Tag: lightning-strike

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Roy Anderson - January 28, 2015

How I Broke Into Magic Online

Monastery Swiftspear artwork - RDW aggro Standard

How I Broke Into Magic Online

By Roy Anderson

Magic Online (MTGO) is Wizards of the Coast’s digital version of Magic: the Gathering, for anyone who is unfamiliar. It is host to every format and card you can think of. On top of that, it allows you to play high-level magic at almost any time of day! Imagine my excitement when I first stumbled on this amazing software. However, there was one elephant (token) in the room that I just couldn’t remove and that was the cost to play.

 

Bringing down the cost

Like most people, I don’t have massive amounts of expendable income. I already play the paper version and almost never miss a Friday Night Magic (FNM) or Prerelease at my local game store (LGS.) This puts me in a position where, given my income, playing both online and offline regularly just isn’t going to happen. BUT WAIT! We have to at least try to get the most out of a limited budget. In this article, I am going to tell you how I broke into MTGO and grew my investment in order to limit the amount I would need to spend in the future.

So when I first looked at MTGO, I tried to figure out which events would give the most payout for the lowest investment. After evaluating my options, I figured out Standard queues would yield a reasonable amount of prizes with a relatively low risk. With this option, there was a small start-up cost, however, unlike draft, there was less capital needed to enter each tournament.

Obviously, if constructed is my game, I was in need of a deck. Since the name of the game was economics, the deck had to be cheap. I began looking at deck lists online and browsing Gatherer (Magic’s card database) in order to construct a list. Finally, I found a relatively cheap list that won a few standard tournaments in different forms and I figured I could make it work. What deck was it you ask? Well, it was none other than our good friend, Red Deck Wins (RDW)! After price checking the cards needed to construct this list, I had a thought. I am sure I can cut some corners and make it even cheaper! Eidolon of the Great Revel is a strong in RDW, however, the cost of a play set was high so I decided to take it out. I also replaced some slightly more efficient removal and changed the number of certain creatures in my list to reduce cost.

RDW Aggro Standard list by Roy Anderson

 

Now as you can probably see by this deck list, there is not too much power in this deck. The deck is mostly chalked full of cheap creatures with efficient removal/burn and ways to “punch through” to your opponents life total.  On the other side, you also probably don’t see too much cost in this deck either. This is especially true for MTGO as prices are scaled down slightly due to a smaller demand. The only card that is worth a decent amount of money are the Stoke the Flames. I found that card too important to cut as it has the potential to kill so many creatures in the format as well as burn enormous amounts of damage.

Sideboard

 

This sideboard may appear to be filled with crap, and to a degree, you would be correct. Some of the cards here are really cheap and poor answers to certain threats that the deck would otherwise lose too. For example, Torch Fiend for Whip of Erebos, Harness By force for midrange matchup, and Bring Low for Abzan (I guess). However, some of these cards are really big all-stars in the right matchup and no one ever sees some of them coming. Scouring Sands pings (deals one damage to) each creature your opponents control and gives you scry one for a nice cherry on top. This is very good against Jeskai Tokens, Aggro Mirrors, and also gave me some scraping wins by breaking me through a swarm of hornets. Searing Blood is also very efficient creature removal in the current standard format. This is another card that comes in against other creature decks.

 

Breaking it down

Overall, at the time of purchasing this deck, the overall cost was approximately 20 dollars. For anyone who plays Magic, they can’t help but smile at that price for a competitive deck. And let me assure you, this deck has beaten every deck in the format at least once. It has even taken down some unlucky souls who decided they wanted to try their hand at rouge brewing. There are two main reasons this deck is successful: Mana and Speed.

This deck has a much easier time with its’ mana compared to many of the decks in the format. Its’ mana is one of its strongest characteristics especially in a sea of three to five color decks. In fact, I won a chunk of games just because my opponent’s mana wasn’t well supported. Due to this deck being monocolored, you will never be unable to utilize your hand to its full potential. An even bigger upside is the cost of the creatures. Since the top of your curve is basically a two mana spell, land drops are not much of a problem even if you get land screwed. I often keep one land hands as long as I have a creature and a Titan’s Strength. The scry is usually enough to dig me to a second land before I need it.

