First off, let me apologize for my lack of updates about the Japanese metagame lately. I have had to work out of town a lot more recently and haven’t had that many chances to attend the tournaments around Nagoya. I have been collecting a list of all the decks people have been using over the past few weeks however, and leading up to Magic Game Day Nagoya it looked like control had been gaining steam lately, namely Esper Control decks. I’d also seen more U/W Venser/Stonehorn Dignitary decks, a Liliana of the Veil/Jace, Memory Adept/Tamiyo, the Moon Sage U/B Control deck, and even a Bant (G/U/W) Control deck that used Devastation Tide and Entreat the Angels as its main weapons.
Naya Pod had also been strong in the Standard format over here in Nagoya; however, the number of Wolf Run Ramp decks seemed to be decreasing. The largest surge of all had come from Humans decks, with W/R Humans, W/G Humans, and Mono-White Humans/Angels decks growing in popularity over the last few weeks and outnumbering those using other deck types in the Standard metagame.
Going into Game Day Avacyn Restored, I was feeling optimistic about my chances but was also being realistic. I had changed my deck three times in the last three weeks. I went from a U/R Titan Control deck to a B/R Control deck to a Grixis Burn deck, and after three weeks my record was 3-25-2. It was horrible.
I didn’t feel comfortable playing those decks in the slightest, so I finally went back to playing with my U/R deck after getting some inspiration from Brennan Michael DeCandio’s U/R deck in a Deck Tech by Glenn Jones a few weeks ago. Namely, I liked the idea of using Dungeon Geists in my deck. I needed more lockdown against cards like Griselbrand, Wolfir Silverheart, and other equally nasty creatures that could cause problems for me.
I’m actually really happy with how it turned out, even if my results from Game Day were less than spectacular. Sometimes you just get bad draws or have bad luck and you have to accept it. One thing is for sure: I had a lot of fun playing with my deck, and that’s what matters the most when you’re playing Magic in my opinion.
Creatures (10)
Lands (25)
Spells (25)
The main theme of my deck is to lock down my opponent in the first few turns by countering what I can or exiling any creatures (especially undying ones) with my Pillar of Flame or Red Sun’s Zenith. There are so many decks running graveyard manipulation, undying creatures, or Wurmcoil Engines that I think this is the best way to deal with them. It stops all of the "goes to the graveyard" abilities as well cards like Viridian Emissary.
After locking them down, I clear the board if I need to with a Devastation Tide and then start dropping my Titans until the player is overwhelmed. If they have a good blocker, Dungeon Geists will take care of it. If they have something that will kill my creatures or weaken them (Gisela, Blade of Goldnight or Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite), Zealous Conscripts will bring them over on my side and help to finish the match. The deck is missing a few cards, but it’s still rather potent.
But I’m sure you’re more interested in what the Japanese players were using, so here’s a match by match rundown of how I fared against these other players’ decks.
Match 1: U/R Titan Control vs. W/U Artifact Control
Creatures (12)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (25)
Spells (20)
My first game was against my good friend Mitsuo, whose white artifact deck I posted about in a previous article. He’s changed his deck a little since then, but for the most part it’s the same.
Control versus control is always a long, drawn out battle. The first match was epic, lasting 40 minutes of the 50-minute round. Both of our decks started off slow as we put out mana for the coming turns. Mitsuo laid down a Ratchet Bomb turn 2 and a Blade Splicers turn 3. I responded and used a Pillar of Flame on his Splicer and then tapped his Golem token with my Dungeon Geists the following turn. I laid down a Frost Titan to tap his Ratchet Bomb, he copied the Titan with Phyrexian Metamorph, then I miracled a Devastation Tide and reset the whole thing.
This whole control ‘dance’ continued for a while as I drew another Devastation Tide later and had both of my Snapcaster Mages in my hand. I ended up losing this game because he was able to get a Sun Titan out and bring back his Phantasmal Images as Sun Titans, while I ran out of Devastation Tides to use again him.
With the first game done, we went on to game 2. I sided in Jace, Memory Adept and started out the game with him in my hand. I had sided out my Whipflares and brought in my Surgical Extractions as well to get rid of those troublesome Sun Titans and Oblivion Rings. The second game was really going well for me. I had milled 30 of Mitsuo’s cards into his graveyard before he was able to defeat Jace, and at the same time I was countering or killing anything that hit the battlefield. But right when I was about to lay the smackdown with a Wurmcoil Engine, Zealous Conscripts, and a Red Sun’s Zenith, time was called and I was unable to finish him off by the fifth extra turn.
The win went to him, but I’m sure that given more time I would have won that game. Mitsuo ended up finishing in the Top 10 but didn’t go to the Top 8.
