As I write this, it is 78 degrees out and I am sitting in a hotel room listening to Michael Jacob cackle with glee. Martin Juza and Michael Jacob are bashing somebody’s face in during a Magic Online Draft like only MJ’s now how to do. Manuel Bucher and Olivier Ruel are out running (they have been on a running kick… Who knew?) but will be back shortly. I have only been in town since this morning, but already I am having a blast. Aside from good times with good friends, the Spanish are some friendly players.
Juza and I just finished doing some playtesting. He was considering playing Turbo-Fog, but was not super happy with it. We battled a few games and it seemed that Maelstrom Pulse made it very difficult for the Turbo-Fog deck to “go off,” as it is such a blowout to lose multiple Howling Mines.
I struggled with the Sanity Grinding matchup earlier, but I am confident that I have the tools to put up a fight. I just think that the field has too many varied strategies that can do a lot of powerful interactive things to play a deck that has such exploitable weaknesses.
The 5CB deck I am playing can have trouble with U/W Lark, Sanity Grinding, and big mana decks that don’t die to Anathemancer, but none of those matchups is unwinnable, and I think I am in pretty good shape versus B/W, G/W, Five-Color, Faeries, Boat Brew, Kithkin, and R/x aggro. I have been changing the deck around a lot, so it is hard to say for sure that I haven’t thrown massive percentage out the window, but this is where I am at so far.
Creatures (11)
Lands (26)
Spells (23)
Bear in mind that this is just the list I am currently at, as of the day before the Grand Prix. It is very possible that I could change a couple of cards tomorrow morning, as I am not set on a build. The mana is the main thing up in the air.
First, let’s talk about what is there. The most notable addition is that of Magma Spray. I was playing a match earlier this week and I played a Bloodbraid Elf, surveyed the board, and knocked on my deck, declaring that I was hoping to reveal a Magma Spray (as it would have been the ideal card for that board position). The problem was that I wasn’t playing any.
Then I laughed as I realized, “you know, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.” I thought about it some more. Magma Spray is a sicko right now. Against B/W, it beats Kitchen Finks, Tidehollow Sculler, Murderous Redcap, and Mutavault. Against G/W, hitting Noble Hierarch or a random bear is sweet. Against Faeries, it is obviously a very useful tool, particularly at hitting Sower of Temptation, Scion of Oona, Vendilion Clique, or Mutavault (or fizzling a Spellstutter Sprite). It is great against Reveillark, hitting almost everything. It gives me great protection from Figure of Destiny. In the mirror, it hits Anathemancer and Finks (even hitting an Elf can be useful). Against R/x aggro, it is a great answer to Jund Hackblade and Tattermunge Maniac. The card is really well positioned now.
It is tempting to say, “Well, isn’t Magma Spray bad against creatureless decks?” Sure, but the same can be said of Shriekmaw or Pyroclasm. I don’t want Putrid Leech anymore, which I will talk about another time. I have no problem having some dead cards against creatureless decks, and then being able to sideboard them out.
The point is that Magma Spray has been nothing but awesome for me. Puncture Blast would be sweet too, but there is far too much going on at the three-drop slot to make room. I really think Magma Spray might be a major breakthrough for this deck. Time will tell, I suppose.
Next, we notice there are Esper Charms and Mulldrifters. I am not 100% sure which Draw2s I will play, as Jace is certainly an option too. I just know that I want at least 5-6. The advantage to Esper Charm is that the options are certainly nice, particularly destroying Glorious Anthem or Runed Halo. It is nice to flip sometimes, but of course the downside is that it makes your Bloodbraid Elves less reliable as a Flametongue Kavu.
The Mulldrifter is a recent change from Jace, as I was really feeling like I would like to have the extra body with which to attack. This build has no real finishers and I need all the bodies I can get. In addition, there is something to be said about having fewer card drawers that flip to Bloodbraid, since I have enough card draw as it is, and I want him to have more of an impact on the board.
The Jace has been sweet too, but I only have so much room. I especially like it against other Jace decks, but I may need the extra body Mulldrifter provides. It is possible that I end up playing Jace and Mulldrifter, but I really want to have the Enchantment removal. I must admit, it would make my mana a little better.
The reason for the addition of all the Draw2s is that I like playing a little more controlling build, and need to recoup the cards in my hand that I burn through early, like Magma Spray and Pyroclasm. It is too important for this deck to avoid running out of gas, as you don’t have Putrid Leeches hitting over and over in the meantime.
The third Cruel Ultimatum is another card that catches peoples’ eyes, but it shouldn’t be too surprising. I really think that 90% of people that play two Cruel Ultimatums don’t even think about why two may or may not be the correct number, rather just playing two because “that’s how many people play.”