The second great attribute this deck has is its’ amazing speed. It can close out games often before many decks can establish a strong board presence. By the time your opponent has one or two creatures, your Hammerhand and Frenzied Goblin will push your creatures through for the win. You will also have them at a low enough life total from suicide runs that a top deck Stoke the Flames is often enough.

Often times, this deck has a very explosive start. I think my favorite opening in the entire deck is as follows:

Turn One: Land, Swiftspear, and smash for one.

Turn Two: Land, Swiftspear, and smash with Titan’s Strength for five. Play another creature.

Turn Three: Mogis’s Warhound bestowed, hit for five more plus an additional one to two for your other creature.

Seems pretty scary huh? The great part is, I got this draw fairly often. In the worst cases, Valley Dasher or War-Name Aspirant would eat up my turn two. The worst creature you want to see hit the battlefield is a Sylvan Caryatid. Even when this happens, you can often grow your creatures big enough to punch through or just swarm past them. As far as I am concerned, it just slows me down.

 

Record

Well, as I said, this deck gave me great success on MTGO. At the point of writing this article, my cumulative record with it in tournament queues (I practiced with it for a while before putting money on it) is a whopping thirteen to two. Not bad for such a cheap way to play.  Now, on MTGO, constructed queues require two tickets for entry and pay out one pack of Khan’s to the winner. A pack of Khan’s is currently worth approximately three tickets. Using my record as an example along with my initial 10 tickets left over from my thirty dollar investment, I am currently up nine tickets. With some serious grinding, assuming my record continued, you could make a massive profit. I know most people just want to use MTGO to draft. At least that is how it is for me. Anyway, you will earn a draft after about 30 – 40 games with some tickets to spare. I know that doesn’t sound like the most attractive option, but efficiency and lower variance almost never is. If you tried to do the same infinite drafting with limited, you would have to get first or second in every single draft. This is also factoring in the fact that all tournaments are single elimination. I guess an alternative solution would be to just pull a foil fetch every draft, however, we are sticking to a realistic approach.

 

More cheap fun

So I bet you are wondering, are there any other ways to play on MTGO without throwing money at it? Why yes, there actually is a way to draft for cheap that is much easier to play infinitely. This is in the form of Wizard’s various cubes that they host throughout the year.

In order to maximize fun and value, I always play in the swiss as opposed to the single elimination events. The reasons being: One, you will always get to play in all of your rounds giving you more time to enjoy some of the blasts from Magic’s past, and two, they are much easier to rinse and repeat. It is true that the single elimination cube drafts have actual older set pack payouts, however, they require at least a two to zero record. In addition, you will need tickets in order to draft that set with a two to zero record so, unless you get first, you still have to shell out two dollars. In the swiss events, you can just win two of any of your matches and it will allow you to gain free re-entry. These queues use a special currency called phantom points and you earn enough to hop right into another event after a two to one record.

 

Well, I hope this article helped you out and possibly pushed you to give MTGO a try. It will take a little time to learn how to effectively use the program, but once you get over that initial hump, your magic skills can take over. If anyone is interested in seeing MTGO play of either the legacy cube or the RDW I described earlier, please leave a comment below. I look forward to writing more for you guys next week as I have a column in the works but I am going to be on my way to GP San Jose next week so expect to hear about the main even in next week’s article!

Until next time, Happy Planeswalking!

 
By Roy Anderson
@Sockymans on Twitter
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Bruce Gray - January 9, 2015

A look at Fate Reforged Spoilers and New MTG Brews

Morph Token

A look at Fate Reforged Spoilers and New MTG Brews

By  Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

 Well…HAPPY NEW YEARS magic players! Fate Reforged spoilers have started and dear LORD am I excited.  We have only started to see the sweet new treats coming our way, but they look awesome already!  I mean…Ugin?! Sure, he’s pricey…but he’s mighty sweet.  Old Nicol Bolas may have bitten off more than he could chew here.  And Soulfire Grand Master looks RIDICULOUS! Jeskai Burn/Wins decks just got an all-star to hit Clean-up…and dear lord does he pack a punch! I mean, lifelink on all your burn spells? That’s insane.  Oh…and if you find yourself with a bunch of extra mana why not cast your spell and have it return to your hand? No biggie.  That’s totally fair…and not the least bit suspect when you can also trigger Jeskai Ascendancy.  No, that’s not broken at all.  However, I digress…here at Three Kings Loot we are working on our previews as well, but what got me started today was one little word.

MANIFEST.

