminate
4 x Grixis Charm
4 x Earthquake
4 x Spell Pierce
2 x Negate
The first set acknowledges starting mana boost and the philosophy of prevention over cure. The second set acknowledges the need to play catchup, reducing casting costs, looking for the sweep, and planning to remove whatever his the ground.
The conundrum, then, is what to have in the maindeck, where you can never be sure whether you'll play or draw. At this point, I'd be inclined to use the 'Draw' list and always elect to draw in Game 1. Your opponent will rarely elect to draw, so you can be sure you'll have your optimum decklist. Then, if you lose Game 2 (which you should be relatively set up for), you can sideboard into Game 3 the 'on the play' card list, using the tempo boost to maximum advantage.
I'm going to tinker around with this strategy a bit. I'm sure I'll find a steady balance of proactivity and reaction. After all, I have infinite patience.
I've been playing a Standard UBR deck on MtGO lately I've tentatively titled 'Team Grixis'. Here's the list, based on the good work at Affinity for Islands:
4 x Lighting Bolt
3 x Negate
2 x Essence Scatter
3 x Double Negative
2 x Grixis Charm
4 x Terminate
4 x Couriers Capsule
3 x Cruel Ultimatum
2 x Earthquake
1 x Sphinx of Jwar Isle
1 x Sphinx of Lost Truths
1 x Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1 x Chandra Nalaar
1 x Sorin Markov
1 x Liliana Vess
1 x Jace Beleren
4 x Scalding Tarn
4 x Verdant Catacombs
4 x Dragonskull Summit
2 x Crumbling Necropolis
3 x Mountain
4 x Island
5 x Swamp
It's a fun, fun deck to play, especially if you love games that go on for at minimum of ten turns. A recent concession on MtGO where someone quit because 'it was turn 13' got my head really spinning. Really? Turn 13 got you down? Have I got a Pickles lock to show you!
For a while I was convinced I needed to play Red Deck Wins as my old age and energy levels couldn't keep up over the course of an event. Then I realised, hey, you know what I do have? Infinite patience. Which is exactly what you need when playing control.
I remember I took the Fae and 5CC to a couple of FNMs in the last Standard season, and I would always win the mirror. Why? Because the young buck opposite me was determine to make something - anything - happen. Even if that meant losing. I have learnt that I don't feel that need. I can hold on forever, refusing to yield. So what if we're both playing draw-go? I dare you to tap out. I dare you.
Meanwhile, playing the deck has got me thinking, though, about the difference between pro-active and reactive control.
Pro-active vs reactive control
Blue is the colour synonymous with control for one simple reason - it engages in pro-active control. The ability to prevent a threat from ever reaching the battlefield through counter-magic has, historically, allowed blue to control the flow of the game, shaping it and moulding it in the right direction for victory. However, blue is at it's weakest at the moment. It's strongest counter (cancel) has a casting cost of 1UU, and beyond that it's left with a bunch of situational spells, most of which cannot cope against the inherent power of the Cascade mechanic.
As a result, control has moved into a far more reactive position. We have red options (Lightning Bolt, Terminate, Earthquake) or white options (Day of Judgment, Path to Exile, Oblivion Ring) and black options (Doom Blade, Infest, Gatekeeper of Malikir). These colours are stepping up their control game in response to the speed of play and card advantage that decks like Boros Bushwacker and Jund Cascade provide, and the gap in speed that blue has left behind.
Is prevention better than cure?
Any doctor will tell you prevention is better than cure. However, in Magic, the gamestate isn't that simple. The game allows one person to go first, and that person will have an inherent tempo advantage. A three-mana prevention spell such as Cancel is not much use when your opponent has dumped their biggest threats onto the battlefield before you have a chance to cast it.
At the same time, the diversification of threats at the moment means a situational counter such as Negate may sit in a hand unused as Goblin Guide after Goblin Guide hits play, or visa versa with a Luminarc Ascension with an Essence Scatter in hand. Again, blue's problem is that there is no 'soft' counter that can hit anything for a 2 mana casting cost in Standard at the moment.
As counters have progressively been neutered, answers have been getting better. Three good examples are Maelstrom Pulse, that can kill anything and it's brothers for a mere 1GB, Oblivion Ring, which can do the same for 2W, and Bituminous Blast, that is a two-for-one whenever it goes off.
This means that, as a whole, cards that are reactive answers to generic problems are currently stronger than cards that are narrow, active preventions for specific threats. Why risk running Essence Scatter when you know you'll hit a two-for-one at least with Day of Judgment?
Counter on the play, removal on the draw?
So, knowing the limitations of our active counters and our reactive answers, perhaps there is a new philosophy to enact - Active counters on the play, reactive answers on the draw.
For instance, ignoring the conditional Flash Freeze, the deck might have choose to play the following on the play:
4 x Lighting Bolt
4 x Essence Scatter
4 x Negate
4 x Double Negative
4 x Cancel
2 x Terminate
And this on the draw:
4 x Lighting Bolt
4 x Terminate
4 x Grixis Charm
4 x Earthquake
4 x Spell Pierce
2 x Negate
The first set acknowledges starting mana boost and the philosophy of prevention over cure. The second set acknowledges the need to play catchup, reducing casting costs, looking for the sweep, and planning to remove whatever his the ground.
The conundrum, then, is what to have in the maindeck, where you can never be sure whether you'll play or draw. At this point, I'd be inclined to use the 'Draw' list and always elect to draw in Game 1. Your opponent will rarely elect to draw, so you can be sure you'll have your optimum decklist. Then, if you lose Game 2 (which you should be relatively set up for), you can sideboard into Game 3 the 'on the play' card list, using the tempo boost to maximum advantage.
I'm going to tinker around with this strategy a bit. I'm sure I'll find a steady balance of proactivity and reaction. After all, I have infinite patience.
