{From Right Field is a column for Magic players on a budget or players who don’t want to play netdecks. The decks are designed to let the budget-conscious player be competitive in local, Saturday tournaments. They are not decks that will qualify a player for The Pro Tour. As such, the decks written about in this column are, almost by necessity, rogue decks. The author tries to limit the number of non-land rares as a way to limit the cost of the decks. When they do contain rares, those cards will either be cheap rares or staples of which new players should be trying to collect a set of four, such as Dark Confidant, Birds of Paradise, or Wrath of God. The decks are also tested by the author, who isn’t very good at playing Magic. He will never claim that a deck has an 85% winning percentage against the entire field. He will also let you know when the decks are just plain lousy. Readers should never consider these decks “set in stone” or “done.” If you think you can change some cards to make them better, well, you probably can, and the author encourages you to do so.}
I apologize. Last week was a cop-out column. I used an old writer’s device. Essentially, when you have nothing to write about, you write about why you have nothing to write about. Thus, you have something to write about! Brilliant!!
Except that it wasn’t. I’m not saying that I don’t like the decks that I posted. I do. They’re a lot of fun, and they pull out wins when they have no right doing so. The column wasn’t all that inspired, though. (“Ya think?!?”) This week, it is.
I’ve found my deck for Regionals. Or, rather, my friend Charles came up with it, I tweaked, and he’s not using it. So, I will. Previously, he’d asked me not to talk about the deck. That’s a conceit that a lot of us have about our decks. “I don’t want anyone to know about this super-special deck, or they’ll get the drop on me.” I can understand the Pros feeling that way. They have a lot at stake going into a Pro Tour. More important, people might actually figure out who they are and, if the opponent had read about the deck, know how to play against it. Or, someone might “steal” their “tech” and play it to a better finish.
Personally, anyone I know shouldn’t be worried about their “tech” leaking. However, I still respect the wishes of anyone writing to me or anyone I know who asks that I don’t talk about their deck. In this case, Charles won’t be playing it anymore. I will. And I don’t care if you know what I have because you’re gonna beat me anyway. I call it:
Creatures (21)
- 2 Twisted Abomination
- 3 Stinkweed Imp
- 4 Plagued Rusalka
- 4 Chilling Shade
- 4 Stromgald Crusader
- 4 Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
Lands (24)
Spells (15)
Sideboard
Lemme apologize to my budget brethren for a couple of cards right away. I know that Korlash is already ten bucks a pop. I got mine when I first saw the spoiler. I begged Luanne, “please, baby baby, can we skip buying plants and potting soil for one week? Please?” Korlash was only five or six dollars apiece at the time, so she threw me a bone. Leyline of the Void is also pretty pricey, at least considering its historical price. I got one or two in packs and ordered the other two when they were a whopping dollar each. In other words, buying four of each of those would cost sixty bucks right now, but I spent twenty-two. Almost everything else in the deck is common or uncommon. The two slots that aren’t (Godless Shrine and Phyrexian Arena), well, you know how I feel about those. If you play Black, Phyrexian Arena’s a staple rare. If you like Black and White, you need Godless Shrines.
Why I Have in Here What I Have in Here (a.k.a. That Boring Card-by-Card Analysis)
The Lands
We need land to cast spells. So I decided that it would be a good idea to use some. As we decided on the spells in the deck, it became apparent that we might as well go with as many Snow-Covered lands as we could. Mouth of Ronom was definitely going in so that we could kill Teferi and any other four-or-lower-toughness creatures that tended to hang around too long.
At first, I was going to be stubborn and run this deck mono-Black with only the Mouth and Snow-Covered Swamps. I remembered States, though. I needed White for Mortify, and I wasn’t going to do mess up like that again. “There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me twice — you can’t get fooled again.” That’s where the Godless Shrines and the single Snow-Covered Plains come in. Korlash and Twisty can grab the Shrines. That’s some good.
The Creatures
Plagued Rusalka — This is early beats against control and two-for-one trades with X/1 creatures. It also works quite well with the Stinkweed Imp when you’re facing down a weenie deck.