Yup.  That one word BLEW my mind because it meant that Morph was going to continue to be a thing in this second set.  We saw some sweet Morph creatures in Khans of Tarkir and some really amazing enablers to push them.  However, I was really worried that the Morphs were going to disappear in the follow up sets meaning that they really only had a place in Limited and a few super Casual brews.  However, with the support of the Manifest mechanic in Fate Reforged there is  the very real possibility to push Morph decks from the realm of Limited to Fringe Constructed play.  Here is where my mind is going.

We saw very early in the Khans Limited format that Secret Plans was a very powerful engine in the 5 colour Morph deck…or really any Morph deck.  It allowed your Morphs to outclass those of your opposition, could chain you into more cards (replacing the need for more narrow card draw spells in the later stages of the game) and generally allowing you to out card advantage your opponent as you closed in for the kill.  I also had an up-close look at Trail of Mystery and have decided that it is the real deal too.  It may not pump your Morphs right now, but it does filter your deck, ramp your land, and then lead to blow out central when you start un-Morphing your creatures later on.  These two powerful engines can really make Morph decks go.  So, the logic being that if they are good in Limited, there is an outside chance, with some additional support, that they could start to be reasonable to see some fringe constructed play at FNM or some low pressure constructed events.

What are the new treats you ask?  Well, the two that REALLY got my attention were Ethereal Ambush and Whisperwood Elemental.  These two cards come with the Manifest mechanic and can totally enable further some gross things.  They just enable you to chain more Morphs together into more cards and lands…and then full on going off.  It does rely on synergy to get ahead and can be easily disrupted, but you should be able to pull it together once in a while and with devastating effect.

Now, I was debating what colours to use when building the deck, but the obvious starting point is U/G/X…and the X is totally up for debate.  Yes, yes, I could go 5 colour, but that is just full on greedy and if the intent is to create something that is at least feasible in a competitive arena then 5 colour is NOT the way to go.  So, we’re back to 3 colour build.  Let’s see what we can do here.

My first reaction is to slide in Red for the Temur Morph deck, and looking at the other cards that have been spoiled, this feels pretty normal.  Now, the nice thing with a Morph deck is that your actual curve is quite flat…because everything you play is really a Morph and you don’t much care about the actual casting cost.  You DO care about the Morph cost, but hey…at least you should have things on board early on.

 

Temur Morph test deck

 

 

With the inclusion of Ethereal Ambush and the Whisperwood Elementals you aren’t rewarded for spells with the Manifest ability because lands and non-permanent spells simply become a 2/2 until they die.  That is not overly useful in lots of regards.  So, packing a deck full of spells is a bit foolish.  So, as you may be able to see, most of the things in this deck are the two engines (Trail of Mystery and Secret Plans) or are creatures with a Morph ability anyway.  The real trick is finding creatures that can Morph relatively inexpensively but yet are still useful.  Sagu Mauler and Ashcloud Phoenix are obvious auto-includes  and a couple of Thousand Winds could prove very effective at washing away your opponent. The other Morphs are all cheap to un-Morph and all of them have a solid ability.  The Flock is just a big old flying wall to ensure you don’t get shredded from above.  The Mystic of the Hidden Way ensures inevitability because it just can’t be blocked.  The Icefeather Aven is a fun bounce effect. And the Rattleclaw Mystic is unadulterated ramp.    The other spells are all useful, but if you lose one or two to being Manifested (Is that going to be the Term? I guess we should figure that out) by the Whisperwood Elemental or a stray Ethereal Ambush, but hey, that’s ok.

Your ideal opening hand has you playing Trail of Mystery on Turn 2, a Morph on Turn 3 to fetch a basic land, another Morph on Turn 4 to hit your 5th land drop…and you are off to the races.  By the 5th Land drop you could cast Ethereal Ambush on your opponent’s End Step, Manifest 2 face down creatures, search up 2 more lands and well and truly be set cast your whole deck.  Sneak in a Secret Plans as you go and you have a card engine to match your land filter engine…and all the mana you need to pay those Morph costs.  Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me and could lead to all sorts of ridiculous things.

Now, I have been toying around with some of the other colours as well.  For a while everything I touched turned Bant…so U/G/W…and this could very well lead me to doing exactly the same.  Here’s the build I’ve been toying with.