Labels: deckbuilding, magic, theory
Goblins, Goblins, Goblins
Today I'm going to talk a little about three goblin decks kicking around at the moment.
Here's the first, which went 4-0 in a recent MtGO daily event.
dbuchan's Goblins (4-0)
Constructed Standard Event #749420 on 12/06/2009 in Daily Events
4 Ball Lightning
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Chieftain
4 Goblin Guide
4 Siege-Gang Commander
4 Warren Instigator
4 Burst Lightning
4 Elemental Appeal
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Arid Mesa
12 Mountain
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Teetering Peaks
3 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
Sideboard
4 Goblin Ruinblaster
4 Goblin Shortcutter
3 Inferno Trap
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
3 Volcanic Fallout
Points of interest:
* No less than 8 "elementals" in the mainboard. Although this minimised the impact of the Warren Instigator, it gives the deck some reach that other goblin decks don't have.
* Shortcutters in the sidebard. Personally, I really like Shortcutters, as a Shortcutter plus a Lightning Bolt almost guarantees a Warren Instigator hit. However, with 8 less goblin cards, Instigator is a little less important in this deck.
* 3 Valakut mainboard and one in the sideboard. I've been playing Goblins for a while with two Valakut mainboard, but have never dealt anyone damage with them - the game simply has never gone on long enough.
* 3 Volcanic Fallout sideboard. These are very punishing vs. Boros and help one of your worst matchups - but holding back your dudes is important.
* 3 Inferno Traps for those playing Turbo Fog.
I wonder if a Lavaball trap might not also get the job done against Jund. Regardless, a great deck and one to watch.
Here's a second Standard deck:
Tim's Green Goblins
4th Place - Magic Game Day (Standard) - Georgia - Carrollton
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Chieftain
4 Goblin Guide
4 Goblin Razerunners
4 Siege-Gang Commander
4 Warren Instigator
2 Intimidation Bolt
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
2 Sarkhan Vol
2 Volcanic Fallout
4 Arid Mesa
9 Mountain
2 Plains
4 Rootbound Crag
3 Scalding Tarn
Sideboard
2 Day of Judgment
3 Goblin Ruinblaster
3 Pithing Needle
2 Qasali Pridemage
3 Vines of Vastwood
2 Volcanic Fallout
Tim takes the approach of splashing for Green and White, making it really Naya Goblins. Points of interest:
* 2 Sarkhan Vol maindeck. People hate on Sarkhan, but he really shines in this deck, able to pump tokens, remove a blocker for Instigator, or just win games long term.
* Goblin Razerunners. Very difficult to play around, but not a lot of synergy with Siege-Gang Commander
* 4 Path to Exile. This is the type of deck that doesn't care how many lands your opponent has, because they're already dead. Path seems like another good way of pushing an Instigator through.
* 3 Vines of Vastwood. Vines is an excellent "counterspell" vs. removal to protect your Siege Gang Commanders and Warren Instigators.
* 2 Qasali Pridemage. Very interesting choice, but I would of guessed difficult to play.
* 3 Pithing Needle. Needle deals with so much, but shutting down Planeswalkers would be my best guess at to it's main calling.
I think either splashing Red, White or Black are all doable with Goblins at the moment, but splashing two colours seems a little dangerous. Maybe a Boros Goblins deck is the way to go
And finally, here's a MtGO Classic goblins deck:
Chaos Goblins
MtGO Classic Deck
4 Goblin Warchief
4 Goblin Matron
1 Tin Street Hooligan
1 Goblin Chieftain
4 Gempalm Incinerator
4 Goblin Ringleader
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
4 Goblin Piledriver
4 Goblin Guide
4 Goblin Lackey
4 Æther Vial
2 Pithing Needle
4 Wasteland
5 Mountain
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Stomping Ground
1 Strip Mine
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Arid Mesa
4 Bloodstained Mire
Sideboard
1 Krosan Grip
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Ravenous Trap
2 Tormod's Crypt
3 Seal of Primordium
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Pyrokinesis
Chaos has done a fair bit of testing with this build. He tried Instigator, but found it simply wasn't fast enough! Some notes:
* Goblin Guide is a tentative card. Mogg Fanatic may actually be better in the slot, as it can also shut down Bridge From Below maindeck.
* Pithing Needles maindeck are superstars and are a must keep.
* Tin Street Hooligan is tutorable via Matron and is a silver bullet vs. certain decks.
* The same goes for Sharpshooter vs. decks like Elves!
* The sideboard has some heavy play against Engineered Plague with 3 Seal of Primordium and a Krosan Grip.
* Chalice is a brilliant choice with Æther Vial and can shut your opponent down beautifully.
Goblins are alive and well in both Standard and Classic. Although many will always see them as a Teir 1.5 deck, the moment you forget about the Red Menace, is the moment they secretly have you by the short and curlies.
Today I'm going to talk a little about three goblin decks kicking around at the moment.
Here's the first, which went 4-0 in a recent MtGO daily event.
dbuchan's Goblins (4-0)
Constructed Standard Event #749420 on 12/06/2009 in Daily Events
4 Ball Lightning
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Chieftain
4 Goblin Guide
4 Siege-Gang Commander
4 Warren Instigator
4 Burst Lightning
4 Elemental Appeal
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Arid Mesa
12 Mountain
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Teetering Peaks
3 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
Sideboard
4 Goblin Ruinblaster
4 Goblin Shortcutter
3 Inferno Trap
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
3 Volcanic Fallout
Points of interest:
* No less than 8 "elementals" in the mainboard. Although this minimised the impact of the Warren Instigator, it gives the deck some reach that other goblin decks don't have.
* Shortcutters in the sidebard. Personally, I really like Shortcutters, as a Shortcutter plus a Lightning Bolt almost guarantees a Warren Instigator hit. However, with 8 less goblin cards, Instigator is a little less important in this deck.