Stromgald Crusader — It flies (sometimes). I can be pumped. It can’t be Mortified. It can’t be targeted by Faith’s Fetters or Gelid Shackles or Glare of Subdual. It stands in front of Loxodon Hierarchs and Teneb, the Harvester, all day long. It kills Savannah Lions, Leonin Skyhunters, and any other White X/2 or X/1 guy it can block and live to tell about it. Next to Dark Confidant, this is one of Black’s top two-mana creatures.
Stinkweed Imp — It kills whatever it deals combat damage to. And it can kill Silhana Ledgewalker. If you think I won’t see any of that Mono-Green Aggro stuff at Regionals, you’re sadly mistaken.
Korlash — What a freakin’ house. He will almost always hit as a 4/4. When I can wait to drop him until I have a second one in hand, he gets really silly.
Twisted Abomination — This guy ended up in here as another “My opponent has to find a way to deal with him or else” kind of card. That regeneration ability has been proving itself over and over again in testing. The fact that he can cycle early if I need him is a bonus in this deck (as opposed to an abusable trick in the Zombies! 2k6 deck).
Chilling Shade — I’m so happy Charles picked this guy. I’ve been wanting to use him in a tournament, and now I will. This guy isn’t so hot really early. Except, of course, if he sticks against a control deck. In that case, he’s a ridiculous clock. Imagine this. If he hits on turn 3, he can swing for five the next turn and six after that, presuming that I don’t miss land drops. Control decks don’t like that. I’ve had people waste Wraths and Damnations in one-for-one trades on consecutive turns with this guy.
The Support Spells
Cruel Edict — At first, this was Bad Moon. Bad Moon is an awesome card. In a deck that wanted to run twenty-five or thirty creatures, it would be in here. This deck couldn’t really abuse the Moon the way it should be abused. We toyed with more creature spells but decided that we liked how this ran. Maybe another version some other day. Just not on Saturday, June 9th, 2007. So, we needed another two-mana spell. When the dust cleared, Cruel Edict was the clear winner. Dralnu du Louvre has to counter it or go grab a Dralnu to drop and sac in Teferi’s place. Akroma the White can’t be Mortified, so this is the answer for that, too.
Phyrexian Arena — Card drawing is good.
Mortify — I wanna kill Enchantments bad, man. Also, I can kill a creature.
Sudden Death — Split Second is one of the best new mechanics — if not the best — that’s come along in years. Short a Willbender getting flipped over, whatever I point this at will be dead. That sort of control is an awesome feeling.
Ronom Unicorn — More Enchantment kill because you never know when you’ll need it. Decks with Glare might bring in Circle of Protection: Black and Worship. What do I do then? With Ronom Unicorn, I just drop it and kill the thing. Or I could swing a couple of times before I kill the offending Enchantment. Whichever.
Stupor — It’s the random part that makes this awesome. If it hits the key part of a combo deck, you’re golden.
Blackmail — We started out with Funeral Charm. On the one hand, they’re often the same thing. Your opponent, not you, is picking what to discard. That’s on turn one or two, though. Later in the game, if they have three cards in hand, Blackmail really reads “take the card that will hurt you the most.” That can be a kick in the other guy’s teeth, metaphorically, of course.
Leyline of the Void — Dredge, Reanimation, and Dralnu decks need the cards in the ‘yard. While Tormod’s crypt is a super-fantastic helping of wonderfulness in that area, it’s a one-shot. I’ve often Crypted a ‘yard only to have the next card they draw be one that can fill the thing back up. I want to stop them from doing whatever it is that they want to do forever. Or until they get Seal of Primordium.
I wanted to find room for artifact removal, but there just wasn’t any. Besides, I didn’t really face any artifacts that caused the deck major problems. (You may refer back to this sentence when I get completely wrecked by some artifact-based deck.) There are nasty artifacts, to be sure. For example, Locket of Yesterday is horrendous. Leyline of the Void and the discard pretty much take care of it, though.
You’re wondering where Yixlid Jailer is, aren’t you? To be honest, I had it in the Rusalka’s spot for a while, but this deck so desperately need a one-mana creature. The fact that the Rusalka can trade two-for-one trumps the Jailer’s ability to hose decks that much with their ‘yard.