Bant Morph test deck

 

The deck functions very similarly to the Temur version but is somewhat less obviously powerful with no Phoenixes or direct burn.  Instead you have Watcher of the Roost and Master of Pearls as the replacements and a couple of Feat of Resistance to make combat truly miserable.  The trick here is that when you Morph your Watcher of the Roost for Free (Provided you still have a white card in your hand)  the Trail of Mystery triggers making it now a 4/3 flier.  Pump it again with a Master of Pearls as it Morphs  and it is now a 6/5 until end of turn and likely making combat truly awful.  Now, this is absolutely living in a fantasy land where I can do as I please and have all the pieces to the combo set up, but I can clearly see that this deck has more “moving parts” in order to generate the sort of explosive damage I want and can be derailed more easily.  I feel like the Temur build is the better option, but I still like the idea of blowing out an opponent with Master of Pearls and a couple of Watcher of the Roost.

The options in Black if I wanted this to be a Sultai deck are less appealing with only the Ruthless Ripper and Grim Haruspex as desirable targets to Morph, but it does offer a lot of really interesting spells that I would love to have access to.  Villainous Wealth and Murderous Cut being the first two most obvious choices, but there are others including Dead DropArchfiend of Depravity is also highly entertaining but none of these cards play into the Morph deck idea.  Heck, the Villainous Wealth deck is already a thing on the fringe of Constructed standard.  No, unless there are some higher quality black Morph cards coming in Fate Reforged the Sultai version would just be Sultai good stuff and not so much a Morph deck looking to abuse Trail of Mystery and Secret Plans.  So, I think I’ll pass.

Well, there we have few new ideas to go about what Fate Reforged has to offer.  And I just scratched the surface because I can see loads of other great pieces that will make many of the best decks even better, and will allow for some newer decks to start taking shape.  Needless to say, we will be in for a treat in a few weeks when we all get to crack Fate Reforged and see what it has to offer up close and personal at the Pre-releases.    I can hardly wait.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to read my ramblings.  As always, keep it fun, keep it safe…and keep it casual.

 

Regards,

 

By  Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters
@bgray8791 on Twitter

 

 

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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - September 29, 2014

Jeskai Tempo by Kevin Jones (1st at SCG Edison Standard Open on Sep 27...

Champion’s Deck

Mantis Rider - Jeskai Tempo

Jeskai Tempo by Kevin Jones

1st at SCG Edison Standard Open on Sep 27th 2014

As we bid a fond farewell to RTR/THS Standard and all its mono-colored shenanigans we see how quickly everything becomes new again with both decks sitting at the final table in the wedge colors. There was also in the final a Mardu Midrange deck which in and of itself is a beautiful work of art which simply did not draw well against an amazing draw of the Jeskai tempo deck. But for us today we are interested in this Red, White and Blue beast of a list which was able to battle through 13 rounds and stake its flag first at the summit of this opening weekend.

 

This deck is built around taking advantage of burn to take incremental advantage and close out games quickly and efficiently. To work towards that goal we find a trio of creatures that while not monsters are able to go long and chip away quickly at the opponents life total to make it easy to top deck a burn spell for the win. The first creature drops down turn two with a trio of Seeker of the Way which combo well with the burn through its Prowess to not only get pumped up but also gain lifelink to ensure survival against other Aggro decks. Next we find one of the defining cards of Aggro for the current meta with Goblin Rabblemaster which on an unchecked board will be able to quickly overwhelm the opponent with a horde of goblins beating face. Then we get to a new tool for these colors with Mantis Rider which as a tri-colored creature sports a very strong package as a three drop with Haste to beat face immediately upon arrival, Flying to leap over the walls of Courser of Kruphix, and even Vigilance which allows you to bring the assault with impunity. Supporting the troops there is a duo of Red planeswalkers starting with the all new powerhouse Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker which is basically taking the role of Stormbreath Dragon as another aggressive flyer for the deck but also doubles as decent removal taking out a slew of four toughness creatures. There is also a misers Chandra, Pyromaster which is able to grind precious life points while either blasting potential chumps or immobilizing big blockers, and could also add to the decks drawing power. Speaking of draw there are two cards with which to gain additional resources with Dig Through Time able to go deep to find you two spells which will hopefully finish your opponent  and Steam Augury that does rely upon the choice of your opponent but can easily be a bomb spell depending on what else you flip up with it. Magma Jet is also a pseudo-draw with its Scry 2 not only are you flinging fire but also setting up potential or even pushing useless cards to the bottom in advance of a Dig Through Time. Then we get to the package of straight-up burn spells with sets of Lightning Strike and Stoke the Flames to either flambe some pesky creature or just fling straight to the dome of your opponent to close out a quick victory. You also have the option to barbeque opponents with your Jeskai Charm, but also bounce giant creatures away or pump your team while gaining some incidental life points. Finally we wrap up with catchall answer Banishing Light which is the decks main answer to planeswalkers, enchantments, or artifacts but will also deal with problematic creatures as well.
Man oh man am I ever in love with Jeskai Tempo. It just looks so aggro just like my cup of tea, but still able to overcome traditional issues like draw and removal for bombs. Now I will admit that watching the deck win there was a definite element of variance which handed Jeskai an easier road to walk towards victory, but he took it all the way from beginning to end so there must be value in it. I would be very happy to sleeve up a deck like this and run with it, but with so many new styles and the Pro Tour coming up I’m going to happily observe for now. If you do decide to pick this up though I imagine you’ll have a blast burning up the competition.
Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
Email: ejseltzer@hotmail.com
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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - September 14, 2014

