Innovations – Winning With Blue in Extended

I played in a PTQ this past weekend, in Detroit. I ended up going undefeated in the swiss and losing in the finals against Elves. I think my deck is strong, and there is a lot that can be learned from some of my games, but a tournament report for a PTQ (and with Faeries, no less) is hardly top-shelf reading material.

Instead, I am going to just talk about winning in Extended, mainly with Faeries, since I think that it is the best by far and that no one who plays anything else has any excuse. I mean, Naya Aggro is good, and Loam and Elves are semi-respectable, and TEPS and Affinity are not the worst. However, it is clear that Faeries is the best, and I think that if you want to qualify with what time you have left this season, I think you should strongly consider it.

This is not to say that you need to play Faeries, as I think in this format, it is a hard enough format to play that you should play a deck that suits your playstyle. I suppose there is still time to brew up a rogue contraption and sneak in, but if you want to have the best odds of qualifying with what time you have left in the season, these are your best choices.

Many people are sick of Faeries at this point, but if you want to win, take a look at the results.

First of all, Faeries wins the most, by a lot, and it isn’t even always the most popular deck. It requires a strong control game, but it also requires a strong aggro game. On top of that, it requires a strong game for playing against combo players like TEPS and Elves. It is a very challenging deck to play at peak proficiency, but the evidence is clear that it is the most successful archetype, not close. Plus from my experience, it is a consistent deck that offers a lot of room to outplay PTQ players.

If you don’t want to play Faeries, I recommend Naya Aggro (if you want to play aggro) or Elves (if you want to play combo). I have too much to cover on Faeries to spend much time on these strategies today (and there is plenty of information online about them elsewhere). Wow, parentheses much? (Or course, with as much content as we are covering today, it is unsurprising to have some thoughts on thoughts, etc)

First, I would like to talk about Faeries. I understand that this is hardly fresh subject material. Instead of talking ad nauseam about why Spellstutter Sprite is good in a format full of one- and two-mana cards, I am going to just take it as assumed that the reader is well versed in Extended at this point. Instead, I’ll focus specifically on what new innovations I champion, as well as the specific card choices that I recommend that not everyone agrees on.

Next, I am going to talk about specific strategic insights that will aid with playing the Faeries (Wizards) deck against some of the other major archetypes, including some stories from the tournament I played in this past weekend. This will be far more than sideboarding advice, but rather specific tactical maneuvers and important in-game decisions to look for, as well as general strategic guidelines.

For reference, here is what I represented RIW with this past weekend.

The first and most obvious new addition to my version is that of Disrupting Shoal. I cannot stress enough how great Disrupting Shoal was for me both in testing and in the actual tournament. First of all, I have a reasonably good mix of casting costs, ensuring that it is often functionally very similar to Force of Will.

There is no question that I benefited from the majority of my opponents not playing around Disrupting Shoal, but this is not to say that it is not worth playing even if they know. To understand better why Disrupting Shoal is appropriate in this metagame, let’s look at specific matchups. Keep in mind that while I do have a Condescend in my deck, for the most part, Disrupting Shoal is more or less being held up to Mana Leak in order to justify its existence.

Starting with the Faeries matchup, Disrupting Shoal is way ahead. Mana Leak can be reasonable early, but for the most part, hopes to trade with a 2 or 3 mana spell. Later on, it is among the worst cards to top deck. Disrupting Shoal, on the other hand, is extraordinary. It is a hard counter in a matchup where hard counters are at a premium. Whether you spend two to counter a Vision or five to counter a Clique, having access to more hard counters than your opponent is fabulous. Remember, you don’t have to pitch if you just spend the mana.

Next, the Force of Will aspect can be huge when fighting battles over Ancestral Vision. Often, stacks will take place where Vision, Cryptic, Spellstutter, and more ensure that whoever wins this particular counter war will have an enormous advantage. It is battles like these that make you really appreciate having pitch Magic when your opponent doesn’t.

I was playing a Faeries mirror this weekend and at one point I had a Visions going off during my upkeep. My opponent had 6 mana (to my 4) and Stifled my Visions. I Spellstutter Sprited his Stifle, to which he Spell Snared my Sprite. I Spellstuttered his Spell Snare, which drew the Cryptic Command. I simply pitched a Sower of Temptation to Shoal his Cryptic Command.

As a result, I drew three cards and had two Faeries whereas he did not get to draw a card off Cryptic and was now completely out of gas.