If, however, I was playing a Zombie deck like I did at States, the Jailer would certainly be in there. In fact, next week… oh, never mind.
How I Play the Deck
Badly.
No, Seriously.
Seriously, very badly.
Come Off It. You Know What We Mean.
Okay, against the Control decks, the Stupors and Blackmails come in. That makes sense, right? I hope so because I’m horrible at sideboarding. The Rusalkas and the Mortifies get dropped if they don’t run Enchantments. If they do, the Rusalkas, Stinkweeds, and a Twisted Abomination usually go. If it’s a control deck that plans on winning by swinging with one guy (say, a Dragon), Stinky stays because he’s the chump blocker par excellence. In that case, Stromgald Crusader goes.
If they’re also going to muck with their ‘yard a la Dralnu, the Leyline needs to come in. Yup, twelve cards in from the board. Trust me, it works. The deck is solid against almost everything, pre-sideboard. (I’ll get to Gruul later.) This twelve-card package against certain Control decks, Dredge, and Combo decks just wreck them. For example, what does Reanimator do when they have to hardcast Akroma, Angel of Wrath? You should win before that.
The twelve cards that go are: Rusalka; Mortify (if the don’t run Enchantments), Sudden Death (if their only creatures won’t die to it), or Cruel Edict (if they often have two or more on board at once, a la Skeletal Vampire); and some four-card package of Stinky, the Crusader, and Twisty, again depending on the rest of their strategy.
The worst situation I’ve found is against a ‘Tron-powered deck that can play Spell Burst with Buyback. It never goes to the ‘yard for the Leyline to get rid of it, and you won’t be able to get it discarded. Basically, you have to horde cards and cast multiple spells in one turn and hope that one sticks. In other words, it’s a bad scene.
The combo decks will hate the discard package regardless of whether or not you need to bring in the Leylines as well. If they have a good hand, even a turn 1 Blackmail can hurt them. Stupor is just Stupid against those decks. And, yes, I tried Nightmare Void in here. It’s not as good as I remember it, at least not against the field that I saw. For example, Dragonstorm, even if you’ve emptied their hand, won’t let you bring back the Void to grab a D-Storm. They will gladly cast that card for one Dragon. I also tried Persecute in here. You just can’t afford to wait until turn 4 to hit their hands. Either you game will already be over, or they will have countermagic ready.
As for the beatdown decks, the Ronom Unicorn comes in, usually replacing three Cruel Edicts. The reason is the most basic one of all. You need to make a “surge.” To do that, you need more bodies. This goes for any of the beatdown decks…
Except for Gruul. You can’t afford the life loss from the Phyrexian Arena against Gruul. So, drop the Arenas and the Edicts for the Unicorns and Stupors. You may not think about discard against a deck like that, but Stupor will hit something nasty and often empties their hand, even on turn 3.
The Worst Cases
So far, the two worst decks are Gruul and Tron. Gruul’s creatures are all bigger than what Snow Black can cast at the same time. In that case, they are most definitely the beatdown. You have to play defensively, using Stinkweed Imp to kill the worst of the bunch. If you can stabilize, you can often win, barring consecutive Chars off of the top of the deck.
As I stated above, Tron decks able to Buyback Spell Burst are very bad. Your only real hope is to get them where they can’t play the ‘Burst again and squeeze in discard. For example, they will typically counter Korlash. If you can get them tapped out on Korlashes, you can sneak through a Stupor or Blackmail. The chances of that happening, though, are almost nil.
Then there’s Persecute. If you get hit with it, well, let’s just hope that you got an Arena on the board first. If not, it’s gonna be a short game.
My Prediction
As with every Regionals I’ve played in, I figure I’ll be right around the 50-50 mark. However, as with States last year, I’m also bringing extra cash from drafting just in case I tank early.
As usual you’ve been a great audience. You’ve been so great, in fact, that I now bring you the special, extra, free section that you get semi-annually from me:
Dr. Romeo’s Sure-Fire Guaranteed Tips for Having More Fun at Your Big Tourney
I’m not going to number these anymore because that connotes certain ones being more important than others. While there are ones that you should pay extra attention to, you really should heed all of my advice. After all, it’s from me. So, it’s worth every penny you’re paying for it.