Rabble Red by Thomas Graves (1st at SCG St. Louis Standard Open on Sep...

Champion’s Deck

Goblin Rabblemaster - Rabble Red

Rabble Red by Thomas Graves

1st at SCG St. Louis Standard Open on Sep 6th 2014
Here we have the future of Standard Aggro as we prepare for the upcoming rotation. Now obviously there is going to be changes necessary as a huge portion of the deck will no longer be legal in a few weeks but Goblin Rabblemaster is likely where everything begins anew. It is just so aggressive and provides advantage to Red which has always craved cards like this to eke out small edges with which to hammer in the nails.
As with any Aggro deck we start with an tight and efficient curve. A quarter of the deck comes in one drop creatures boasting full sets of Legion Loyalist, Firedrinker Satyr and Rakdos Cackler, along with a trio of Foundry Street Denizen all capable of producing damage at a rate that exceeds their cost. Next at the two drop spot we find Burning-Tree Emissary which is capable of chaining out spells when he joins the fight with pairs of both Ash Zealot and Firefist Striker all of which are more beaters to help mash the opponent. Next we have newcomer and future superstar Goblin Rabblemaster who just continues to provide value to your board every turn, and this deck has incorporated some Convoke spells to thwart would be suicidal assaults. The final creature is Rubblebelt Maaka but it is most useful for its Bloodrush ability which turns it into a Giant Growth for your attackers. Speaking of Giant Growth there is a one of Titan’s Strength for pump and it has a useful Scry for added value since otherwise this deck is slave to the top of its library. For reach there are two burn spells with Lightning Strike to either clear blockers or finish him, and Stoke the Flames which is capable of tapping down your forced attackers once you get your Rabble token. Finally, we have a misers anthem with Hall of Triumph which is another Convoke if necessary but especially pumps the team to push the beats harder and faster.

 

While it is hard to say exactly how this deck will look in a few weeks it is a certainty that a Red Aggro deck is going to be around in the meta early. I would certainly be pulling together pieces getting ready if you like to beat face Aggro style. Especially important to note is with people going to brew hard with the wedge colors and mana going to slow down a lot of those decks we will undoubtedly be an overwhelming force while they work out the kinks. So definitely mise the meta early until you find that wedge you love.
Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
Email: ejseltzer@hotmail.com
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Bruce Gray - August 17, 2014

A Brave New World (Grixis control standard)

Prognostic Sphinx - Grixis control standard

A Brave New World (Grixis control standard)

by Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

 

Well, the summer Pro-Tour has come and gone and we have seen the full evolution of Standard.  The match play was terrific with some hugely entertaining matches both at Draft and at Standard.  Congratulations must go out to all the players, and especially Ivan Floch for his display of prowess and winning the Pro-Tour with his Blue/White control deck.  It is no small feat and he had to play some tremendously high caliber matches to win the title.