* 3 Valakut mainboard and one in the sideboard. I've been playing Goblins for a while with two Valakut mainboard, but have never dealt anyone damage with them - the game simply has never gone on long enough.
* 3 Volcanic Fallout sideboard. These are very punishing vs. Boros and help one of your worst matchups - but holding back your dudes is important.
* 3 Inferno Traps for those playing Turbo Fog.
I wonder if a Lavaball trap might not also get the job done against Jund. Regardless, a great deck and one to watch.
Here's a second Standard deck:
Tim's Green Goblins
4th Place - Magic Game Day (Standard) - Georgia - Carrollton
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Chieftain
4 Goblin Guide
4 Goblin Razerunners
4 Siege-Gang Commander
4 Warren Instigator
2 Intimidation Bolt
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
2 Sarkhan Vol
2 Volcanic Fallout
4 Arid Mesa
9 Mountain
2 Plains
4 Rootbound Crag
3 Scalding Tarn
Sideboard
2 Day of Judgment
3 Goblin Ruinblaster
3 Pithing Needle
2 Qasali Pridemage
3 Vines of Vastwood
2 Volcanic Fallout
Tim takes the approach of splashing for Green and White, making it really Naya Goblins. Points of interest:
* 2 Sarkhan Vol maindeck. People hate on Sarkhan, but he really shines in this deck, able to pump tokens, remove a blocker for Instigator, or just win games long term.
* Goblin Razerunners. Very difficult to play around, but not a lot of synergy with Siege-Gang Commander
* 4 Path to Exile. This is the type of deck that doesn't care how many lands your opponent has, because they're already dead. Path seems like another good way of pushing an Instigator through.
* 3 Vines of Vastwood. Vines is an excellent "counterspell" vs. removal to protect your Siege Gang Commanders and Warren Instigators.
* 2 Qasali Pridemage. Very interesting choice, but I would of guessed difficult to play.
* 3 Pithing Needle. Needle deals with so much, but shutting down Planeswalkers would be my best guess at to it's main calling.
I think either splashing Red, White or Black are all doable with Goblins at the moment, but splashing two colours seems a little dangerous. Maybe a Boros Goblins deck is the way to go
And finally, here's a MtGO Classic goblins deck:
Chaos Goblins
MtGO Classic Deck
4 Goblin Warchief
4 Goblin Matron
1 Tin Street Hooligan
1 Goblin Chieftain
4 Gempalm Incinerator
4 Goblin Ringleader
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
4 Goblin Piledriver
4 Goblin Guide
4 Goblin Lackey
4 Æther Vial
2 Pithing Needle
4 Wasteland
5 Mountain
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Stomping Ground
1 Strip Mine
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Arid Mesa
4 Bloodstained Mire
Sideboard
1 Krosan Grip
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Ravenous Trap
2 Tormod's Crypt
3 Seal of Primordium
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Pyrokinesis
Chaos has done a fair bit of testing with this build. He tried Instigator, but found it simply wasn't fast enough! Some notes:
* Goblin Guide is a tentative card. Mogg Fanatic may actually be better in the slot, as it can also shut down Bridge From Below maindeck.
* Pithing Needles maindeck are superstars and are a must keep.
* Tin Street Hooligan is tutorable via Matron and is a silver bullet vs. certain decks.
* The same goes for Sharpshooter vs. decks like Elves!
* The sideboard has some heavy play against Engineered Plague with 3 Seal of Primordium and a Krosan Grip.
* Chalice is a brilliant choice with Æther Vial and can shut your opponent down beautifully.
Goblins are alive and well in both Standard and Classic. Although many will always see them as a Teir 1.5 deck, the moment you forget about the Red Menace, is the moment they secretly have you by the short and curlies.
Labels: analysis, classic, deckbuilding, goblins, magic, mtgo, standard
Loaming Cobra [An Extended Deck]
Here's a deck I'm dying to try out, tentatively nicknames Loaming Cobra. It's a GBW Rock deck that takes advantage of the synergies between Lotus Cobra, Knight of the Reliquary and Life of the Loam.
With the cycling lands cycling out of extended, it doesn't have the card drawing power it used to. Which is why I've gone an bumped up some of the threats (adding Baneslayer and Ob Nixilis), and an couple of extra extra recursion engines (Goglari Thug + Eternal Witness, Makeshift Mannequin + Eternal Witness, Miren + Gogari Thug, Life from the Loam + Gargoyle Castle]
The deck has a lot of disruption, through Raven's Crime, Ghost Quarter and Maelstrom Pulse - Ghost Quarter being particularly brutal in this deck.
The one ofs represent a toolbox of solutions you can grab from the graveyard.
The longer the deck stays alive, the more likely you are to win, though the endless land destruction and hand destruction, and the endlessly recurring threats.
Here's the deck:
[19 Creatures]
4x Lotus Cobra
4x Tarmogoyf
3x Kitchen Finks
4x Knight of the Reliquary
1x Eternal Witness
1x Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
1x Baneslayer Angel
1x Golgari Thug
[7 Instants]
3x Path to Exile
2x Doom Blade
1x Harrow
1x Makeshift Mannequin
[8 Sorcery]
3x Raven's Crime
3x Life from the Loam
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Worm Harvest
[1 Artifacts]
1x Umezawa's Jitte
[25 Lands]
4x Marsh Flats
4x Verdant Catacombs
3x Overgrown Tomb
3x Temple Garden
1x Godless Shrine
2x Ghost Quarter
1x Treetop Village
1x Gargoyle Castle
1x Mutavault
2x Forest
1x Swamp
1x Plains
1x Miren, the Moaning Well
Here's a deck I'm dying to try out, tentatively nicknames Loaming Cobra. It's a GBW Rock deck that takes advantage of the synergies between Lotus Cobra, Knight of the Reliquary and Life of the Loam.
