Has anyone else noticed that there has been no mention of any Combo decks for Champs this year? Dragonstorm took some understandable hits with the rotation, but surely someone must have come up with a deck.
Anyone? Bueller?
Hm. So it’s just aggro, control and midrange, then?
Except that there hasn’t really been much stir in the Midrange area either. Loxodon Hierarch has left the building, and no one but Josh Silvestri seems to be interested in trying Brion Stoutarm as a replacement. There are midrange beatdown decks aplenty (Elves, Mono-Green Stompy, R/B Goblins, G/B Rack), a bit of aggro-control (Faeries, mono-blue), and midrange control like Mike Flores’s U/W Flying Control, but the only bona fide true Midrange decks we’ve seen are the two Time Spiral Block carryovers that placed at the SCG $1K tournament (one Big Mana Red and one Scryb & Force). We’ve gone pretty much the entire preseason without so much as a peep about the archetype that made GhaziGlare a household name in Champs seasons past.
As it happens, this is a fantastic environment for a Midrange deck to succeed. Midrange decks usually have to split their resources between defeating beatdown, combo, and control decks. If cards overlap and can pull double-duty, turning up the heat on multiple archetypes at once, that’s great – but you aren’t always so lucky. The wider the array of targets, the more potential clunky draws you introduce; nobody wants to get the Dark Confidant / Withered Wretch / Castigate draw against beatdown, nor do they want the Martyr of Sands / Paladin en-Vec / Mortify draw against control, or the Withered Wretch / Paladin en-Vec / Mortify draw against combo.
At Champs, we have an environment with no combo in it! You’ve only got aggro, control, and other midrange decks to worry about. That’s it. The format is primed for a Midrange deck to step forward and crush some skulls; the only remaining question is…
… how do we exploit this?
Part 1: The Design
After much deliberation, I settled on Doran, the Siege Tower as the centerpiece for my Midrange deck. Admittedly, he’s an oddball, as centerpieces go. Ghazi-Glare was built to abuse Glare of Subdual, which completely turned around the beatdown matchups, Secret Force was built to power out a gargantuan fatty that would end the game in a couple turns, and I’m building around…a quasi-vanilla 5/5?
Ignoring the other implications of Doran’s ability, a reasonable question is just how impressive Doran’s “5/5” body is. He will usually beat Tarmogoyf in a fight, and requires multiple small burn spells (and/or Strange Inversion) to kill. He is Shriekmaw-proof, and cannot be profitably intercepted by a mid-combat Teferi.
In other words, he beats up everything that is not a six-mana Elemental… for three mana. Just how big of a deal is that? Let me tell you a story.
At some point in our PT: Valencia testing, I stayed up far too late one night, and somehow got it into my head that if you had Domain, Draco cost 16 – 10 = 0 mana. Yes, it was very late.
Having failed to realize that I was in a Beacon of Immortality / Rain of Gore situation, I started frantically testing out my new Draco Domain deck. I was crushing Red deck after Red deck every single time I got the turn 2 9/9 Flying draw – which was often – and kept wondering what the hell Raphael Levy was smoking to have never at least boarded the thing in Domain Zoo.
I’d cast the turn 2 9/9, the Red deck couldn’t attack into it, didn’t have the mana to burn it out yet, and suddenly I was the beatdown. They’d die in two turns to its attacks, so it didn’t matter what they were sending back at me in the meantime, as long as it couldn’t kill me in two turns. I sent Zac an excited email detailing the results of my ten-game set, then about two seconds later, realized I was out of my mind, and sent another email to the effect of “boy, this is awkward.”
However, I will forever appreciate the value of a turn 2 9/9 flyer. (Heh.)
Doran is no 9/9 flyer, but the plan of outclassing Red decks by dropping massive fatties onto the table faster than they can handle them is as old as Natural Order itself. As we don’t have Loxodon Hierarch anymore, the Too Much Quick Fat plan seems to be the next-best way to beat the Red decks, and Doran is the cheapest fatty in the format.