 

As cool as the pro-tour was to watch, I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that it was Blue/White control that was the winning deck.  I have no problem with the strategy and can clearly see that it is effective, but there were a number of really interesting decks running around that were much fresher and newer.  I would have loved to see one of these newer decks win the day simply for the novelty, but at least it wasn’t Mono-Black Devotion.  There was plenty of variety in the Top 8 decks, which was nice, but still, to see an archetype that has been as consistent from last Fall to now still prevail is a little bit…I don’t know…I guess boring. However, the days of Blue/White control in Standard seem to be coming to a close, so get your fill now folks because I suspect we may not see it for a while.

 

This first portion of my article today is strictly a prediction.  I have no inside source at WoTC or anywhere inside the Magic community.  However, based on a few observations I can pretty safely declare that Blue/White control or U/W/x control will be taking a back seat.  We will be watching as Return to Ravnica rotates out of Standard in about 7 weeks leaving two HUGE holes in the U/W control strategy.  The first gap is Sphinx’s Revelation. Sphinx’s Revelation is a major key to the strategy because it just allows for massive card advantage and life gain allowing the control player to reload their hand with answers and gain valuable life.  I would be shocked if something comparable was printed in Khans for the simple reason that it is such a powerful card. Notice I say “powerful”, not “broken” because I fundamentally feel that Sphinx’s Revelation is a fair card and a player who casts it can still be beaten, but it is a very powerful card that can turn the tide of the game very quickly.  I would expect some measure of mass card draw, or life gain, but NOT both together the way that Sphinx’s Revelation does it.  No, the days of easy living on Sphinx’s Revelation will be drawing to close at Standard for a while.

 

The other piece is a little trickier, and that’s Supreme Verdict.  For ages now we have just come to accept that there will be a 4 mana sweeper in white. Please see exhibit A- Wrath of God.  Exhibit B- Day of Judgement.  However, when they printed Supreme Verdict they raised the bar a touch.  4 mana sweeper…and can’t be countered.  Well, that’s a big upgrade and pretty much makes Verdict the Cat’s Ass of wrath effects.  However, since Supreme Verdict was released there has been steady trend. Removal has got progressively more expensive.  Think about it…in Theros we were given a large number of removal spells, all of them quite pricey (thank you Sip of Hemlock).  Inexpensive removal consists of things like Hero’s Downfall…which is still a 3 mana removal spell.  Sure, it hits Planeswalkers too, but in most situations it is used to wipe out a creature.  Bile Blight is a thing, but it is also conditional because if the creature is too large, Bile Blight just shrinks it (and you hope to heavens you can block the creature profitably).  Ulcerate is 1 mana…but costs you 15% of your life total just for casting it.  Fated Retribution, Planar Cleansing and Mass Calcify are other removal type spells…and cost 6 or 7 respectively.  Even Red has not been spared.  Apart from Lightning Strike, Red has started to see burn spells creep up in cost as well.  Bottom line, the price of removal is getting a tad higher.  So, combine the fact that Wizards has already given us the Cat’s Ass of mass removal, and that removal is getting more expensive, I would honestly be surprised to see a 4 mana sweeper once Khans of Tarkir is released.  There will be mass removal of some sort, but I would expect to see the coverted mana cost climb to 5 , or if it is staying at 4, would require all three colours from the respective wedge. In either scenario, the requirement to cast the spell has just increased. This slight increase, coupled with the loss of Sphinx’s Revelation might be enough to knock U/W control down from a top tier deck to being a reliable but somewhat lacking tier 1.5 deck that just won’t command the same level of respect at any given event during the Standard season.

 

So, U/W may be taking a back seat for the next while, but there will absolutely be a control strategy of some sort that will come around.  It’s a bit tricky to try and pick up on what exactly that strategy will look like, but I am prepared to take a look at some new options, and one in particular, that you might be interested in keeping an eye on as Khans of Tarkir starts to be spoiled in the next couple of weeks.  For many a season now we have seen U/W/x be the dominant control strategy but what if we removed the White from that mix and instead replaced it with Black?  We would move away from the Esper or Jeskai (did you notice the new wedge name?) and move towards Grixis as a potential control strategy.  Let’s explore this strategy a tad.

First off, land.  This colour combination could very well have the appropriate land base to make a go at it.  There are Temple of Deceit (U/B) and Temple of Malice (R/B) and Temple of Epiphany (R/U) from Theros block to give you at least 12 on colour Temples to start your deck off.  From M15 we also have Shivan Reef, meaning that you are pushed to 16 total on colour dual lands for your deck. Add in Mana Confluence and you could be as a 20 lands for your deck to cast your spells and have access to the right mana.  So, the land looks good.