Against Naya aggro decks, Disrupting Shoal has a number of interesting applications. First, if you Shoal a Wild Nacatl on turn 1 (albeit with only five one-drops to pitch), then you are in such good shape. People used to Force of Will Jackal Pup, and Wild Nacatl is so much better. No one likes being down a card, but then again, how much do you like being hit by a Wild Nacatl? I am actually contemplating working in a second Condescend to help up the one-drop count to help make this a reality.

In addition, being able to Shoal a Sulfuric Vortex, Woolly Thoctar, or Duergar Hedge-Mage (after playing Threads) is huge. It should also be noted, at this point, that Shoal helps make Threads a better maindeck card, as it is very powerful when you can use it. When you can’t, it is the best casting cost to pitch to the Shoal, as I have found “threes” to be the most important cost to stop, now that everyone is building decks to beat Spell Snare, Spellstutter, and Threads.

One last point against Naya Zoo is that you often reach a point where you are down to one or two life and you are trying to put a clock on them as fast as you can, but if you tap too much mana, a flurry of Tarfires or Helixes or Incinerates could be your downfall. Disrupting Shoal offers a subtle layer of protection, as you always have one more wave of protection than your opponent knows about.

Against Elves, it is not just another hard counter, although that alone would be good enough. In addition, it can function as a Force of Will, which can provide defense against the turn 2 kill or even an answer to the Viridian Shaman that they Summoner’s Pact for to stop your Jitte (that you just tapped out to cast and equip).

Disrupting Shoal really shines against TEPS. I was playing against TEPS in the PTQ at one point and he Gigadrowsed me (game 1), tapping me out. On his turn, he starting going off. He cast Rite of Flame, then Seething Song. At this point, I stopped him, pitching Threads of Disloyalty to counter his Song. This threw him for a loop, as obviously he had not expected me to be able to interact with him while I was tapped out.

You can already fight Gigadrowse by countering the copy that targets a specific Island, so that you can still Stifle after sideboarding, but with Disrupting Shoal added to the mix, it is now very difficult for a TEPS player to set up a turn that you cannot endure.

Disrupting Shoal is not as good as Mana Leak against Loam or Affinity, but then again Mana Leak is not exactly an all-star in these matchups anyway. Besides, Force of Will to stop the turn 3 Knight of the Reliquary or turn 2 Master of Etherium (on the play) is still sweet.

Okay, enough about the wonders of Disrupting Shoal. It is really good, try it.

There are a few other changes I would like to talk about, though most are a function of the incorporation of the Shoal. Threads is a powerful blowout card that is often dead. This makes it a prime candidate for us, as we want more “threes” to pitch anyway, so we might as well use a three that will be incredible when we actually play it.

Thirst for Knowledge is used as an additional card draw engine to ensure that we make up lost card economy from using pitch magic. The Thirsts were decent for me, though not all-stars. I could see a move away from them if you can figure out any way to make up the cards.

One idea I had was to go Ninja. For instance:

But keep in mind, this is just an idea that I had. It is not tested. Still, the idea of using Disrupting Shoal to provide a nice tempo boost is interesting when you consider how much the tempo is worth when you are Ninjutsu-ing.

Just a small note about Shuriken. This is nothing new, but a lot of people are not familiar with the “Shuriken Trick.”

Obviously it is nice to Trinket Mage up the Shuriken and then Ninja of the Deep Hours the Mage back for value, but what if we don’t have a Mage or even a Mutavault?

Okay, the Shuriken Trick is this…

Let’s say you control a Trinket Mage equipped with Shuriken and a Spellstutter Sprite. Just by reading the card, you would think that if you tap the Mage and unattach the Shuriken, you can deal 2 damage to a creature, but you will lose the Shuriken (since the Mage is not a Ninja). There is a better way, though.

If your Mage is already equipped with the Shuriken, you can actually pay two mana to equip it to the Spellstutter Sprite and then respond by tapping it to remove the Shuriken and deal 2 damage to something.

When the stack resolves, you will first get to throw the Shuriken at something, tapping the Mage and unattaching the Shuriken. Then the equip activation will resolve, meaning that your Spellstutter Sprite will end up equipped with the Shuriken. Since Shuriken gives the ability to the creature, you will still be able to tap the Spellstutter Sprite and unattach the Shuriken to deal 2 more damage.

Just be careful, if you do end up giving a Shuriken to your opponent, be wary of Mutavault, the Ninja that many people play.