The last time I built a Doran deck, it was about as aggressive as a midrange beatdown deck can get. My goal was to curve out with Llanowar Elves, Treefolk Harbinger, Tarmogoyf, and random bears, and then to cap things off with a hearty 5/5 Doran. That list had some problems, not the least of which was its mana requirements. I needed Black mana, White mana, and Green mana, and I needed them yesterday. Doran is Phyrexian Negator if you have Green, Black, and White; otherwise he’s more like Serra Avenger, hanging out in your hand so that you can cast him on the cheap several turns later (when you find your colors). If I’m going to be building around a turn 3 fatty in order to have a shot against Red decks, it’s pretty important that I can, y’know, cast him on turn 3. However, with a land count of 22, the only way to get the colors on time was to mash together basically every dual land available to me. This resulted in a painful manabase, and also precluded me from affording five-mana Flametongue imitator Shriekmaw.
Kyle Sanchez’s article on Monday made me rethink some things about the B/G/W archetype. The things that stuck out at me most were that he played 25 land, Shriekmaw, and Deadwood Treefolk. I hadn’t considered Deadwood because the price tag was out of the question for a 22-land deck, but he is quite the late-game monster when you can afford him and are playing 4 Treefolk Harbinger already. (Get two of them going for adorable Bouncing Deadwood action!) Furthermore, as high as I am on Stonecloaker in this archetype, I am even higher on Stonecloaker plus Shriekmaw. What’s the only thing better than a Flametongue Kavu? Two FTKs, of course, with a Coffin Purge thrown in for kicks. (Evoke Shriekmaw, put the ability on the stack, bounce him with Stonecloaker, then hardcast him again next turn.)
So let’s get down to some nuts and bolts. I definitely wanted to maindeck one or more of each of the following cards: Doran, the Siege Tower; Treefolk Harbinger; Tarmogoyf; Shriekmaw; Stonecloaker; and Deadwood Treefolk. To put some actual numbers to them:
4 Treefolk Harbinger
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Doran, the Siege Tower
4 Shriekmaw
4 Stonecloaker
2 Deadwood Treefolk
With just these cards in mind, what do we know about the deck so far?
The late game against speed aggro is in good shape already. Between Shriekmaw (and/or Stonecloaker), Doran, and Deadwood Treefolk, I’ve got not only ample ways to generate card advantage, but also no shortage of big beaters when you factor in Tarmogoyf and Stonecloaker to save them from death by multiple burn spells. Having big beaters is critical in a midrange deck with no lifegain, as I have to put the Red deck away fast before it topdecks enough burn to steal the win from me.
However, the early game against aggro needs work. I’ve got Treefolk Harbinger on turn 1, Tarmogoyf or Evoked Shriekmaw on turn 2, Doran on turn 3, and that’s it. I’ll have to make a note to flesh out the early-game slots when finishing the list.
I also like my late game against dedicated control so far, especially the hearty four Stonecloaker to remove Mystical Teachings, Haakon, and recursive elements like Grim Harvest and Triskelavus that control decks are relying on to close deals these days. I have lots of individually large threats, like Doran, Deadwood Treefolk, Tarmogoyf, and Treefolk Harbinger into either of the first two. All in all, I’m liking my chances so far at keeping the pressure up through Damnations and the like against control.
Midrange control will be a tougher nut to crack. Mike’s U/W Flying Control deck has Rune Snag to thwart a lot of my tricks, Aeon Chroniclers, Epochrasites, and Mulldrifters to fight me on card advantage, and Purity to stand in my way. (Remember that bit about Doran battling everything but a 6/6 Incarnation?) The R/G Big Mana deck that did well at the SCG $1K also has Incarnations, plus Spectral Force as well. I’ll have a better shot at midrange beatdown (Elves and the like), where I’ll have Stonecloaker for Masked Admirers and generally larger men than the competition.