 

Next, you have your removal package which is still very strong.  With access to Hero’s Downfall, Bile Blight, Ulcerate, and Silence the Believers you have a pretty robust suite of removal with which to handle most creatures that are on the table.  I agree, this is all targeted removal and not a sweeper meaning Hexproof creatures or other creatures that are difficult to interact with could be a problem.  The solution would appear to be, in the absence of a true sweeper, sacrifice effects.  Devour Flesh may  be rotating out, but there will undoubtedly be another sacrifice type effect that could at least be sided in if the need arises.  I’m hesitant to include In Garruk’s Wake, the 9 mana sorcery that is an asymmetrical board wipe, but if you are playing a control deck you could get there in a long game and then drop this thing to just devastate an opponent.  I’m skeptical myself, but it warrants some investigation.  Red would also give you access to Lightning Strike, Anger of the Gods,  and Magma Jet and Magma Spray meaning you would have a pretty beast set of removal spells to lock your aggressive opponents out of their creatures.

 

Lastly we have the permission package and M15 gave us a sweet option. Dissolve is a very solid 3 mana counter spell, but now with the addition of Dissipate we have as many as 8 hard counters to use. That could be pretty devastating to deny your opposition of a crucial spell or to protect some resource of your own.

 

I can think of very few creatures that you would be truly excited to play in this deck because control decks are usually pretty light in the creature department, but those that they cast can protect themselves.  Aetherling played such a role perfectly for months after it arrived on the scene from Dragon’s Maze, but Prognostic Sphinx could play a similar role.  The 3 power makes it JUST small enough to avoid getting killed by Elspeth, Pillar of light or other spells.  The high toughness means it survives most burn spells. You can even grant it Hexproof to help protect it.  And the best part is the Scry 3 whenever it attacks basically ensures you can draw exactly what you need.  Other options could include Indulgent Tormentor because the triggered ability is useful in all three modes, or Chasm Skulker because the more cards you draw to bigger it gets…and when it dies it spits squid tokens everywhere making it a real pain to contend with.

 

The last consideration is Planeswalkers and the Grixis control standard colour combo could have some good ones.  Chandra Pyromaster is the best Chandra yet printed and she could be extremely useful in this deck.  Lilianna Vess is another viable option and her ability to tutor up an answer makes her invaluable.  Jace, the Living Guildpact could also be a very solid control card and offer some very good versatility to filter your draw and bounce permanents.  The last is Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver who might be an ideal Planeswalker in this sort of deck to give you a true win condition of milling out your opponent.

 

So, the pieces sort of fit and so I have put together a rough list of a deck that start down the Grixis control standard path for when Khans of Tarkir is released.  It is not going to be perfect because it only includes cards that are from Theros and M15.  Without knowing exactly what Khans could hold for this deck it’s tricky, but I figured I would give it a stab and see what i can put together as a framework for the deck and add when Khans is released.

 

Test Deck – Grixis Control Standard – Khans of Tarkir

 

There we have our shell for a Grixis control deck.  Of course, this is not written is stone but is something that you might be willing to brew up and test out.  I haven’t put together a sideboard yet either because you might have your own direction you want to take it in.  The beauty of this time of year, as we prepare for the Brave New World post rotation, that anything is possible and lots of interesting new twists on decks could emerge.

 

Let me know what you think about the deck.  What would add?  What would you take out?  Would you go another direction all together? Some of the beauty of playing Magic is that the possibilities are endless, so let me know what possibilities YOU see.  Send me a tweet and let’s exchange some ideas.

 

Thanks for reading and until next time keep it fun, keep it safe…keep it casual.

 

by Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

@bgray8791 on Twitter

 

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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - June 19, 2014

Champion’s Deck – Mono-Red Aggro by Festus Resendez (1st a...

Mono-Red Aggro - Firedrinker Satyr
 

Mono-Red Aggro by Festus Resendez

1st Place at StarCityGames Standard Open on 6/14/2014
 
 
It looks like it’s a good time to be a Red mage in Standard, Patrick Sullivan must have been jumping for joy. Not only did the winner of the Grand Prix in Moscow play a Red deck but also Tom ‘The Boss’ Ross piloted one for his Standard portion at the SCG Invitational. The most interesting about that is they all ran on similar but completely different lines and stretched the bounds of Red to the limit. This deck is one of the more creature heavy builds.