I really like playing Cruel Ultimatum a lot, right now. There is less good permission being played, and decks like Faeries and traditional Five-Color Control have diminished in popularity. This particular build really needs to Cruel Ultimatum in order to win, and I can’t afford to sit around waiting to draw one.
Also, with so much less offense in this build, Cruel Ultimatum can be an important part of my plan to actually kill people. This card is really powerful. One doesn’t have to play only two just because it costs seven mana. You have to really examine how much it costs you to have to sit there with Ultimatums in your hand and how much you need to have it in order to execute your game plan.
I am not 100% to play 3 Ultimatums, but that is the direction I am leaning right now. Besides, I actually like drawing two, since you can tap out to play one, then after they Cryptic they tap out on their turn (since they used their Cryptic and you used your Ultimatum). When you hit them with another one, you can often catch people completely off-guard. This is obviously especially true if you already have 2 Ultimatums in your graveyard. I have rarely seen a card that so many people were so sure that I would not play a third.
Seriously, I am exactly the type of guy that would play a third Cruel Ultimatum.
As far as the land goes, the most interesting change in the addition of a couple of Crumbling Necropolis. Crumbling Necropolis is a land that we actually always consider every time we build a Five-Color Control deck, as it is a great way to conserve Vivid counters if you use them up too fast. So far, we have always opted against them, as using Vivids wasn’t a big enough concern.
Recently, Bloodbraid Elf has put a strain on the mana, most famously demonstrated recently by the splashing of Cryptic Command in my “Jund” deck (5CB). I think that Crumbling Necropolis is the solution to the Putrid Leech build as well. The recent surge of cards with a huge variety of casting costs, like Jund Charm, Maelstrom Pulse, Esper Charm, Bloodbraid Elf, and Putrid Leech (or Magma Spray) really makes it difficult to just rely on Vivid Groves and Vivid Crags.
I just found that the unthinkable was finally occurring. I was using up all of my Vivid counters. This had to stop. I tried adding a couple of Crumbling Necropolis and slightly upped the number of lands that cast Kitchen Finks, and to my great pleasure the mana was working much more smoothly. I know that it sucks that it doesn’t cast Kitchen Finks and it doesn’t make your Reflecting Pool perfect, but so far, the fact that it gives me so many more uses of my Vivids has more than made up for this. Obviously there is a very low limit to how many tri-lands you can play, since I still play all five colors. However, two has been nice and I recommend that anyone who is having trouble running out of Vivid counters give them a shot.
Arcane Sanctum and Seaside Citadel are obviously options too, depending on your build, though it is a must that they make Blue if you are playing Cryptic Command. I prefer Crumbling Necropolis, as I especially wanted more good lands to tap to play Magma Spray (and White is my smallest color). The dream would be to have a land that taps for R/G/U, but alas, we must work with what we have.
I haven’t settled on a sideboard yet, as I want to get a feel for the room tomorrow when I show up. I am pretty sure my sideboard will start with 4 Anathemancer, as well as some number of Wraths, Cloudthreshers, and Thought Hemorrhages. I am not positive about the rest of the sideboard, although the top considerations are currently Pithing Needle, Jace Beleren , Glen Elendra Archmage, Broodmate Dragon, Runed Halo, Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender, Identity Crisis, Jund Charm, and Plumeveil. The main thing is going to be making sure I have enough live cards to bring in when all of my removal is dead. This shouldn’t be tough.
It was really interesting hanging out at the site earlier. The tone in the air is that of a lot of people not really loving any particular strategy in this format. It is hard to say how things will shape up, but I would not be surprised if Faeries begins a little bit of a come-back. I still think it is only Tier 2, but there will come a time where there are just so many people playing “dishonest” decks designed to prey on the Windbrisk Heights decks. Zealous Persecution, Putrid Leeches, Anathemancer, Volcanic Fallout, Boggart Ram Gang, and so on are all very hard on a Faeries player, but it seems that a lot of people are skimping on their Faeries hate, just assuming that everyone else will do it for them.
Look at my 5CB deck, for instance. I am not planning on boarding Fallout, and I don’t have Anathemancers main or Leeches at all. There is no question my Faeries matchup will suffer, but it has been a long time since it was really that popular. Look at all of these Sanity Grinding, Turbo-Fog, Reveillark, Ramp decks, and so on. Even the traditional Five-Color decks are moving away from Plumeveil and towards Wrath.