However, this is only 22 cards. I’ve still got room for 13-15 more spells; how will I flesh things out?
As I mentioned earlier, I definitely want some early drops to keep pace with the Red decks. I am already committed to Treefolk Harbinger, but not many of the alternatives excite me. Thoughtseize is, of course, strong against the non-aggro decks, but it’s tough to get value out of it against a beatdown player. “I strip away your Incinerate! Ha-ha! I have gained a life and saved you two mana. Feel the pain.” Naturally, it’s not always that bad – swiping a Gargadon or Tarmogoyf can be huge, and a Lash Out might have done more than just remove one of my dudes… but it’s still not a card I’m excited to draw against them.
Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender, on the other hand, is fantastic against a Red deck and fantastically bad against anything else. Birds of Paradise are a possibility, but the more I think about it, the less I like relying on creature-based accelerants; between Mogg Fanatic, Tarfire, and Damnation, I really don’t think they’re going to live long enough to rely on them as a part of my manabase.
For now, it seems the best options are Search for Tomorrow and Thoughtseize; the latter will be on probation, and may be turned into something else if the Red matchup turns out to be awful.
The update:
(Turn 1)
4 Treefolk Harbinger
4 Search for Tomorrow
4 Thoughtseize
(Turn 2)
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Shriekmaw
(Turn 3)
4 Doran, the Siege Tower
(Turn 4+)
4 Stonecloaker
2 Deadwood Treefolk
Assuming I fit 23 lands in here, I’ll have a healthy 27 mana sources, counting the Searches. That should be plenty to allow for Deadwoods, full-price Shriekmaws, and Shriekmaw – Stonecloaker combinations.
I now have twelve quality plays for turn 1, plus comes-in-tapped lands, and have maintained my late game capabilities. I have eight more slots left, and Saffi and Garruk are looking mighty tasty as ways to help against control without hurting my beatdown matchups. I have the mana to play Spectral Force instead of Garruk, but I think Garruk will be more consistent; I would rather have the Planeswalker when control is holding a Shriekmaw, and I would much rather have him when beatdown is holding a Threaten. Saffi is another early-game play that is amazing against control and fine against beatdown, so I’m down with her as well. Much as I hate Crib Swap (three mana and they get a dude?), my only answers to a Gargadon or Incarnation since I took out the Riftsweepers are Shriekmaws – and that’s just not enough.
The spell list, then:
4 Treefolk Harbinger
4 Thoughtseize
4 Search for Tomorrow
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Shriekmaw
3 Saffi Eriksdotter
4 Doran, the Siege Tower
1 Crib Swap
3 Garruk Wildspeaker
4 Stonecloaker
2 Deadwood Treefolk
Now for the mana.
I expected more raised eyebrows than I got when I chose Forbidding Watchtower over Treetop Village in my previous list. Obviously Watchtower is a lot bigger than Village when Doran is out, but the real reason I chose it was that I really need my Green mana to come into play untapped on turn . I want to suspend Search for Tomorrow on turn 1, not turn 2 (when I want to be playing Goyf or something else), and likewise with Treefolk Harbinger, and TTV simply does not allow those plays.
As for the rest of the manabase, I need basics to support Search for Tomorrow, and if I have basics, then Terramorphic Expanse is one of the best mana fixers available. I’ll start off with a minimal set of those, then.
4 Terramorphic Expanse
2 Forest
1 Plains
1 Swamp
That’s the bare minimum, and leaves fifteen remaining slots. Some quick math leads me to:
4 Terramorphic Expanse
5 Forest
3 Swamp
1 Plains
4 Llanowar Wastes
4 Horizon Canopy
2 Forbidding Watchtower
That gives me thirteen sources of Green on turn 1, which is plenty. Counting Terramorphic Expanse and Search for Tomorrow, I have twenty-one potential Green sources in total, fifteen Black, and fifteen White. I’m not quite that flush with mana sources, as eight sources in each category are not actual duals, but “choose one” effects (Search and Expanse), so I don’t think I’m going overboard on the color fixers for a deck whose only spell with a double mana requirement is Garruk.