* Keep Score with Pen and Paper — Dice are notorious for getting knocked over. Pen and paper, while they might get knocked over, won’t also lose the information contained therein. More important, you can reconstruct the scoring when you use paper. Make sure to not how damage was done, too. When push comes to shove, if a judge has to ask how you and your opponent each got the score you got, being able to show him what you wrote down and why will help your case.
* Call the Judge — The Ferrett and Matt Cavotta know about this one now. They asked four people at the 2HG tourney they played about attacking and assigning combat damage. All four were wrong. You especially want to call a judge when any rules question comes up, whether it’s about card text or game play. Don’t allow your opponent to bully you or use puppy-dog eyes when he draws an extra card. “I didn’t mean to.” I don’t know that. “Only a d*ck would call a judge.” Well, then, call me D*ck. And don’t be afraid to appeal the judge’s decision. I know a lot of people don’t want to anger the judge, but if you’re just positive the judge is wrong, do it. I should have done it last year when a judge admitted in the last round that my opponent’s sleeves were marked but that it didn’t matter. I guess he meant that it didn’t matter because it was the last round, and we weren’t in contention for prizes. I was, however, in contention for my best finish ever at an all-day Magic event. I should have won that match because of his sleeves. (We were 1-1. He would have gotten a game loss at a minimum.) I didn’t appeal to the head judge. Lesson learned.
* Take a Shower or Bath and Wear Deodorant — Both Regionals and States in 2006 were much less pungent than I remember past tourneys being. I think many of the players actually cleaned themselves in the day or so before the event. That’s a good thing. I’m still going to bring it up, though. If you can shower right before the tourney, fantastic. Even the day before is good if (a) you don’t sweat a lot when you sleep and (b) you’re not a teenager who will begin to re-stink within hours of showering. Careful with the cologne, though. Someone may be allergic to what you’re wearing. Good old deodorant should be plenty fine.
* Be Prepared — Get to the venue early. Have your deck ready. Know your deck. Fill in your decklist accurately and legibly. If you need cards, have them before you get to the site. If you must get some there, don’t sit around talking to friends or famous Magic writers. Go get yer cards! Keep an eye on your cards. By that I mean, keep them with you at all times. I even take mine to the bathroom. That’s what backpacks are for.
* Lift the Toilet Seat — Speaking of the bathroom, lift the toilet seat. There will be hundreds of cola-swilling boys and men vying for a few urinals. You’ll end up using a toilet at least once. And someone else will really need to use the toilet (i.e. to go #2). They don’t want to have to clean up after you. Oh, and they don’t want their shorts in your drippings. So, keep it all in the bowl.
* Sleep Well and Eat Right — The fact of the matter is that you will play better if you have a good night’s sleep the night before Regionals than you’ll play if you stay up all night or get up at 3am to drive to the tourney site. For some folks, that’s going to mean getting a hotel. If you’re budgetarily constrained like me, you should be planning for this kind of thing. Regionals is in the Spring; States is in the Fall. I’ve been saving five bucks a week since States to pay for my hotel room, tourney fees, etc. You shouldn’t have to say “I don’t have the money for a hotel room.” Plan ahead.
You have to eat right, too. Don’t scarf Mountain Dew, Skittles, and Lay’s Sour Cream and Onion chips all day long. Again, have a plan. Eat a solid breakfast. Bring sandwich fixings so that you can make something between rounds, low on the mayo, of course. Have fruit juice or water to drink. Bring protein or granola bars for between-round snacks. The day will be long. Don’t make it longer with bad food.
* Have Fun — Four people will get invites to Nationals. If you’re really lucky, thirty folks will get prizes. At most venues, that means prizes will be given to between five and ten per cent of the participants at a maximum. Like me, you won’t win your Region. So you’d better have fun.
As of right now, I still don’t know if I’m going to Atlanta or Charlotte, but those are my only two choices. If you see me, say “Howdy!”
Chris Romeo
FromRightField-at-Comcast-dot-net