I’ve gone into what it takes to build a deck from the ground up. Linchpins provide the pommel, playtesting forges the glowing steel, and sideboarding finishes and provides that wonderful shine. You now have the perfect sword, ready to defeat your foes. But there is another step, and that is choosing your battles, metagaming.
This involves taking a look at the format and at what people are defending with, and choosing the best attack against it. This could be as simple as choosing the right disruptive two-mana 2/2 in many formats (Gaddock Teeg vs. Ethersworn Canonist vs. Meddling Mage) to an entire team of creatures that are immune to the most common-played removal (Punishing Fire vs. Doran). For a more detailed example, a deck from a familiar player for your perusal:
Creatures (24)
- 4 Magus of the Scroll
- 4 Blood Knight
- 4 Magus of the Moon
- 4 Ashenmoor Gouger
- 4 Demigod of Revenge
- 4 Figure of Destiny
Lands (24)
Spells (12)
Sideboard
This format was Time Spiral and Lorwyn Standard. The removal played by players were Incinerate, Nameless Inversion, Shriekmaw, Firespout, and Terror. By far the most devastating defensive card that kept aggressive decks in check, however, was Kitchen Finks. What set the list I played apart from all the other Mono-Red decks was that
every threat I played
defeated Kitchen Finks one-on-one.
– Magus of the Scroll replaced Mogg Fanatic
– Blood Knight replaced Stigma Lasher
– Ashenmoor Gouger replaced Boggart Ram Gang
– Magus of the Moon promised no Finks would enter the battlefield
Metagame decks don’t last long, as formats shift back and forth whenever new technology comes out. This build of Mono-Red was good for Nationals (Tomoharu Saito went on to Top 8 a Grand Prix right after using the same sixty), but the hunter became the hunted when people started to tune against it. Runed Halo was used to combat Demigod of Revenge, Slaughter Pact and Murderous Redcap were used to kill Magus of the Moon, and Reveillark became popular, which was a totally hopeless match up.
This event, and the thinking process that I had stumbled upon, made me start to take Magic seriously. With Worlds coming up, it’s now time to fire up the process again and apply it to this current format. Reviewing the decklists from StarCityGames.com Opens:
Charlotte
and
Nashville
, we see R/U/G as the top contender, with all its versions grouped together holding the seat of “best deck.” Preordain, Explore, Halimar Depths, and Jace, the Mind Sculptor all combine to be able to draw the right half of the deck for each matchup, making it have a similar baseline win percentage as Jund did. The only limiting factor from it totally dominating is the extreme skill needed to pilot the deck properly. The best players are either playing this or a deck that beats it, so it deserves a thorough analysis.
We want to take a look at R/U/G to see what we need to make a metagame deck; the first thing we need to do is look at what we’re dealing with. Presenting…
The Enemy.
Creatures (10)
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (27)
Spells (18)
Sideboard
Some Notes:
Inferno Titan is the new Frost Titan, I’m telling you. I board out Frost Titan in monocolor aggro matchups but I never
ever
take out Sir Crispy. Tapping an Ezuri never did anyone any good, and neither is snowballing a freshly summoned Nissa’s Chosen with Nissa on backup duty behind him. Inferno Titan combos with Bolt to take out any other 6/6 that might be hanging about but kills twice as fast and helps against planeswalkers, something the deck desperately needs. I still believe that Cunning Sparkmage/Collar is the best plan against most aggro decks in addition to the mirror, so Pyroclasm and an Obstinate could go at any time. You also have not lived until you equip an Inferno Titan with a Basilisk Collar.
Now it’s time to metagame against it. These are the soft spots you should be looking to take advantage of in a deck that beats R/U/G.
– The removal is limited to Lightning Bolts, Mana Leak, Unsummon from Jace, and Frosty snowballs
– No way to remove an artifact, enchantment, planeswalkers with five or more loyalty (as Ravine cannot knock it down)
– Very weak to creature removal
From these three conditions, we can begin to form what decks should be played to defeat the menace.
Pyromancer Ascension
– R/U/G has no way to stop you
from comboing off, and you even have Jace Beleren, which is a massive problem, as long as you +2 it to start.
Stephen Mercatoris’ list
looks very good, and I’d start there.
R/G Ramp (Valakut)
– All of your threats react well against R/U/G’s removal. A resolved Primeval Titan or Avenger of Zendikar is almost certainly game over, and you have Summoning Trap to push it through. Post-board, things get a little rougher when their counterspell count is doubled, but with game 1 so good, you can probably steal game 2 or 3. Oracle of Mul Daya is actually excellent against R/U/G post board, as they board out their Lightning Bolts and cannot afford to counter and get Summoning Trapped out.