Part 2: The Field Test
Creatures (25)
- 3 Saffi Eriksdotter
- 2 Deadwood Treefolk
- 4 Stonecloaker
- 4 Tarmogoyf
- 4 Doran, the Siege Tower
- 4 Shriekmaw
- 4 Treefolk Harbinger
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (23)
Spells (9)
My recording for this deck’s testing was sporadic, to say the least. I did a decent job with the Red deck games, but after that I got lazy about writing things down. Sorry about that.
Ten-game set against Dan Paskins’s Red/Green Aggro:
Creatures (24)
Lands (21)
Spells (15)
Sideboard
Game 1: mull to six, keep a slow hand whose first play is turn 3 Doran off two painlands. He eats two burn spells, as does the next one, then Garruk comes down, makes a token, and I lose to Threaten.
Game 2: He starts with two Tarmogoyfs and a Threaten on my Doran that is foiled by Stonecloaker. I then re-cast the 5/5, FTK in a Shriekmaw, Thoughtseize a burn spell, and beat down. I kill him before any of his three Gargadons arrive. (Yes, it is nice when the opponent draws three Gargadons…but then again, I won this game off eight lands and five spells, one of which was a redundant Doran.)
Game 3: I accelerate out a Goyf, but he has one as well, and the Mogg Fanatic to finish mine off. I try to stem the bleeding, but it is too late. Horizon Canopy domed me a lot this game; those are turning into Brushlands straightaway.
Game 4: I clear out all his men, and cast Deadwood Treefolk for Shriekmaw to deal with the impending Gargadon. The opponent goes untap, Tarfire you, Threaten your Deadwood, sac all my lands to bring in Gargadon, attack you for a lethal twelve. Awkward.
Game 5: He gets horribly flooded and I crush him with an unanswered Treefolk Harbinger and Doran.
Game 6: He mulls to six, but I mull to four. I basically sit around and summon little more than token resistance while he kills me.
Game 7: I get stuck on two lands, trade early donks with my opponent, and topdeck running uncastables. My opponent does not, and beats me easily.
Game 8: I mull and keep one land with Search and Treefolk Harbinger. My opponent curves out with Mogg Fanatic, Tarmogoyf, Incinerate for my blocker, and Threaten plus more burn spells thereafter.
Game 9: I mull to five and get crushed.
Game 10: He has Tarmogoyf, and I don’t. He also has Tarfire to pump it up to 5/6, and I have no White mana with which to cast Harbinger for Crib Swap, or either of the Dorans in my hand. I lose again.
2-8? Okay, that’s enough of that build. It’s time for some changes.
Search for Tomorrow is godawful. The acceleration does nothing, and color fixing is not worth having to pay a Green for it. I also don’t need that many mana sources, but boy howdy do I need to make my first three drops on time. A lot of my mulligans were due to having one Green source and Search, when a two-lander would have been fine. Also, Saffi is just a stupid cow that dies to burn spells like everyone else. If I’m going to play a dead-meat bear, it had better deliver a smashing of Gaddock Teeg proportions; I’m putting her on the first train to Cutsylvania in exchange for the Kithkin Advisor. Also, Treefolk Harbinger is not that good; drawing him in multiples is really lame. I’ll trim one copy for now, and possibly more later.
Let’s try these changes:
-4 Search for Tomorrow
-3 Saffi Eriksdotter
-1 Deadwood Treefolk
-1 Treefolk Harbinger
-2 Forest
-2 Llanowar Wastes
+4 Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender (please, Lord, just make the Red men go away)
+4 Caves of Koilos
+3 Gaddock Teeg
+2 Gilt-Leaf Palace
Red deck, take two:
Game 1: I play Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender and orgasm. The on-table Keldon Marauders look stupid and keel over. Mogg War Marshal shows up and looks stupid. Greater Gargadon is suspended and looks stupid. I play Doran, beat down with him, and foil the opponent’s cunning Threaten Doran alpha strike plan with a well-timed Stonecloaker. Game over.