I stand by my words that Faeries was a terrible choice at Regionals, but I agree with Sam Black that Faeries is not dead. I am not the one to pick up the mantle, but if not for how bonkers Bloodbraid Elf is, I would totally move in to Faeries this weekend. Honestly though, I really do think Bloodbraid Elf is that good.
Anyway, I predict at least 1 top 8 for Faeries in either Barcelona or Seattle, but we will see. I don’t think it is the best deck at all, as I have said, but it is definitely decent and people seem to think that just because it is not the best that it is the worst. I know people are sick of it, and that will help hold down its numbers, but if you just want to win, I would keep Faeries on the short list. I would say that right now, Faeries is the only deck I would strongly consider if I didn’t play Bloodbraid Elf (although Faeries with Bloodbraid Elf is not going to be a joke forever…)
See, part of the reason Faeries was so bad at Regionals was because R/x aggro was popular. The thing is, R/x is usually only good until people figure out two things:
1) That it is worth hating out.
2) The right hate.
Most of the time, though, the hate against R/x aggro is strong enough to really beat it as long as you try. This is why R/x aggro always seems like a better choice at the beginning of a season or format, and tends to fall off. The point is, R/x is a pretty bad choice now that people have adapted, and will not really be a good choice again until Blue decks rise again. It could be Faeries, it could be Howling Mine, but it will take Blue decks increasing in popularity and cards like Forge-Tender backing down. Unfortunately, right now is a great time for Forge-Tender, despite R/x aggro not being tier 1. This makes it rough to be a R/x aggro player.
The problem with B/W is that it is not nearly as good as it is popular. I mean, it is good, no question, but it is not like Faeries was, where the format can warp around it and it still be Tier 1 by a lot. B/W is susceptible to hate and I predict it cools down a bit. There are just too many reasons to play sweepers right now, and Maelstrom Pulse is only going to rise in popularity.
I think G/W is pretty respectable, but again, I don’t know how comfortable I would be playing such a heavy vanilla creature deck in a world full of Pollen Lullaby, Jund Charm, Wrath, Pyroclasm, and so on.
I love Finest Hour the card, and the deck is reasonable, but I still think it suffers from being “more cute” than “best.” Still, if the trend towards sweepers (and I guess Magma Spray) continues and people play less Shriekmaws, Terrors, Paths, and so on, that is a compelling argument in favor of the positioning of Finest Hour. We’ll see, but I predict a life in Tier 2 for this deck (until the rotation).
I think that U/W Reveillark is underrated. I am not sure it will fully get a day in the sun, as Faeries will return before too long, but this seems like the ideal weekend to play Lark. I mean, look at the format. Many mid-range creature decks struggle with Lark. Many over-defensive decks that prey on creatures struggle with Lark. Even my beloved Bloodbraid decks struggle with Lark. The deck is just not that strong on power level, though, so I think it may lack the card power needed to really dominate. Still, it is a pretty reasonable metagame call.
I was never really on board with Boat Brew, as you know, so I am not sure I have the most objective advice to offer on it. My advice is don’t play it. It is okay – Tier 2, I guess – but it is not overly powerful, and I don’t love its positioning right now. The cards are mostly good though, so it is not embarrassing, but seriously, I like Boat Brew in this field less than before and I didn’t love it before.
Traditional Five-Color without Bloodbraid Elf has not dominated thus far, though it is putting up solid numbers in some places. The format may actually improve a little for it, but it is really going to take a designer that can accurately predict the field to make a traditional Five-Color deck work. Personally, I think Bloodbraid Elf is just way too good not to play if you can. Traditional Five-Color does seem well suited to prey on the Japanese metagame though, which can be seen by the recent tournament success of Five-Color, B/G, Boat Brew, and so on.
I am really interested to see what comes of the B/G decks that the Japanese love so much. They have a history of favoring B/G compared to Americans, but never before has the stark contrast been so apparent. The metagame in Japan is 100% a different animal that that of the U.S. Literally every tournament there is won by B/G, these days. Why? Why is their metagame so different?
Creatures (22)
- 4 Llanowar Elves
- 3 Civic Wayfinder
- 2 Cloudthresher
- 4 Imperious Perfect
- 4 Wren's Run Vanquisher
- 3 Bramblewood Paragon
- 2 Chameleon Colossus
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (23)
Spells (12)
Sideboard
Kadota took this build of B/G Elves to a finals appearance in the recent Lunatic Moon Convention tournament, losing to Boat Brew in the finals. The rest of the Top 8 included two other B/G decks (one Elves with Putrid Leech, one Putrid Leech without Elves), a Demigod/Blightning deck, a Doran deck (with Putrid Leech), a traditional Cruel Control, and a rather unusual Reveillark deck featuring Anathemancer, Doran, Bitterblossom, Garruk, Elspeth, Bloodbraid Elf, Jund Charm, Chameleon Colossus, and more (what a master!).