This timing trick is counterintuitive, but I assure you it is legit and better still, most opponents will not even realize you can do this until you show them.

Let’s get back to the deck I played in the PTQ. There is much debate about the mix of Sowers, Glen Elendras, Vensers, and Cryptic Commands, as far as topping out the curve goes. I think that Glen Elendra is a great card, and it was excellent in the metagame six weeks ago, but the field has evolved. At this point, it is not worth getting tangled up in Sower battles over your Archmage.

Besides, I don’t really want to tap mana on my own turn with the deck unless I am having an immediate impact on the board. If you notice, the only sorcery speed cards in my deck are Explosives and Control Magic effects, but making a huge impact immediately. Jitte has actually been one of the weaker cards in the deck, but if you view it as a four-mana casting cost card (for the most part) it has a reason impact on the board as well.

I like one Vedalken Shackles because I feel like it adds a lot to Faeries mirror matches. In retrospect, I don’t think the one in the sideboard is necessary, as there is plenty of room to outplay people, and after sideboarding many opponents have answers. With Thirst to provide something to do with it when it is dead, I am really not too concerned about the fact that it is kind of bad against most opponents. The thing is, even though it is too slow to be good against many decks, if you buy yourself enough time to actually start using it, it will often destroy them.

Take Naya, for instance. It is way too slow and I board it out for sure, but still I randomly win games when I draw a Vedalken Shackles turn 7 against them and steal their Goyf.

The 1 Condescend is a nod to the Disrupting Shoal, as I said. I have not loved Mana Leak, but a certain amount of permission that lets you counter a three-mana spell when you are on the draw is needed. I love the Scry ability on Condescend, and drawing a Condescend that can’t counter a spell is much better than drawing a Mana Leak that can’t counter a spell. In fact, I am thinking of dropping another Leak for another Condescend, though I want to keep at least one Leak (so that they never know…).

I had one match this weekend decided by two games that revolved around my opponent playing around my counter magic. In one game, he played a Blood Moon with 3 land untapped. I played Condescend, which surprised him, as he had been playing around Mana Leak.

In the next game, he played a Sword of Fire and Ice with 2 mana open, thinking he was safe because I had only two mana open. I responded with Mana Leak, which shocked him, as he did not think I could possibly have both.

I think it is a much underrated style of deckbuilding to build control decks with a variety of reactive cards of comparable power chosen simply so that the opponent cannot play around everything. The idea of the “Miser’s Stifle” or “Miser’s Disrupt” is as old a trick as there is, but often there will be multiple solutions to certain problems that are of comparable strength. If you use 4 copies of the same answer, it is much easier for an opponent to play around what you have.

This is not to say that you should just play a highlander deck. This is more to emphasize that sometimes a little variety can go a long way. First of all, if you play a lot of card draw, it gives you better odds to find the right card in the right situation. If you play 2 Slaughter Pact and 2 Putrefy, when you are cycling a lot of lands you can dig to an answer to Plating much easier than if you have no Putrefies. On the other hand, if you have all Putrefies, your opponent can just disrespect your defense when you are tapped out, and kill you with a Ravager.

This is actually considerably more detailed than I want to tackle today, but suffice to say, the “Rule of 4” is a lie. The true Rule of 4 only applies to cards that are “better than your other cards,” or if you would play more than four if you could, and so on. For instance, in Kyoto, we used 4 Cryptic Commands, 4 Mulldrifters, and 4 Esper Charms because they are just better than the other cards. They are the engine that makes the deck work. They are the cards we WANT to draw.

Keep in mind this is much more evident for control decks than aggro decks, as aggro decks tend to be designed under the following formula:

1. Which cards are “too good?” (i.e. Wild Nacatl, Tarmogoyf, Ravager, etc)
2. Mana Curve considerations (this is how you determine the filler cards like Mogg Fanatic, Gaddock Teeg, Atog)

Once again, we return to Disrupting Shoal Faeries.

I think that 4 Vendilion Cliques is better than 3, as I would play 5. The ability to look at your opponent’s hand is just so huge in Blue semi-mirrors, and the disruption is key against combo. On top of this, the Clique is an extraordinary clock that can race very well. It seems like only yesterday people were making fun of us for running Vendilion Clique in our “Level Blue” deck at Grand Prix Philly a year ago. Oh, how the times have changed.