With the cycling lands cycling out of extended, it doesn't have the card drawing power it used to. Which is why I've gone an bumped up some of the threats (adding Baneslayer and Ob Nixilis), and an couple of extra extra recursion engines (Goglari Thug + Eternal Witness, Makeshift Mannequin + Eternal Witness, Miren + Gogari Thug, Life from the Loam + Gargoyle Castle]
The deck has a lot of disruption, through Raven's Crime, Ghost Quarter and Maelstrom Pulse - Ghost Quarter being particularly brutal in this deck.
The one ofs represent a toolbox of solutions you can grab from the graveyard.
The longer the deck stays alive, the more likely you are to win, though the endless land destruction and hand destruction, and the endlessly recurring threats.
Here's the deck:
[19 Creatures]
4x Lotus Cobra
4x Tarmogoyf
3x Kitchen Finks
4x Knight of the Reliquary
1x Eternal Witness
1x Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
1x Baneslayer Angel
1x Golgari Thug
[7 Instants]
3x Path to Exile
2x Doom Blade
1x Harrow
1x Makeshift Mannequin
[8 Sorcery]
3x Raven's Crime
3x Life from the Loam
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Worm Harvest
[1 Artifacts]
1x Umezawa's Jitte
[25 Lands]
4x Marsh Flats
4x Verdant Catacombs
3x Overgrown Tomb
3x Temple Garden
1x Godless Shrine
2x Ghost Quarter
1x Treetop Village
1x Gargoyle Castle
1x Mutavault
2x Forest
1x Swamp
1x Plains
1x Miren, the Moaning Well
Labels: deckbuilding, Extended, lotus cobra, magic
Standard Goblins :: The Most Fun You Can Have In An MtGO Window With Your Pants On
At the beginning of the week I plonked down enough tickets to buy a playset of Goblin Guides and Warren Instigators - about 20 tickets in total. I'm an old-time Classic goblins lover (I have the full deck on MtGO as well) so picking up Standard Goblins at some point was inevitable.
Here's the deck I've been running all week:
Main Deck
[28 Creatures (Goblins)]
4 x Goblin Guide
4 x Goblin Bushwacker
4 x Goblin Shortcutter
4 x Warren Instigator
4 x Goblin Ruinblaster
4 x Goblin Chieftan
4 x Siege Gang Commander
[10 Instants]
4 x Lightning Bolt
4 x Burst Lightning
2 x Punishing Fire
[22 Lands]
4 x Scalding Tarn
4 x Arid Mesa
14 x Mountain
Sideboard
4 x Hellspark Elemental
4 x Hell's Thunder
4 x Ball Lightning
3 x Elemental Appeal
General Sideboarding Technique
In:
4 x Hellspark Elemental
4 x Hell's Thunder
4 x Ball Lightning
3 x Elemental Appeal
Out:
4 x Goblin Shortcutter
4 x Warren Instigator
4 x Goblin Chieftan
3 x Siege Gang Commander
This is, without a doubt, one of the most fun decks you can play at the moment. It is fast, furious and frenetic. It most often wins on Turns 4 or 5, but is resiliant enough to win turns 10-12 as well.
It is the only deck in Standard I've ever felt completely comfortable about keeping a one-land hand with. Of the last ten games I played with a one-land hand, I won eight of them. If the hand is fast enough, mulliganing a one-lander is almost always the wrong decision.
It is, without a doubt, brutally fast. Here are some sample starts I've had:
T1. Mountain, Goblin Guide, bash for 2.
T2. Mountain, kicked Bushwacker, bash for 5.
T3. Mountain, kicked Bushwacker, Lightning Bolt the blocker, bash for 7.
T4. Win.
And
T1. Mountain. EOT, bolt the opponent's 1 drop.
T2. Mountain, Warren Instigator
T3. Mountain, kicked Bushwacker, Lightning Bolt the blocker, drop double Siege Gang Commander off the Instigator.
T4. Win
The deck sounds like it should just fold to Jund and Naya, but it can capitalise on Jund's terrible manabase and Naya's large creatures by simply winning before they go into action. Dropping your hand in turns 2-3 means discard is largley irrelevant. And I've yet to lose a single game to Vampires.
The deck sports a largely transformational sideboard, where the sweepers and maelstrom pulses your opponent sided in are suddently irrelevant. The sideboard slows the deck down slightly - you can't keep those one land hands any more - but it's pretty brutal.
The beauty of the deck is the ability to have 3-6 creatures out before your opponent knows what's happening, with a clutch of removal against anything they throw at you. I've managed to pull off the ungodly Instigator into double Siege Gang Commander twice, but often the better drop is Goblin Chieftan on the first strike trigger, allowing you to pump every goblin swinging for the normal combat damage, then dropping Siege Gang Commander afterwards.
Goblin Shortcutter is a surprise hero in this deck, often allowing Warren Instigator to pass some otherwise insurmountable blocker and gain an infinite advantage over your opponent.
Here's some matchups:
Jund
Jund is, of course, a dog of a matchup. However you can capitalise on their slowness, their self harm (Putrid Leech, occassionally Sign In Blood), and their terrible manabase. Ruinblaster is a hero if you can kill a lone Mountain or Forest. Knowing when to drop your hand or to sand-bag lands against Blightning is important, as is when to attack into Putrid Leech and when not to. The basic Elemental sideboard plan applies here.
Naya Lightsaber
Naya is, surprisingly, not that hard to beat. You make sure to Bolt any Noble Heirarchs you see and then get in before they stabalise. You'll want to keep as many Lightning Bolts and Bursts back as possible so that when the inevitable Baneslayer shows up, you can remove it and keep going. Unless you know they're running Day of Judgment, I'd largely stay as the core Goblin deck when sideboarding. But the gameplan really is to kill them before Baneslayer drops.