The format seems to be very volatile right now, and I am not entirely sure what factors contribute to the unusually high success of B/G in Japan, but I assume it is a combination of ideal for their metagame, them having a lot of experience with it, and good Japanese players favoring it (making the results go up).
Another Japanese Elf deck that recently caught my eye was Dai Kato’s G/R Elf deck that he piloted to a finals appearance in a recent Qualifier in Japan (losing to Cruel Control in the finals).
Creatures (28)
- 4 Llanowar Elves
- 1 Elvish Champion
- 4 Civic Wayfinder
- 4 Imperious Perfect
- 4 Wren's Run Vanquisher
- 2 Chameleon Colossus
- 4 Wolf-Skull Shaman
- 1 Wilt-Leaf Liege
- 4 Bloodbraid Elf
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (22)
Spells (8)
Sideboard
Bloodbraid Elf is an incredible card, so it is only natural that people try him in Elf strategies to take advantage of his “Elvishness.” I don’t think this deck is right for the current meta in America, as it just doesn’t have enough ways to interact, but it is a strategy to keep your eye on. I am particularly interested in fusing this with B/G Elves, primarily Maelstrom Pulse. I wonder what all would be possible with Jund Elves…
Alright, I gotta finish getting ready for this tournament. I am excited, as Standard seems like a lot of fun, right now. It is an exciting time where the metagame seems to shift daily. This is challenging for players such as myself that rely heavily on “reading the metagame,” but in balance, there seems to be a disproportionate number of players playing decks that seem clearly Tier 2 at best, to me, so I certainly believe there is opportunity.
See you guys Thursday. when I drop another preview of Next Level Magic, my training course available as an e-book (that is formatted for easy printing out, if that is your preference). Next Level Magic is just weeks from release and more information will be available on Thursday. It is very exciting to finally be releasing this project and I definitely appreciate all of the positive feedback I have been getting from readers and other writers.
I know some people speculated that there would be a torrent version of the e-book pirated before much time at all, but I would think it is fairly obvious that people who would steal a Magic strategy guide from one of the few people taking the time to write one are not likely to benefit from it as much as one comes from a more positive mindset (Ill-Gotten Gains, etc…). I definitely appreciate the support from readers who suspect that they could steal it, but want to be a part of the support for the growth of Magic theory and writing, rather than part of the problem.
At the end of the day, it may seem obvious that I am heavily incentivized to encourage people to buy it rather than steal it, but it should also be obvious that if you steal something, it generally does not mean the same to you as if you bought it. You may not care if it is just a movie or song for entertainment, but if you are dealing with a training course that you want to see results from that requires serious effort, how much of a chance are you giving yourself if this is the first step taken?
Anyway, I really appreciate the positive energy from everyone encouraging me to do what I am doing. I love this game and this culture and it is great to have so many perspectives to draw upon. I am thrilled to be adding to the history of the game with Next Level Magic. It is more than just a step by step guide towards improving your game. It is also a rich history book when it comes to the early years of Magic.
This game has a wonderful and fascinating history and few have the privilege to have witnessed all of the things that I have in this game. Jon Finkel, Brian Weissman, Erik Lauer, Chris Pikula, Brian Hacker, Alan Comer, Mike Turian, Randy Buehler, Mike Long, and Eric Taylor, just to name a few, are fascinating characters that have helped make the game as interesting as it is today. It is a privilege to be able to tell you some stories about them.
For instance, so many people today don’t even realize what all Brian Hacker and Chris Pikula did for the Pro Tour and its culture. Brian Hacker and Chris Pikula probably don’t even realize it, but they were important role models to me that helped me realize all that I love about this game and how to do as much as I could to further the community. It seems that their successful careers may have been too short to be locks for the Hall of Fame, though both are on the ballot and both will receive another vote from me this year. I could not do what I do today if not for these two men, and I would not be what I am if not for all that I learned from them.
Magic players of today need to hear about legends like Brian Hacker and Chris Pikula, not just because of the contributions to the game they made, but because of their rich personalities and all that they brought to the game. Magic should be so lucky as to have people like this a part of the culture. If Magic means to you what it means to me, I strongly suggest you take a good look at players like these two and see what you can learn from their example. Magic needs more people like this.
Okay, for serious this time, I am out. See you in a few days, and wish me luck (for Seattle I suppose, as retroactive luck for Barcelona may not be enough).
Patrick Chapin
“The Innovator”
PS: I also had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Suitcase recently, which you can check out on MTGCast soon.