Anyone who makes fun of someone for a “non-traditional” card choice would probably be served to take a step back and really consider what the card or person is doing. This is not to say that you should consider every Craw Wurm deck that you see, but if you see someone play something unusual, imagine you are that person. Try to understand why they would use that card. Look to see the positive first, so that you can understand the theory behind why they would play walls in Standard or Runed Halo as defense.

I played 2 Cryptic Commands and they were good, but they are slow against Naya and I anticipate Naya to be on the rise after Saito’s win this weekend. Still, Cryptic Command is my favorite Magic card and I always enjoy an opportunity to play with it. I do think that people who play four in this format are probably a little too greedy, although if you have Tarmogoyf to hold down the ground, perhaps it is justified.

I do not use Chrome Mox, as I feel that Disrupting Shoal accomplishes what you are looking for out of Chrome Mox, and better. Drawing a Shoal later in the game is great, where as drawing a Mox is the nut low.

It is a small point, but I use a mixture of Snow and Non-Snow lands, because many people just assume I am playing Gifts every time, and this helps sell the possibility that I could be capable of that. In fact, sometimes, when I have four mana in a control mirror I try to subtly suggest the idea of me having Gifts and trying to figure out how to stick it. This can cause players to play wrong, perhaps being afraid to tap mana for fear that I will Gifts in response.

In addition, I do play Gifts a fair amount of the time, and do not want people to know when I am and when I am not, so I just play a mixture of lands every time. Besides, even in theory, it is probably right to play a mixture, as you want enough lands to activate Phyrexian Ironfoot that you Sower, but not be screwed by Rimefeather Owl… heh.

Anyway, the only change I would make to the sideboard for sure is to add 1-2 more Flashfreeze, probably in place of a Shackles and maybe a Relic.

Let’s talk specific tactical plays in Extended.

When playing Faeries semi-mirrors, it is vital to figure out what your opponent plays in his deck, as well as figure out his hand. For instance, how many colors is he? People who use a lot of fetchlands are far more likely to have Grudge after sideboarding. People who play Secluded Glen sideboard Bitterblossom.

Does he have Shackles? Does he have Trinket Mage? Does he have Glen Elendras? Does he have a ton of Sowers? Does he have Cryptic Commands?

One of my favorite techniques is so to build a rapport with my opponent (smile, say yes a lot, ask questions that will be answered by yes, develop a friendly energy that will have you and your opponent in sync with one another). Then start talking about cards you play. Be HONEST. Do NOT lie with regards to your card choices. This is not to say that you should tell your opponent you are playing with Disrupting Shoal, instead talk mostly about cards your opponent knows you have or cards that you would obviously have and just volunteer information about your deck.

Ask your opponent questions like “I wish I could play a ton of Shackles for the mirror, but the format is just too hostile for them, right?” or “Can you believe people who play don’t play Ancestral Visions?” or “Cryptic Command is so good in the mirror, I sure wouldn’t want to play against someone who has four, know what I mean?”

It is not so much what your opponent answers directly, but rather his or her reaction to what you say. If you have a friendly connection with your opponent and everyone keeps saying yes to everything and the energy is not hostile, your opponent will have to have a strong mental game to be able to keep from revealing information when you do this, as his or her mind will already be accustomed to a positive and productive interaction between you. When you ask these questions, they may not answer with words, but their head will think of the answer, which you may be able to deduce by looking at their face.

If they make a face and you are unsure what it means, but you know that it means something, try asking them questions you know the answers to, learning about what sort of reactions they give. For instance, ask them if they use 4 Spell Snares. Ask them if they play Tarmogoyf (when you know they don’t). They may not tell you directly here, either, but that is irrelevant, as you already know. You are more interested in learning about what sort of reads you can get on them. Learning what they do when they are being honest, versus when they are being deceptive. You can learn about what their face does when they are recalling a memory, versus when they are imagining something that is not already in existence.

In addition to learning about what cards they play in their deck, you want to deduce their hand. Obviously, Vendilion Clique is the primary way to do this, but most people play this card badly. People seem so trained to take the best card that they just do so without thinking. Often, in the Faerie mirror, it is worth letting them keep their hand, whatever it is, just so that you know what they have. Most of their cards are on the same power level, so you might as well know what they have than not. The information is worth so much.

In fact, when I Vendilion Clique a Faerie player on turn 3 (when I am on the play), if it resolves, I tend to not take anything, save a Vendilion Clique of their own or a Vedalken Shackles. If you learn nothing else from G. I. JOE, I would hope you learn that “knowing is half the battle.”