Game 2: I play Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender on turns 1 and 2 and just cannot possibly lose. They kill my first Doran, so I Harbinger up a second one. Big deal.
Game 3: I draw two Tarmogoyfs, Thoughtseize his only creature, and he never finds enough burn at one time to kill them.
Game 4: I trade Stonecloaker (returning Forge-Tender) for a turn 2 Tarmogoyf. Nice! Then I re-play the Forge-Tender and cannot lose. If you want details, they involved Thoughtseize, Tarmogoyf, and Shriekmaw on my side.
Game 5: I play Forge-Tender, Gaddock Teeg, Tarmogoyf, Tarmogoyf, Garruk.
I’m no math major, but 5-0 seems to be an improvement over 2-8. The difference, in case it was not clear, is Burrenton MFing Forge-Tender. I mean, I was remembering back in Kamigawa block that Empty-Shrine Kannushi was good in the White Weenie mirror as a 1/1 pro-White for W, but this little innocuous 1/1 pro-Red for W is so much better I want to throw up on something. Every time I drew it, I felt like the opponent needed some kind of miracle to beat me. I just started making a mental note of how many Tarmogoyfs it would take for him to get through… freaking unreal. Definite keeper; I don’t care how bad he is in other matchups, his value is so incredible against Red, he’s just stone cold worth the slot.
I never came close to wanting to cast Crib Swap when I drew it, nor did I ever want to tutor for it. If that’s the case, I might as well just turn it into Rootgrapple, so that (as Sanchez suggested) I have a tutorable answer to Teferi’s Moat and opposing planeswalkers.
Next up, I tested against some control strategies. It only took a few games for me to realize something that had been sort of leering around the corner at me during the aggro games: the sneaking suspicion that Treefolk Harbinger might actually be…
… utter crap.
And man, he sure is. Over and over, I’d draw him and think, “man, he’s just not very good here,” and continue to wait for that one time when I’d draw him, tutor into Doran, and go to town with my 5/5 and my 3/3… and it only happened once, when I was winning anyway. Apparently, his only purpose in the deck is to keep my manabase from letting me play Treetop Village.
Fired.
I also noticed that I never put his tutor targets, Deadwood Treefolk and Rootgrapple, to any good use either. If they catch up with him in time, they can all split cab fare home.
I do want a fourth Gaddock Teeg, though. His legendary status won’t matter against Red decks (he always ends up extra-crispy in those matchups, regardless), and I want to draw as many copies of him as I can against control decks. It doesn’t bother me overmuch that he’s not the best against other midrange decks, because, like Forge-Tender against Red, he’s just utter insanity against control. As for the remaining slots, I think a set of Oblivion Rings will handle the need for anti-permanent measures quite nicely, without being obnoxiously clunky.
The rejiggered list:
Creatures (24)
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (25)
Spells (8)
I started recording sometime after I had made these changes, and when playing against Patrick Chapin’s Grim Teachings deck for the first time.
Creatures (5)
Lands (26)
Spells (30)
Game 1: I lead with Thoughtseize, Gaddock Teeg, and a pair of awesome (cough) Forge-Tenders. Having Seized the opponent’s Shriekmaw, Teeg and the Tenders (the next big country act?) beat the opponent senseless, and when I add a Doran, he is forced to hardcast Mulldrifter just to get a blocker. Drifter draws him into Tolaria West, which he Transmutes for Slaughter Pact. Next turn Doran and the Tenders come charging across to drop him to three (Mulldrifter chumps Doran), he untaps and casts Slaughter Pact into Damnation as expected, and next turn I resolve Shriekmaw. After paying for the Pact, he doesn’t have enough left over to fetch an answer to the 3/2, so I take it.