Steve Tuchek’s
list looks very good, and even has Memoricide for the mirror match. I’d cut a Cultivate or Harrow for the fourth Khalni Heart Expedition for sure.
U/B Control
– Gerry Thompson version has a lot going for it if it’s trying to take down the champ, but it needs just a little more work (its record over the weekend wasn’t positive at taking down the top dog, at least in the feature matches I watched). Abyssal Persecutor actually loses pretty badly to Mana Leak, Unsummon, and Frost Titan, and isn’t the angle you want to be using if you want to beat R/U/G. Mimic Vat certainly has its uses against Primeval Titan-based Ramp decks, but enemy Frost Titans are an entirely different story, as they’re actually quite hard to kill. Finally, Sea Gate Oracle is great at blocking Lotus Cobra (and the sideboarded Goblin Ruinblaster), but it costs far too much for that, leaving you tapped out when facing down Jace or a Titan. Be aware: these cards are actually quite integral in other matchups, so unless you plan on facing a ton of R/U/G, don’t listen to me. This list is courtesy of a respected MODO grinder, _Batutinha_.
Creatures (4)
Planeswalkers (6)
Lands (25)
Spells (25)
- 2 Duress
- 4 Mana Leak
- 4 Doom Blade
- 1 Disfigure
- 2 Into the Roil
- 2 Spell Pierce
- 2 Everflowing Chalice
- 1 Consume the Meek
- 4 Preordain
- 3 Stoic Rebuttal
Sideboard
Quest for the Holy Relic
– This is more a combo deck than an aggressive one. You’re immune to the removal because Quest doesn’t target and is an enchantment. You also have access to Stoneforge Mystic, which means you get to play the backbreaking Sword of Body and Mind with all your mediocre creatures. Let me tell you as an R/U/G player, this one is a nightmare. It’s the big reason I’ve advocated Trinket Mage/Collar + Cunning Sparkmage and also one of many reasons I’m cutting Frost Titan for Inferno Titan. Look at all the R/U/Gs. How many have a single answer to it? Cannot use Jace to bounce, can’t tap or block with Frost Titan, can’t throw Obstinate Baloth or Avenger in the way, not even Lightning Bolt or Pyroclasm will solve the problem the vast majority of the time.
Post-sideboard, you get Kor Firewalker, which combined with your Sword gives you protection from green, blue,
and
red, leaving your opponent unable to stop you. List courtesy of Karakusk on MODO. The Tectonic Edges seem risky at four; I’d trim one or two.
Creatures (32)
- 4 Ornithopter
- 4 Kor Duelist
- 4 Kor Outfitter
- 4 Kor Skyfisher
- 4 Stoneforge Mystic
- 4 Squadron Hawk
- 4 Memnite
- 4 Glint Hawk
Lands (21)
- 17 Plains
- 4 Tectonic Edge
Spells (7)
R/W Landfall
– While Lightning Bolt is certainly decent against this deck, the other three removal R/U/G employs are pretty bad. This deck also has access to Sword of Body and Mind, and creatures that are largely immune to Pyroclasm and Obstinate Baloths with fetchlands available. Journey to Nowhere makes a fair Doom Blade impersonation to clear the way for your monsters, and Cunning Sparkmage punishes Lotus Cobras. This deck is very hard to play properly, and I recommend a lot of practice if you plan on playing it. Stay away from Tunnel Ignus; that guy is awful. Courtesy of Hot_Milk
Creatures (20)
Lands (26)
Spells (14)
Sideboard
Mono-Red Goblins
– Finally, we have an interesting deck of the past weekend. Kuldotha Rebirth certainly avoids all the removal game 1, but the whole deck seems to be very poorly positioned post-sideboard against the king. The list that got second at Nashville seemed… random. He apparently beat four out of the five R/U/G decks, but that might be more from surprise factor than anything else. I don’t think that matchup is nearly so lopsided, especially if Inferno Titan and Ratchet Bomb are involved. Decklist courtesy of Nalalang, thought I actually think a Chimeric Mass or two over Mox Opal should be in order.
Creatures (19)
- 4 Goblin Chieftain
- 4 Goblin Bushwhacker
- 4 Goblin Guide
- 4 Memnite
- 1 Molten-Tail Masticore
- 2 Spikeshot Elder
Lands (21)
- 21 Mountain
Spells (20)
Sideboard
Good luck on beating R/U/G! Personally, I’m looking for a reason to not play it at Worlds, but Oracle has me whipped.
DarkestMage
No one can fight the tide forever…