Later in the game, you should already know your opponent’s hand, for the most part, and if you do, then Vendilion Clique targeting yourself is nice, as you can upgrade cards like Threads or Engineered Explosives. You typically don’t actually want to take anything from the Faeries player. The big exception to this is when you cast Vendilion Clique the turn before a Vision resolves. If you look at your opponent’s hand and can only win the fight over Vision by taking a card, then take one. If you are going to win the fight over Vision, why take a card? Again, this is not 100% true, but as a general guideline, it is very useful.

Conversely, you don’t want your opponent to look at your hand. As I said Clique his Clique and counter it under most circumstances. Before any Cliquing takes place, it can be useful to talk about how most people play Clique wrong and just take cards from their opponent, often leaving the opponent better off than they started. Talking about Cliquing yourself is useful too. Ideally you want your opponent to Clique himself and not you, so emphasize this.

If your opponent Cliques you and you draw something good, be sure to “remind” them that you drew it off the Clique when you wreck them with it. Then when you Clique later, if you Clique yourself, a comment like “obviously Cliquing myself” or if you Clique them, “Obviously not taking anything” can go a long way towards disrupting your opponent mentally.

If you play this version of Faeries, I recommend adopting the control role, for the most part. It can be nice to get a Jitte with counters on it, but typically, I find the Jitte plan to be too risky often. If I have a Mutavault and a Jitte and 4 land, I am typically not going to equip and attack unless my opponent has less than 4 land untapped (Cryptic, Venser, etc). Besides, even if you get Jitte counters, an EE or a Jitte of their own can undo everything.

Speaking of EE, when you are Exploding for two to kill a Jitte, generally you want to spend three, as in Blue, Blue, and another color to avoid Spell Snare. If Disrupting Shoal catches on, you may even want to consider spending as much as five if you can afford it.

When games are going long, you eventually are going to struggle with your opponent in strange Riptide Lab battles. One of the best ways to do this is to determine which tactics your opponent doesn’t understand properly. Sometimes it is worth making a bad attack that you can undo with Riptide lab to see how your opponent will react. Besides, often they won’t be able to punish you, as it typically takes a significant advantage to be able to start making progress through Riptide Labs on both sides.

Sometimes, if you just don’t attack, you can convince your opponent not to attack when they would be winning the race. Other times, you can convince people to attack into losing races by talking attacking and talking about the race. One of the major bottlenecks in this matchup is that if one player overexerts themselves in an attack, the other may be able to alpha strike with all of their Mutavaults, etc. Keep this in mind as you struggle to gain a tempo advantage over your opponent.

If you can resolve Ancestral Vision, you can win on cards. If neither player resolves Vision, win on tempo. If your opponent resolves Vision and you don’t, try to slow the game down. Don’t play cards that are just going to get countered. Don’t attack unless you are ahead on tempo. Try to buy yourself time to draw Vision of your own. His Vision will typically give him something like an extra land, a spell to make up for the Vision he played (presumably you drew a different spell instead of Visions so this part is even), and then 1 extra spell.

If you play tight and slow the game down, you will typically get enough land anyway, so the extra land may make his life easier, but it is not crucial. The extra spell can be made up for with a well-placed Cryptic Command, or when they draw a Mox, or you resolving Thirst and so on.

Try to capitalize on whatever it is that you have that your opponent doesn’t. Even if he is ahead of you, typically he won’t be ahead in every area. Like a game of Chess when you are down a Rook to your opponent’s Bishop, you must look for what imbalances you do have in your favor. In Chess, a Rook is typically far superior in power to a Bishop, but if you have both Bishops and your opponent has only the dark square Bishop, at least you have a far superior control over the diagonals. You can just move all of your pieces to light squares, weakening one aspect of his game, where as your “disadvantaged position” is not vulnerable to such a play.

If your opponent resolves a Vision, you will be down cards, sure, but if you can get ahead on tempo, at least you have that going for you. Alternatively, if you have Riptide Lab and your opponent doesn’t, you can often use it to ensure that you can attack every turn with one guy and your opponent can’t block or counter attack.

The worst case scenario is typically if your opponent resolves a Vedalken Shackles (and conversely, it is typically the best thing you can do). If your opponent sticks a Shackles, you typically want to slow the game down a lot. If you have Riptide Lab, bounce your creatures. Do whatever you can to slow things to the point where you can have as many cards as you can in hand and as many Labs in play as possible. Eventually you either fight a battle on your opponent’s turn, untap and EE for three; or you bounce the Shackles, hopefully combining that with a Vendilion Clique or counter magic.