Game 2: I resolve Doran and Garruk; Damnation clears the board, and Cryptic Command bounces Garruk after Tolaria West is turned into Pact of Negation. However, I am beating down with a Forge-Tender and Elephant token in the meantime, and get the opponent all the way down to one life with them when he summons a Shriekmaw. That would tip the scales in his favor, except I have Stonecloaker in response, which flies over for the win on the following turn.
Game 3: I use Stonecloaker to remove Mystical Teachings, then start working Garruk and Treetop Village. Eventually the opponent has to throw down Triskelavus to stay alive, but I topdeck the second Green source needed to activate my other Village and Overrun for the win. Yeah, Treefolk Harbinger can definitely bite me; he’s nowhere near worth losing Treetop Village.
Game 4: I play turn 1 Thoughtseize your Damnation, turn 3 Doran, and Doran just kills him. Seriously, he dies with Shriekmaw, Slaughter Pact, Pact of Negation, and Mouth of Ronom in hand.
Game 5: Again I force Garruk through and start cranking out Elephants. He gets Commanded eventually, but by then I still have Tarmogoyf and a 3/3 token on the board, and when he does not topdeck Damnation in time, that’s it. (Stonecloaker killed a Triskelavus that would have been recurred via Academy Ruins this game, for the record.)
I stopped at 5-0, satisfied that the control matchup did not need any work.
After all, isn’t it about time I built a sideboard for this thing?
I know I want a fourth Garruk for the midrange Green mirrors. He’s too much of a beating in attrition wars to settle for fewer than four; drawing two copies just means I can exhaust the first one right away and then drop the second one to set up an Overrun next turn. It’s also good to have extras in order to Legend Rule the opponent’s copies away; it’s certainly to my advantage that I am starting 4 Oblivion Rings, but I won’t always draw those.
I also want some Riftsweepers against decks with Aeon Chronicler, Epochrasite, and/or Riftwing Cloudskate. Two-mana Flametongue Kavu is a huge beating, especially when the opponent paid an Aeon Chronicler’s worth of mana for whatever I’m killing. It’s also a reasonable Gaddock Teeg replacement against Red decks, where the Kithkin is just a Grizzly Bears with a tougher mana requirement.
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
3 Riftsweeper
I need an answer to Magus of the Moon, and Slaughter Pact also provides fantastic surprise removal against “all-in” Gargadons when I’m tapped out. I like its applications against midrange beatdown decks as well, since many of those rely on Lord-type pump effects in combat, and will walk into two-for-ones on my Elephants and things if I show them Slaughter Pact when they are not playing around it.
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
3 Riftsweeper
3 Slaughter Pact
I also want some Spectral Forces against control and other Green decks. Again, I don’t think he’s well suited for the maindeck because of Threaten, curve considerations, and (to a lesser extent) losing your five-mana expenditure to Shriekmaw and Control Magic Faerie, but when he’s good, he’s really good.
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
3 Riftsweeper
4 Slaughter Pact
3 Spectral Force
Finally, I want to split my remaining four slots into a pair of two-ofs, one for the midrange beatdown matchup, and the other for both the Red matchup and the midrange beatdown matchup. This will allow me to board out all my weak cards (Thoughtseize and Gaddock Teeg) for reasonable ones, while improving my chances against the bevy of elf-like strategies in the format. Serrated Arrows seems to fit the bill, killing off plenty of Mogg Fanatics and War Marshal tokens against Red, Llanowar Elves, Boreal Druids, Scryb Sprites, and all manner of Faeries against midrange beatdown and aggro-control, and allowing me to win Tarmogoyf-on-Tarmogoyf Fights against R/G and other decks with Green mana in them.