Boros Bushwacker
The only deck that can match up for speed, this is a cat'n'mouse game of who gets the best removal fastest. Their Skyfishers are brutal against you and deserve your Bolts, but in general their ability to block is terrible. Shortcutter is a superstar in this matchup, allowing you to avoid their first strikers and get your Warren Instigator in quickly. However, this is a terrible attrition war, with Seige Gang Commander sometimes your only out. If, for some reason, they board in Baneslayer, you'll have a very hard time of it.
Crypt/Dredge
This deck is stone-cold dead to you. Definitely bring in the Elemental plan, as you then also negate the effectiveness of their Rotting Rats and incidental removal Game 2.
Vampires
The deck has a surprising amount of game against Vampires, and I've yet to lose a match. They need to acknowledge that they are playing control to your aggro, or they just flat out lose. You rarely care about Gatekeeper (though you need to watch for T3 Gatekeeper vs your T2 Instigator, if it's the only goblin you've played), and almost never about Mind Sludge. Save your Bolts for their Nighthawks and your Blasts for kicking against their Bloodwitches.
As I've said, this deck is a bundle of fun to play, and very, very fast. I'm really looking forward to seeing what goblins Worldwake brings to add to this deck.
At the beginning of the week I plonked down enough tickets to buy a playset of Goblin Guides and Warren Instigators - about 20 tickets in total. I'm an old-time Classic goblins lover (I have the full deck on MtGO as well) so picking up Standard Goblins at some point was inevitable.
Here's the deck I've been running all week:
Main Deck
[28 Creatures (Goblins)]
4 x Goblin Guide
4 x Goblin Bushwacker
4 x Goblin Shortcutter
4 x Warren Instigator
4 x Goblin Ruinblaster
4 x Goblin Chieftan
4 x Siege Gang Commander
[10 Instants]
4 x Lightning Bolt
4 x Burst Lightning
2 x Punishing Fire
[22 Lands]
4 x Scalding Tarn
4 x Arid Mesa
14 x Mountain
Sideboard
4 x Hellspark Elemental
4 x Hell's Thunder
4 x Ball Lightning
3 x Elemental Appeal
General Sideboarding Technique
In:
4 x Hellspark Elemental
4 x Hell's Thunder
4 x Ball Lightning
3 x Elemental Appeal
Out:
4 x Goblin Shortcutter
4 x Warren Instigator
4 x Goblin Chieftan
3 x Siege Gang Commander
This is, without a doubt, one of the most fun decks you can play at the moment. It is fast, furious and frenetic. It most often wins on Turns 4 or 5, but is resiliant enough to win turns 10-12 as well.
It is the only deck in Standard I've ever felt completely comfortable about keeping a one-land hand with. Of the last ten games I played with a one-land hand, I won eight of them. If the hand is fast enough, mulliganing a one-lander is almost always the wrong decision.
It is, without a doubt, brutally fast. Here are some sample starts I've had:
T1. Mountain, Goblin Guide, bash for 2.
T2. Mountain, kicked Bushwacker, bash for 5.
T3. Mountain, kicked Bushwacker, Lightning Bolt the blocker, bash for 7.
T4. Win.
And
T1. Mountain. EOT, bolt the opponent's 1 drop.
T2. Mountain, Warren Instigator
T3. Mountain, kicked Bushwacker, Lightning Bolt the blocker, drop double Siege Gang Commander off the Instigator.
T4. Win
The deck sounds like it should just fold to Jund and Naya, but it can capitalise on Jund's terrible manabase and Naya's large creatures by simply winning before they go into action. Dropping your hand in turns 2-3 means discard is largley irrelevant. And I've yet to lose a single game to Vampires.
The deck sports a largely transformational sideboard, where the sweepers and maelstrom pulses your opponent sided in are suddently irrelevant. The sideboard slows the deck down slightly - you can't keep those one land hands any more - but it's pretty brutal.
The beauty of the deck is the ability to have 3-6 creatures out before your opponent knows what's happening, with a clutch of removal against anything they throw at you. I've managed to pull off the ungodly Instigator into double Siege Gang Commander twice, but often the better drop is Goblin Chieftan on the first strike trigger, allowing you to pump every goblin swinging for the normal combat damage, then dropping Siege Gang Commander afterwards.
Goblin Shortcutter is a surprise hero in this deck, often allowing Warren Instigator to pass some otherwise insurmountable blocker and gain an infinite advantage over your opponent.
Here's some matchups:
Jund
Jund is, of course, a dog of a matchup. However you can capitalise on their slowness, their self harm (Putrid Leech, occassionally Sign In Blood), and their terrible manabase. Ruinblaster is a hero if you can kill a lone Mountain or Forest. Knowing when to drop your hand or to sand-bag lands against Blightning is important, as is when to attack into Putrid Leech and when not to. The basic Elemental sideboard plan applies here.
Naya Lightsaber
Naya is, surprisingly, not that hard to beat. You make sure to Bolt any Noble Heirarchs you see and then get in before they stabalise. You'll want to keep as many Lightning Bolts and Bursts back as possible so that when the inevitable Baneslayer shows up, you can remove it and keep going. Unless you know they're running Day of Judgment, I'd largely stay as the core Goblin deck when sideboarding. But the gameplan really is to kill them before Baneslayer drops.
Boros Bushwacker
The only deck that can match up for speed, this is a cat'n'mouse game of who gets the best removal fastest. Their Skyfishers are brutal against you and deserve your Bolts, but in general their ability to block is terrible. Shortcutter is a superstar in this matchup, allowing you to avoid their first strikers and get your Warren Instigator in quickly. However, this is a terrible attrition war, with Seige Gang Commander sometimes your only out. If, for some reason, they board in Baneslayer, you'll have a very hard time of it.
Crypt/Dredge
This deck is stone-cold dead to you. Definitely bring in the Elemental plan, as you then also negate the effectiveness of their Rotting Rats and incidental removal Game 2.