Of course, the other big plan is to just drop Shackles of your own. Remember, if you have a Shackles you can typically hold off an opponent who has a Shackles of their own, even if they are a fair bit ahead of you on position. The key is that when you Shackles and attack, you have to commit your Shackles to being tapped for an extra turn, whereas when you are using Shackles defensively, you never have to keep it tapped, giving you the ability to threaten to use it, then untap and use it again.

When you tap your mana, tap Seat of the Synod and River of Tears, and if you play them, Minamo and Oboro first. These mana sources are not as reliable and your opponent can surprise you by attacking them in some way or taking advantage of them not doing what you need. I won one game this weekend partially because my opponent could not cast all of the permission he wanted to due to his River of Tears making Black on his end step.

Likewise, it is typically better for a Spellstutter to hold a Jitte than Venser or Vendilion, as you don’t want to get Legend ruled.

I don’t actually sideboard that much in this match-up. I think my usual is to board in two Sowers, a Future Sight, and a Vedalken Shackles (if you have it, though I think I am cutting mine). I take out the two Threads, an EE, and a Jitte, though if I didn’t have the Shackles, I would keep the Jitte, unless I knew for sure my opponent had Shackles, in which case I would keep the second EE.

Let’s talk about some other match-ups briefly.

Naya Aggro is challenging, and it is often hard to get them to make mistakes that cost them, as their strategy is fairly obvious and nothing you are doing is making it any harder.

First of all, Threads is huge, and if your opponent boards in Duergar Hedge-Mage, board in Stifle (hits lands and Seals and Fanatics). Threads on a Goyf is generally game-winning, and just stealing a Kird Ape can be very useful. Remember to fetch up the right land if you draw the Delta. Breeding Pool gives you a bigger Kird Ape which is nice on defense, whereas Steam Vents gets you a bigger Nacatl, but also helps bluff the Firespout if you are tricky.

This is another matchup where it’s very good to know your opponent’s hand. It is not as relevant early, but once you get to the point where you are trying to race your opponent before he burns you out, it can be nice to know what you are up against.

I actually had one game come down to a situation where my opponent had four land in play, including the full domain. I was at six and had four untapped lands, one of which was a Polluted Delta. My hand featured Condescend as the permission. When your opponent Tribal Flames you in this position, leaving one card in his hand (and him with no creatures in play and you not fearing creatures because of Threads or Shackles or something), what do you do?

I just said to my opponent, “You have another Tribal Flames?” He looked down at his card he was holding. As a result, I did not counter it and just changed my life total to 1 and said, “So do you have it or not?” At this point, he tapped out to play the other one, allowing me to begin my comeback.

I really think too many people rely on too many fetchlands right now. The extra damage really adds up, as a fetchlands manabase typically means at least two less life per game. I end games against aggro on one or two life so often that I can’t imagine just losing two extra life per game on the average.

Obviously, if you play Tarmogoyf, concessions must be made and you can make up the lost life with blocking potential, but if you are just playing Fetchlands to power Engineered Explosives or Grudge, etc, I think you may be a little greedy.

One of the best aspect of the Mono-Blue style is that it is so consistent; its manabase so stable. Granted, my version is a little vulnerable to Choke, but not that many people actually run it, in my experience, since so many other people are not vulnerable to it. I love not losing to Blood Moon, on the other hand.

This consistency is why I moved away from more ambitious strategies, like Faeries with Gifts. That may be the right way to beat world class Faerie players in the mirror, but for a PTQ, different things are desirable. You don’t always need to gamble with a risky deck, when you can play something consistent and outplay softer players. High risk, high reward is the name of the game at a Pro Tour, but a PTQ is a different ballgame.

I generally don’t Vendilion Clique during Naya’s drawstep, preferring to let them cast spells on their turn in fear of Countermagic, then surprise them with a Clique during endstep (hopefully even having some sense and picking up a Jitte on my turn).

When you are on the draw against Naya Zoo, if your opponent doesn’t play a spell on turn 1, you should generally NOT suspend your Vision if you have Spell Snare in hand (unless you have Disrupting Shoal as well). It is better to wait a turn to draw three and keep the two-drop off turn 2. If they don’t have a one-drop, they for sure have two-drops (assuming you know what they are playing).