The other slot is a bit of technology that I stumbled upon quite by chance. Mirri, Cat Warrior does an amazing amount of damage against the midrange Green beatdown decks of the format. As a 2/3 First Strike, she holds off Troll Ascetic, Admirers, and all those random 2/2s like Mystic Snake, Venser, and Riftsweeper. (With help from Arrows, she can take down Call tokens as well, or pumped-up Elves.) While playing defense, she also beats in for two points of Forestwalking, unblockable damage per turn, thanks to the wonders of Vigilance. All in all, she seems capable of being anywhere from solid to crippling against one of these decks, depending on their draw.
The board, then:
4 Slaughter Pact
3 Spectral Force
3 Riftsweeper
2 Serrated Arrows
2 Mirri, Cat Warrior
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
Part 3: Matchups
First, the final list.
Creatures (24)
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (25)
Spells (8)
In a nutshell, the deck has transformed from a Doran Synergy deck, with Treefolk Harbinger and clunky one-ofs to tutor for, into a G/W/B Good Stuff deck. I now have efficient Oblivion Rings with which to answer problem cards, no Green one-drops to interfere with my desire to run both Treetop Village and a sound manabase, and a full complement of some of the most busted cards these colors have to offer. Frankly, I’m extremely happy with where the deck ended up.
Avast! To the boarding plans!
Versus Red Beatdown and R/G Goblins
+4 Slaughter Pact
+3 Riftsweeper
+2 Serrated Arrows
-4 Gaddock Teeg
-4 Thoughtseize
-1 Stonecloaker
If they didn’t have Threaten in game 1, expect it post-board. Try to save Slaughter Pact for either Magus of the Moon or something that will deal a lot of damage (like a Gargadon), and if possible, try to fetch out a basic that corresponds to the removal spell in your hand. If you’ve already got Green and Black mana through other means, for example, and you’re holding Shriekmaw (but not Oblivion Ring), crack the Expanse for a Swamp so that you can cast your removal spell on the first Magus of the Moon that wanders by.
Versus G/B Rack, Elves, and Stompy
+4 Slaughter Pact
+3 Spectral Force
+2 Mirri, Cat Warrior
+2 Serrated Arrows
+1 Garruk Wildspeaker
-4 Gaddock Teeg
-4 Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender
-4 Thoughtseize
These are the matchups where my maindeck has the most to improve by boarding things out. None of the cards I’m taking out are especially impressive against these decks… but fortunately, the cards I’m boarding in are solid gasoline.
Versus Control
+3 Spectral Force
+1 Garruk Wildspeaker
-4 Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender
You have to play this one a bit by ear. If they have Aeon Chronicler and/or Epochrasite, bring in Riftsweepers for some combination of Oblivion Rings and Shriekmaws. Ring is better to keep in if you suspect Teferi’s Moat, but Shriekmaw is better against Tarmogoyfs, Incarnations, and so on. Use your judgment based on what you see in game 1.
Versus Scryb & Force
+4 Slaughter Pact
+3 Spectral Force
+2 Mirri, Cat Warrior
+2 Serrated Arrows
+1 Garruk Wildspeaker
-4 Gaddock Teeg
-4 Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender
-4 Stonecloaker
I’m still torn as to whether Stonecloaker or Slaughter Pact is better against these decks. On one hand, Stonecloaker is key evasive damage in a matchup that has “ground stall” written all over it, but on the other, bouncing my own guys is pretty bad when that’s the opponent’s goal as well. Obviously, Pact aides in that ever-important quest.
Versus Faeries
+4 Slaughter Pact
+2 Serrated Arrows
-4 Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tender
-2 Gaddock Teeg
This is the only beatdown matchup where I keep in Gaddock, and it’s strictly because of Cryptic Command. (Well, okay, and Damnation, if you’re playing Silvestri’s build.) Mainly I’m keeping him in over Riftsweeper because he does something, and there’s not much else I’m interested in boarding out.
…
So that’s the deck! I won’t be able to make it to Champs this year, but I hope those of you who are going will try this thing out, and that it will serve you well if you select it as your weapon of choice.
Good luck!
Richard Feldman
Team :S
[email protected]