Vampires
The deck has a surprising amount of game against Vampires, and I've yet to lose a match. They need to acknowledge that they are playing control to your aggro, or they just flat out lose. You rarely care about Gatekeeper (though you need to watch for T3 Gatekeeper vs your T2 Instigator, if it's the only goblin you've played), and almost never about Mind Sludge. Save your Bolts for their Nighthawks and your Blasts for kicking against their Bloodwitches.
As I've said, this deck is a bundle of fun to play, and very, very fast. I'm really looking forward to seeing what goblins Worldwake brings to add to this deck.
Labels: deckbuilding, goblins, mtgo, standard
Bloodchief Ascension Revisited: Examining the Bloodchief Ascension Deck
I still genuinely believe that Bloodchief Ascension is a card that will help define the new Standard environment. However, it hasn't quite found a home in a deck yet.
I guess there are two ways to approach the [B] Enchantment - Aggro or Control.
Aggro seeks to get Bloodchief Ascension online as quickly as possible by consitently throwing either dudes or burn at your opponent.
Control seeks to get Bloodchief Ascension online slowly and carefully, as once it's online then you have inevitably behind you.
I've put together a list of card that have excellent synergy with Bloodchief Ascension. They are listed, with commentary, below.
CREATURES
BLACK
* Vampire Lacerator [B][Aggro]: Probably the perfect Turn 1 drop for the Aggro BA deck. Yes, you will hurt from the downside of the card, but once BA comes online that should all turn around in your favour.
* Dredgescape Zombie [1B]: It's not great, but it's not terrible. The unearth is what's really attractive, being able to push through damage is pretty important in the Aggro version of the deck. However, Dredgecape Zombie has never been good enough to go mainstream, and it's unlikely that we'll use him.
* Surrakar Marauder [1B][Aggro]: Another interesting 2 drop, mainly because of the situational unblockability. However, with all the black two-drops running around, including Vampire decks and Putrid Leech, it's unlikely he'll make the grade.
* Bloodghast [BB][Aggro/Control]: Bloodghast seems the best card so far. Your opponent will unlikely want to trade and therefore Bloodghast will likely get the counters happening. In a control deck you can play multiple sweepers and bring this guy back with no card loss. Great with Earthquake. Seems an auto-include.
* Gatekeeper of Malakar [BB][Aggro/Control]: Great in both control and aggro. Removal + Dude = Awesome. Should be treated as a 3-drop.
Black Knight [BB][Aggro/Control]: Far more situational, and unlikely to make the cut. Probably a great sideboard card against mono-white Soldiers and Boros.
* Hypnotic Specter [1BB][Control]: Okay, you're not gonna get this guy on Turn 1, but he's pretty strong in a format with as little card drawing as the current Zen. Plus, once online, each time he hits and your opponent discards, you get a 4 point life swing as well. To heavily considered in the control deck.
* Vampire Nighthawk [1BB][Aggro/Control]: Nighthawk has so much going for him. A 3 Toughness rump that really matters in the current metagame. Lifegain to keep you at the table. Deathtouch for removing fatties well above his punching weight. Likely an auto-include.
* Vampire Nocturnus [1BBB][Aggro]: A much more situtional card, heavily dependent on the number of Vampires we run. Unlikely as an include, but a good consideration.
RED
* Golbin Guide [R][Aggro]: He'll be great in aggro, especially considering we'll run him along side Vampire Lacerator and Blightning, thus making up for the card advantage we lose having him in the red zone.
* Hellspark Elemental [1R][Aggro/Control]: He's a great dude that sees a fair amount of play. Important to consider him in the Control deck as with sweepers in your deck he can quickly come back from the grave to get another counter on BA.
BLUE
* Hedron Crab [Control]: Probably unlikely to see play maindeck, but a sideboard option.
MULTICOLOURED
* Esper Stormblade [W/B U][Aggro]: 3/2 flyers for 2 mana are pretty insane. Will come down to (a) our ability to turn him on and (b) whether we play Blue maindeck.
* Grixis Grimblade [u/R B][Aggro]: An interesting choice, but one we probably won't play.
* Jund Hackblade [B/G R][Aggro]: Again interesting, but not good enough.
* Shambling Remains [1BR][Aggro]: This guy seems very suited for an Aggro deck. You don't care about his inability to block, and he'll possibly die while your 2/2s that still matter get through. His unearth ability is quite important as well.
* Anathemancer [1BR][Control]: Dome your opponent without even swinging? Perfect for control.
* Kederekt Creepr [UBR][Control]: Probably too slow for aggro, an interesting choice for control. You opponent gets a horrible decision - card disavantage or an other counter on BA.
* Sedraxis Specter [UBR][Control]: Hypnotic Specter on crack. We'll consider him. Unearth, again, is important.
* Lightning Reaver [3BR][Control]: Unlikely to play, but he's out there.
DIRECT BURN
* Lightning Bolt [R][Aggro/Control]: The best burn spell ever, an auto-include.
* Burst Lightning [R][Aggro/Contro]: Does exactly what we want, two or four damage to the dome.
* Punishing Fire [1R][Control]: Without some sort of combo, Punishing Fire is probably to slow and low for use in the deck.
REMOVAL
* Disfigure [B][Aggro/Control]: A great removal spell, but probably second place over burn.
* Doom Blade [1B][Aggro/Control]: Again, does the job admirably, but probably comes in second place to Terminate.
* Terminate [BR][Aggro/Control]: Other than Path to Exile, the premier removal spell in Standard. A definite sideboard card, may be needed maindeck depending on the metagame.
* Hideous End [1BB][Control]: A card made for working with BA. The right colour, instant removal, and helps get a counter on BA. Definitely going in.
* Agony Warp [UB][Control]: Great for two-for-one-ing your opponent, may have a place in the deck.
* Bituminous Blast [3BR][Control]: Card advantage and removal all in one. However, does not place nice with Earthquake.