Match 2: U/R Titan Control vs. G/W/B Pod
Creatures (30)
- 1 Llanowar Elves
- 1 Solemn Simulacrum
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 1 Archon of Justice
- 2 Acidic Slime
- 1 Grave Titan
- 1 Sun Titan
- 1 Wurmcoil Engine
- 1 Skinrender
- 3 Viridian Emissary
- 1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
- 3 Blade Splicer
- 1 Entomber Exarch
- 1 Mentor of the Meek
- 1 Fiend Hunter
- 2 Avacyn's Pilgrim
- 3 Strangleroot Geist
- 1 Restoration Angel
- 1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
Lands (23)
- 9 Forest
- 6 Plains
- 5 Swamp
- 3 Evolving Wilds
Spells (7)
After my first loss I was ready to play more aggressively. I had a good first hand that held a Pillar of Flame, a Red Sun’s Zenith, and a Dungeon Geists so I decided to keep it. Once he started with a Birds of Paradise, I knew it was going to be either a Wolf Run Ramp or a Pod deck. I took care of the Birds of Paradise, and when his Viridian Emissary hit the table I knew how to play against his Pod deck. I took care of the Viridian Emissary with the Red Sun’s Zenith and ended my turn. He brought out a Blade Splicer, and I used my Dungeon Geists to tap the token.
My opponent was unlucky enough to not have a Birthing Pod on the table at this point. By turn 5 I was able to use a Devastation Tide that I had drawn, and on turn 6 I laid down a Frost Titan and tapped one of his three lands. It was over quickly after that.
The second game didn’t go much better for Masaki. On the second turn he had an Avacyn’s Pilgrim and a Strangleroot Geist, but after taking damage I used a Whipflare on the next turn and then Surgical Extraction on his Strangleroot Geist, greatly weakening both his attacking and searching ability with a Birthing Pod. Pillar of Flame and Red Sun’s Zenith did a great job again in the second game, and I never saw any creature over four casting cost. By the time Masaki brought out a Skinrender to kill my Dungeon Geists, I already had him within killing range of my Red Sun’s Zenith. I definitely lucked out with my card draws in this game.
It’s an interesting idea for a Pod deck, but I knew exactly what to do to derail his game long enough for the kill. Masaki ended up 2-2 and the happy owner of a Latch Keeper. (Okay, maybe I lied about that last part. I think everybody would much rather have the promo Killing Wave.)Â
Match 3: U/R Titan Control vs. U/W Miracle Control
Creatures (1)
Planeswalkers (6)
Lands (24)
Spells (29)
At first, I thought this deck was a U/W Delver build. Why? Because the first card he used against me was a Thought Scour. I saw a few of these over the first few turns, and it was quite a nuisance since it kept me from drawing any mana for a turn or two. U/W Delver decks sometimes use this card to mill themselves to get more sorceries and instants in the graveyard for Runechanter’s Pike, so I didn’t think anything of it.
That’s why I was caught totally off guard on turn 5 when Fukusada-san cast a Tamiyo, the Moon Sage and kept tapping my mana to slow me down even further. Around the sixth turn he was able to cast Entreat the Angels, and a few turns after that the two 4/4 Angels became too much for me. My high point of the game was countering his Temporal Mastery.
During the second game I managed to put up more of a fight. Since his deck was almost completely void of creatures (Lingering Souls and Entreat the Angels being his main producers), I made sure I could take care of tokens. Out were my four Pillar of Flame and Whipflare, and in their place I sided in my two Ratchet Bombs, two Negate, and two Surgical Extraction. I managed to use one of the Surgical Extractions on his Lingering Souls and thought I was in pretty good condition, even though he was slowly building his Tamiyo, the Moon Sage to her ultimate. I also managed to counter a Temporal Mastery with a Negate.
I bided my time; my Snapcaster I had flashed in earlier attacked his freshly played Gideon Jura, and once Tamiyo reached eight counters I started my counterattack. Five tapped mana later my Zealous Conscripts was marching over to his side and stealing his Tamiyo, and BAM!
Euphoria swept over me. I asked him if he had the emblem, and he said he did. I put it on my graveyard and looked at my hand. I had a Red Sun’s Zenith, a Wurmcoil Engine, and a Think Twice in my hand. I may have only had one mana free at the end of my turn, but I was feeling good. I ended my turn and gave it back to my opponent.
He cast a Temporal Mastery that he had been holding in his hand. Phew, okay, one extra turn, no problem. I could deal with that! I was still at twenty life after all. He used Gideon’s +0 ability and attacked for six. I went down to fourteen. He cast a Ponder at the end of the turn. On his next extra turn, he miracled another Temporal Mastery.
Damn.
Okay, I was starting to sweat, but with Gideon at four loyalty counters I could still handle him and get my Wurmcoil Engine out on my next turn. He attacked again with Gideon Jura, and I went down to eight. Of course I was still tapped out and unable to do anything but sit back and watch. But it was okay; he’d get me down to two life next turn, but I’d still be alive. Wow, two life was cutting it close, but I could still do this! He took his last extra turn and cast a Snapcaster Mage, flashing back the countered Temporal Mastery.