Mulligan hands that can’t realistically win. I know this may seem obvious, but if you are on the draw, a hand of Visions, Spellstutter Sprite, Vendilion Clique, Thirst for Knowledge, Island, Hallowed Fountain, Riptide Lab is just far too slow (if you know your opponent is Naya). You need some cards that do something fast, like Spell Snare, Disrupting Shoal, Mana Leak, Threads, Engineered Explosives, or Jitte.

I tend to sideboard 1 Threads, 2 EE, and 1 Flashfreeze, though I would bring in more Flashfreeze when I add them, and I board in 1-2 Stifle on the draw, 2 Stifles on the play, if they have Hedge-Mages. I cut a Vendilion Clique, a Shackles, maybe a Venser, a Sower, 0-2 Cryptic Commands (depending on how fast they are), a Thirst for Knowledge, and a condescend (or some mix of these cards). I also add a Relic or two if my opponent shows me Hellspark Elemental (which may be an indication that I shouldn’t be playing all the Threads against that opponent). The Relic can help with Unearth, as well as shrink Goyfs and possibly even fight Ancient Grudge in some circumstances.

Again, it is important to try to gain information. When I played against one of my Naya Zoo opponents, I actually asked him point blank if he played Hedge-Mage (helping me make a decision regarding how to play my Threads). He might lie to you, but his face often says what his words don’t.

If they are burn heavy and take out their Threads-able guys, then Cryptic Command becomes great. If they rely on a lot of three drops, Condescend can stay in. Again, I recommend playing 2-3 (probably 3) Flash Freeze, probably in place of the Shackles and a Relic.

Against Loam, you are a dog game 1 if they play tight, but fortunately, most people don’t. You want to try to figure out if they have Darkblast or Path in hand, by watching how they tap their mana. If they tap a Godless Shrine and leave open a Swamp, they probably don’t have Path in hand. In fact, they probably have Darkblast in hand.

This is a strange sort of matchup, as the Loam player is actually the control deck (unlike in a lot of other matchups) and the Faeries player is actually the beatdown (unlike a lot of other matchups). The Faeries player is generally not fast enough to win very early, so instead you have to try to capitalize on the mid-game by mounting an attack on several fronts, such as a Mutavault, a Venser with a Jitte, and a Spellstutter (maybe aided by a Lab).

When the game goes long, eventually you will succumb to Loam. Loam, backed by Darkblasts and Raven’s Crime will destroy everything you have. Then Worm Harvest will beat you. In order to avoid this inevitable endgame, you have to be much more aggressive than you would normally be. Get random attacks in when you can. Don’t be afraid to play Mutavault on turn 1 and attack on turn 2 (even if it means playing a Shockland untapped) if you don’t have any cheap countermagic.

Be careful when Vendilion Cliquing them, as they can dredge Darkblast off your Clique if you take a card. Generally, the only card that is worth taking is Loam if you somehow catch them with their only Loam in hand. The notable exception to this is if you Venser Worm Harvest retrace, then untap and Vendilion Clique it away.

Sideboarding really involves guessing whether or not they keep in Goyf. Generally they do not, so you should take Threads out, but if your opponent knows you do this, then they can punish you by keeping it in.

The main cards going in are Flashfreeze, Relic, and Future Sight, though I like Sowers depending on how your opponent plays. Anything that doesn’t have one toughness is nice. I generally take out at least 2 Vendilion Cliques and at least 1 Spellstutter Sprite, sometimes more of either. Threads can go to, as I said, and EE is generally bad, despite being able to kill worms. If you get to that point, you have generally already lost. Shackles can go or stay depending on how you want to play that particular person.

Spell Snare may not hit very many things, but it is often a Time Walk as the only spell that matters is often Loam. The dream is to put a clock on your opponent then Time Walk them a few times. The best example of this is when your opponent is committed to Loaming every turn and is not making any progress until it resolves. This is why Loam players should not just burn all of their cycling lands, but rather save one so as to threaten to rebuy the Loam when countered.

Knight of the Reliquary is the only truly scary threat in their deck, and you should certainly do everything in your power to keep it off the table. Other than that, nothing else they do really matters except for their graveyard cards.

I know this article is already absurdly long, and Craig is going to have my head once I submit it (a little late as a result of the PTQ!). Still, I want to say a little more about some of the other matchups.