* Earthquake [XR][Control]: Would be ordinary, except it also hits your opponent. This makes it as a premier sweeper in a control deck.
OTHER SPELLS
* Duress [B][Control]: Excellent control card, removing any threats against BA.
* Countersquall [UB][Control]: For BA, a straight-up upgrade of Negate, with a bonus counter for BA.
* Grixis Charm [UBR][Aggro]: A possible include, depending on how deep into blue and aggro buld goes.
* Blightning [1BR][Aggro/Control]: An excellent card for both card advantage and getting another counter on BA.
* Mindbreak Trap [2UU][Control]: Probably a sideboard card in a blue build.
* Archive Trap [3UU][Control]: A win condition with a fully loaded BA, a dead card without it. One to consider.
* Trapmaker's Snare [1U]: For fetching traps, if we run them.
* Sign in BLood [BB][Control]: One of the best card-drawing cards in the set. An auto-include in a control build.
* Volcanic Fallout [1RR][Control]: A decent sideboard deck against Vampires and Boros, not so much against anything else nowadays.
PLANESWALKERS
* Lilliana Vess [3BB][Control]: Tutors up a BA, or the card you need to control the board. To be heavily considered. Plus, once BA is online, her +1 ability is posively brutal.
* Sorin Markov [3BBB][Control] His +2 ability is perfect with BA, as is his -3 ability. Mana cost is a little excessive, but his ultimate is brutal. A worthy consideration.
All things considered, I'm going to go with a Control build with BA. The build is almost a game of 'death by a thousand cuts'. You want everything your opponent does to hurt. Play a creature? Have it hideous-ended, lose two life. Play a non-creature? Have it Countersqualled, lose two life. Play multiple creatures? Have them Earthquaked, lose two or more life.
Here's the build I'm considering:
[1 Mana Spells]
4 x Bloodchief Ascension
4 x Lightning Bolt
2 x Burst Lightning
[2 Mana Spells]
4 x Bloodghast
4 x Countersquall
2 x Sign in Blood
[3 Mana Spells]
4 x Blightning
4 x Hideous End
4 x Vampire Nighthawk
[5 Mana Spells]
2 x Liliana Vess
[X Spells]
4 x Earthquake
[22 Lands]
The deck has a lot of powerful synergies.
Firstly, between Liliana and Bloodghast, it has plenty of card-drawing and tutoring. This gives it a big lead over many of the current decks in Standard that fall quickly into top-deck mode. This also helps assure your capacity to find Bloodchief Ascension.
Secondly, almost every card is capable of turning on the Bloodchief Ascension, including Sign in Blood. In theory, even without BA, you are quite capable of winning, as your ability to win any attrition war against your opponent is pretty high.
Thirdly, there is high-quality interaction between Earthquake and your two creatures, Vampire Nighthawk and Bloodghast. Bloodghast doesn't mind dying to Earthquake, and Vampire Nighthawk isn't touched by it. Earthquake is also very good at killing off opposing Planeswalkers.
Fourthly, Vampire Nighthawk is very good at both maintining life disparity with your opponent, as well as fending off any attack against Liliana. Mind you, Liliana is probably pretty vulnerable in this deck.
If I can round up the cards I'll try playtesting it and see how it goes. Again any and every piece of feedback is welcome.
I still genuinely believe that Bloodchief Ascension is a card that will help define the new Standard environment. However, it hasn't quite found a home in a deck yet.
I guess there are two ways to approach the [B] Enchantment - Aggro or Control.
Aggro seeks to get Bloodchief Ascension online as quickly as possible by consitently throwing either dudes or burn at your opponent.
Control seeks to get Bloodchief Ascension online slowly and carefully, as once it's online then you have inevitably behind you.
I've put together a list of card that have excellent synergy with Bloodchief Ascension. They are listed, with commentary, below.
CREATURES
BLACK
* Vampire Lacerator [B][Aggro]: Probably the perfect Turn 1 drop for the Aggro BA deck. Yes, you will hurt from the downside of the card, but once BA comes online that should all turn around in your favour.
* Dredgescape Zombie [1B]: It's not great, but it's not terrible. The unearth is what's really attractive, being able to push through damage is pretty important in the Aggro version of the deck. However, Dredgecape Zombie has never been good enough to go mainstream, and it's unlikely that we'll use him.
* Surrakar Marauder [1B][Aggro]: Another interesting 2 drop, mainly because of the situational unblockability. However, with all the black two-drops running around, including Vampire decks and Putrid Leech, it's unlikely he'll make the grade.
* Bloodghast [BB][Aggro/Control]: Bloodghast seems the best card so far. Your opponent will unlikely want to trade and therefore Bloodghast will likely get the counters happening. In a control deck you can play multiple sweepers and bring this guy back with no card loss. Great with Earthquake. Seems an auto-include.
* Gatekeeper of Malakar [BB][Aggro/Control]: Great in both control and aggro. Removal + Dude = Awesome. Should be treated as a 3-drop.
Black Knight [BB][Aggro/Control]: Far more situational, and unlikely to make the cut. Probably a great sideboard card against mono-white Soldiers and Boros.
* Hypnotic Specter [1BB][Control]: Okay, you're not gonna get this guy on Turn 1, but he's pretty strong in a format with as little card drawing as the current Zen. Plus, once online, each time he hits and your opponent discards, you get a 4 point life swing as well. To heavily considered in the control deck.
* Vampire Nighthawk [1BB][Aggro/Control]: Nighthawk has so much going for him. A 3 Toughness rump that really matters in the current metagame. Lifegain to keep you at the table. Deathtouch for removing fatties well above his punching weight. Likely an auto-include.
* Vampire Nocturnus [1BBB][Aggro]: A much more situtional card, heavily dependent on the number of Vampires we run. Unlikely as an include, but a good consideration.