What the h—…
Well, in Japan there the saying "shouganai," or, "It can’t be helped/there is nothing you can do about it." *sigh* after three straight turns of Gideon Jura beating me down, I accepted my fate and my 1-2 record. That Latch Keeper was looking like a definite possibility for me.
My opponent ended up finishing 3-1 and went to the Top 8 single elimination rounds. He lost his first match and was done after that. This deck is very similar to U/W Miracles deck used in the StarCityGames.com Open Series in Nashville, Tennessee by Matthew Norton. The main difference is the amount of control cards Fukusada-san uses. Fukusada doesn’t use any Oblivion Rings and fewer Terminuses, focusing instead on tapping creatures with Feeling of Dread and playing more Day of Judgment main. He also uses Thought Scour to draw cards instead of Think Twice and has Flashfreeze and all his Negates in the sideboard.Â
Match 4: U/R Titan Control vs. Naya Pod
Creatures (24)
- 4 Llanowar Elves
- 1 Solemn Simulacrum
- 3 Birds of Paradise
- 1 Acidic Slime
- 1 Wurmcoil Engine
- 1 Viridian Corrupter
- 1 Hero of Oxid Ridge
- 1 Phyrexian Metamorph
- 2 Blade Splicer
- 1 Daybreak Ranger
- 3 Strangleroot Geist
- 3 Huntmaster of the Fells
- 1 Pyreheart Wolf
- 1 Vorapede
Lands (24)
Spells (12)
My last opponent was Okada-san, and he was playing with a typical Naya Pod deck. The only cards I saw that were a little out of place in a Naya Pod deck (at least the ones I’ve played against here in Nagoya) were Hero of Oxid Ridge, Gavony Township, and Daybreak Ranger. Okada’s Birthing Pod deck functioned a lot better than Konishi-san’s Pod deck from round 2, and my card draws also weren’t as stellar as they were in that game.
I found myself quickly in trouble due to his maindeck Sword of War and Peace equipped to a Daybreak Ranger. I thought I had him with my Inferno Titan / Frost Titan combo (I had tapped his Phyrexian Metamorph that had copied my Frost Titan), but he blocked the Inferno Titan then fought the Frost Titan with his transformed Nightfall Predator. I fell easily to his Phyrexian Metamorph the next turn. I made a few play mistakes that first game.
The second game was pretty much the same. I sided in my two Ancient Grudges but was unable to draw them. I wanted one in my opening hand and went so far as to even mulligan to six cards, but no luck. Without an Ancient Grudge and my opponent able to pay the cost for the Mana Leak in my hand, after a few turns the Sword of War and Peace hit the battlefield, and this time it made it into the hands of a Huntmaster of the Fells / Ravager of the Fells. Tough luck I guess. I lasted one turn against the Ravager of the Fells + Sword of War of Peace by chump blocking with a Dungeon Geists that had tapped another creature previously, but I was done for the next turn.
Okada-san’s Naya Pod deck is similar to other Pod decks out there, with his staple cards being Huntmaster of the Fells and Strangleroot Geists, but he wanted to play a little more aggressively. This is why he added in Pyreheart Wolf and Hero of Oxid Ridge to his form of Naya Pod. He finished 2-2 on the day.
Still feeling blue (and red), but there is a light on the horizon!
And with that match, my Game Day was over. My final record was 1-3. I didn’t do as well as I did during Game Day Dark Ascension (I made it to the Top 4 then), but overall I had a good time. The metagame is looking healthy over here, with a lot of players straying from the usual decks to try and do something different. Birthing Pod decks showed up the most during Game Day, but there was still a lot of variety.
Some of the decks I saw on Sunday include U/R Titan Control, W/U Artifact Control, Reanimator/Frites, B/U Zombies, Naya Pod x3, G/W/B Pod, U/W Miracle Control, Mono Red, G/U Infect, U/W Venser/Stonehorn Dignitary x2, U/W Delver, Mono-Blue Grand Architect, and W/G Aggro.
I heard that the W/G Aggro deck ended up winning Game Day at Card Brunch in Nagoya where I played, but I did not have the chance to get any information on it. I’ve played against a few W/G Aggro decks in the past few weeks, and I can only speculate.
Usually they are either Human based (with Gather the Townsfolk, Champion of the Parish, and Lambholt Champion) or soulbond based (with Silverblade Paladin, Wolfir Silverheart, and Restoration Angel). Both can become dangerous rather quickly, but the soulbond deck is much more powerful in my opinion.
I hope you enjoyed this continued look at the Japanese metagame and that you’ll be sure to check out my next article in the coming weeks! I want to thank all of the players that let me interview them and sent me their decklists to be used in this article. I’ll be sure to look for more interesting card combinations and deck ideas in the future, but until then, thanks for reading and good luck gaming!