Against Storm, you want to advance the board as much as you possibly can until you think they may be able to go off. Once you are at that point, you simply stick to instants. Vendilion Clique is generally better as a clock on turn 3, then to wait and try to hose them while they go off. This is one matchup where you usually take something. Generally, I take Desire or Pact of Negation of Gigadrowse, although I would consider taking Peer through Depths, no question.

You may need to play a second Clique while your opponent is going off, as disruption, but in all likelihood, your mana will be spent on Spellstutters, Mana Leaks, and so on.

When they inevitably Gigadrowse you, Disrupting Shoal is clutch, although you still fight the Gigadrowse under most circumstances, as if you Stutter a copy that targets a specific land you can still Spell Snare a Manamorphose or Desperate Ritual.

While you are both just building up, strongly consider countering Peer Through Depths or Ponder. Just make sure that you won’t die immediately. It pays to make it a battle of attrition.

The best uses for Venser and Cryptic are definitely bouncing Lotus Bloom and Dreadship Reef, though be aware that they probably board out Blooms, so EE is not a good card post-board.

Remember, if your opponent is playing a bunch of cards like Gigadrowse and Pact of Negation and Remand, he is probably going to have to Desire for at least 7 to really go off. Don’t be afraid to leave yourself a little open turn 2 and 3, particularly after sideboarding. His deck is slower than it appears, and Disrupting Shoal makes it very dangerous for him to over-commit. That is why I don’t think it is too greedy to counter Ponder or Peer on turn 2 or 3. Besides, what if he finds a Pact or a Desire? Your counter is a lot less effective.

Sideboard in anything that does anything. Sideboard out the Jittes and every Control Magic. The number of EE’s you play should merely be a function of how many terrible cards you are stuck with after boarding. If you have them, start by bringing in the 3 Flashfreeze, 2 Relic, 1 Future Sight (though you don’t just tap out to do it, it is more of a 10 drop, but still better than Shackles), and 2 Stifle. Board out Sower, Shackles, 2 Threads, 2 Jitte, 2 EE.

Against Elves, you need to remember that the matchup could change a lot after sideboarding. Pay particularly close attention to how many cards the Elves player sideboards. If they don’t change many, then you sideboard as though they are still heavy combo. If they board a ton, you may need to consider revising your plan to fight a sort of pseudo-Rockish midrange creature deck.

Game 1 is generally very favorable, as you have so many hard counters that leave them with a bunch of terrible 1/1s. The only creatures that are usually relevant are the Hivemaster and the Symbiote, as the rest are generally trumped by a Mutavault. Jitte can be a great way to close out a game in a hurry, but don’t over commit and then have your opponent combo off when you tap out.

Watch their lands. If they get a Temple Garden, they probably have at least Mirror Entity, which can actually be a problem. If my opponent sideboards a lot of cards and has Temple Garden, maybe even Overgrown Tomb, I might sideboard in Sower, in anticipation of the match slowing down and being a creature struggle, which might even include Gaddock Teeg. Sower on Mirror Entity is fantastic.

I generally do not bring in Stifle unless my opponent is heavily reliant on sac lands, although remember that it can protect a Jitte from Shaman. Speaking of Jitte, it is vital that you remember that your opponent may have a Jitte of his own. Don’t let him catch you with your guard down. As long as you have a Riptide Lab or a Spell Snare, you generally having nothing to fear, but still take care.

I am well over 7,000 words deep on this article and I have barely been able to scratch the surface of all I would like to say about both this deck and this format. Still, I have to draw the line somewhere, and I have to actually turn this monstrosity into my wonderful editor [Heh, I’m special — Craig, amused]. Let me close this out by saying to anyone who has specific questions regarding matchups, sideboarding, mulligan decisions, possible changes to the deck, or important information to know in certain situations, by all means please ask in the forums and I will do my best to provide more information.

I honestly believe that the best way for most strong players to qualify is to practice over and over with Faeries so that they are the best Faerie player in the room. Obviously Naya, Elves, and Loam can win, but if you want the best chance to qualify, I recommend Faeries (assuming you can play both Control and Aggro very well and have time to practice, as it is a challenging deck to play tight).

Thanks again for the great feedback every week. I really appreciate when people take the time to let me know things I am doing right and things I could be doing better. Also, I love that the StarCityGames.com community is such that there is so much good discussion taking place in forums, as I know I learn a lot, and many people I know say the same.

Alright, I’m out.

Patrick Chapin
“The Innovator”