RED
* Golbin Guide [R][Aggro]: He'll be great in aggro, especially considering we'll run him along side Vampire Lacerator and Blightning, thus making up for the card advantage we lose having him in the red zone.
* Hellspark Elemental [1R][Aggro/Control]: He's a great dude that sees a fair amount of play. Important to consider him in the Control deck as with sweepers in your deck he can quickly come back from the grave to get another counter on BA.
BLUE
* Hedron Crab [Control]: Probably unlikely to see play maindeck, but a sideboard option.
MULTICOLOURED
* Esper Stormblade [W/B U][Aggro]: 3/2 flyers for 2 mana are pretty insane. Will come down to (a) our ability to turn him on and (b) whether we play Blue maindeck.
* Grixis Grimblade [u/R B][Aggro]: An interesting choice, but one we probably won't play.
* Jund Hackblade [B/G R][Aggro]: Again interesting, but not good enough.
* Shambling Remains [1BR][Aggro]: This guy seems very suited for an Aggro deck. You don't care about his inability to block, and he'll possibly die while your 2/2s that still matter get through. His unearth ability is quite important as well.
* Anathemancer [1BR][Control]: Dome your opponent without even swinging? Perfect for control.
* Kederekt Creepr [UBR][Control]: Probably too slow for aggro, an interesting choice for control. You opponent gets a horrible decision - card disavantage or an other counter on BA.
* Sedraxis Specter [UBR][Control]: Hypnotic Specter on crack. We'll consider him. Unearth, again, is important.
* Lightning Reaver [3BR][Control]: Unlikely to play, but he's out there.
DIRECT BURN
* Lightning Bolt [R][Aggro/Control]: The best burn spell ever, an auto-include.
* Burst Lightning [R][Aggro/Contro]: Does exactly what we want, two or four damage to the dome.
* Punishing Fire [1R][Control]: Without some sort of combo, Punishing Fire is probably to slow and low for use in the deck.
REMOVAL
* Disfigure [B][Aggro/Control]: A great removal spell, but probably second place over burn.
* Doom Blade [1B][Aggro/Control]: Again, does the job admirably, but probably comes in second place to Terminate.
* Terminate [BR][Aggro/Control]: Other than Path to Exile, the premier removal spell in Standard. A definite sideboard card, may be needed maindeck depending on the metagame.
* Hideous End [1BB][Control]: A card made for working with BA. The right colour, instant removal, and helps get a counter on BA. Definitely going in.
* Agony Warp [UB][Control]: Great for two-for-one-ing your opponent, may have a place in the deck.
* Bituminous Blast [3BR][Control]: Card advantage and removal all in one. However, does not place nice with Earthquake.
* Earthquake [XR][Control]: Would be ordinary, except it also hits your opponent. This makes it as a premier sweeper in a control deck.
OTHER SPELLS
* Duress [B][Control]: Excellent control card, removing any threats against BA.
* Countersquall [UB][Control]: For BA, a straight-up upgrade of Negate, with a bonus counter for BA.
* Grixis Charm [UBR][Aggro]: A possible include, depending on how deep into blue and aggro buld goes.
* Blightning [1BR][Aggro/Control]: An excellent card for both card advantage and getting another counter on BA.
* Mindbreak Trap [2UU][Control]: Probably a sideboard card in a blue build.
* Archive Trap [3UU][Control]: A win condition with a fully loaded BA, a dead card without it. One to consider.
* Trapmaker's Snare [1U]: For fetching traps, if we run them.
* Sign in BLood [BB][Control]: One of the best card-drawing cards in the set. An auto-include in a control build.
* Volcanic Fallout [1RR][Control]: A decent sideboard deck against Vampires and Boros, not so much against anything else nowadays.
PLANESWALKERS
* Lilliana Vess [3BB][Control]: Tutors up a BA, or the card you need to control the board. To be heavily considered. Plus, once BA is online, her +1 ability is posively brutal.
* Sorin Markov [3BBB][Control] His +2 ability is perfect with BA, as is his -3 ability. Mana cost is a little excessive, but his ultimate is brutal. A worthy consideration.
All things considered, I'm going to go with a Control build with BA. The build is almost a game of 'death by a thousand cuts'. You want everything your opponent does to hurt. Play a creature? Have it hideous-ended, lose two life. Play a non-creature? Have it Countersqualled, lose two life. Play multiple creatures? Have them Earthquaked, lose two or more life.
Here's the build I'm considering:
[1 Mana Spells]
4 x Bloodchief Ascension
4 x Lightning Bolt
2 x Burst Lightning
[2 Mana Spells]
4 x Bloodghast
4 x Countersquall
2 x Sign in Blood
[3 Mana Spells]
4 x Blightning
4 x Hideous End
4 x Vampire Nighthawk
[5 Mana Spells]
2 x Liliana Vess
[X Spells]
4 x Earthquake
[22 Lands]
The deck has a lot of powerful synergies.
Firstly, between Liliana and Bloodghast, it has plenty of card-drawing and tutoring. This gives it a big lead over many of the current decks in Standard that fall quickly into top-deck mode. This also helps assure your capacity to find Bloodchief Ascension.
Secondly, almost every card is capable of turning on the Bloodchief Ascension, including Sign in Blood. In theory, even without BA, you are quite capable of winning, as your ability to win any attrition war against your opponent is pretty high.
Thirdly, there is high-quality interaction between Earthquake and your two creatures, Vampire Nighthawk and Bloodghast. Bloodghast doesn't mind dying to Earthquake, and Vampire Nighthawk isn't touched by it. Earthquake is also very good at killing off opposing Planeswalkers.
Fourthly, Vampire Nighthawk is very good at both maintining life disparity with your opponent, as well as fending off any attack against Liliana. Mind you, Liliana is probably pretty vulnerable in this deck.
If I can round up the cards I'll try playtesting it and see how it goes. Again any and every piece of feedback is welcome.
Labels: analysis, deckbuilding, magic
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