 

With an aggro deck like this the most important factor of your strategy is to be dropping at least one creature every single turn until you mash your opponent into a bloody pulp which is why we find no Scry lands. We start the curve with two one drops that come out swinging with two power each from Rakdos Cackler which if is not unleashed usually means you’re about to die and Firedrinker Satyr who’s drawback will be largely nullified by the amount of beats he will inflict on the opponent. Then we hit a mass of two drops starting with the hasty first striker Ash Zealot, also Firefist Striker that when attacking with two others will nullify the opponents best blocker and then Burning-Tree Emissary that enables your lightning starts by chaining into more spells to advance your board faster then the opponent can mount a defense. We also find two quality three drops to continue the curve with perennial wall of death in Boros Reckoner which turns combat math from simple addition into complex algebra, and Chandra’s Phoenix that has a limited amount of direct damage spells to bring it back but is still a hasty flier to bring forth death from above. Our last creature is the curve topper Fanatic of Mogis that comes in as a late game play once you have your army mobilized to take full advantage of a surprise blast of Devotion to Red to the opponents face, hopefully to put him down for good. There is a support package of burn coming primarily from a full set of Lightning Strike, but also a pair of Shock, a pair of Magma Jet and a singleton Searing Blood all help to either clear the way for your creatures to get through or blast straight up to the dome.

This deck exemplifies what it means to be The Beatdown. It looks like Aggro has positioned itself between Control and Midrange in the metagame right now to exploit it’s speed and destructive nature. Now has been a great time to blast your opponent to bits either using creature or burn based strategies. It’s not likely that this Red mage dominance will continue but shows that any given weekend you can not count out any deck that has power behind it. And counting from twenty to zero has been a fundamental aspect of this game of Magic.

Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - June 18, 2014

Champion’s Deck – Boros Burn by Igor Gorbunov (1st at Gran...

Boros Burn - Skullcrack

Boros Burn by Igor Gorbunov

Grand Prix Moscow Champion – Standard on June 15th 2014

Once again the power of fire to the face was able to propel this Tomahawk missile of a deck right to the top of the victory podium. Showing how powerful a linear strategy of simply throwing everything into reducing your opponents life total to zero really can be, this design is a well oiled machine dedicated to death and destruction. This really appeals to the little fire imp which resides in my heart and is a variation on the classic burn theme which has existed in magic since the days of Fireball and Lightning Bolt.

The deck is a little light on the creature side but has found two spicy dudes that synergize with the deck extremely well given the 26 spells that are played at instant speed. The first is Young Pyromancer which on its own isn’t a very intimidating creature but once you start slinging some spells the party gets started and guests will arrive, and don’t think that lowly 1/1’s aren’t any good because every single point matters with this deck. The other creature comes with Chandra’s Phoenix that can do some real damage as a hasty flier but also will find its way back to your hand rising from the grave whenever one of your spells blasts into the opponent. The manabase also affords you space to squeeze in three copies of Mutavault that are able to maneuver their way around any sorcery speed removal. Then we get into the burn suite of the deck which is massive. There is at one cost Shock capable of delivering a two point blast either to the player or if necessary any of his smaller creatures. The mass of the burn is found at two cost starting simply with Lightning Strike which is simply three points going to the opponents dome or one of his creatures. Next we have Magma Jet which is another flexible two points but the most important part is the Scry 2 which helps the weakness of this deck a bit as there is no real draw available to you. Against decks that play with lifegain, the true nemesis of burn, you have Skullcrack which as a surprise against Sphinx’s Revelation decks could very easily snatch victory from what would be an almost certain defeat. The flexibility of Boros Charm is almost universally wasted with the four point blast to the face as the Double Strike will rarely do more damage but if you have a sizable force you might need the Indestructible against a sweeper. The last two cost burn is a removal spell with Searing Blood which will do two points of damage to a creature but has the added bonus where if that creature dies will do an additional three to its controller. And the last burn spell is the Warleader’s Helix with a four point shot while also providing a four point lifegain as an added benefit. The last spot in the deck is taken by the removal of Chained to the Rocks which is capable of exiling almost any creature threat that is able to skirt the other options from direct damage.

If you like a deck that goes all out in pounding your opponent to a pulp with a relentless assault of burn baby burn then this is definitely the deck to tickle your fancy. Don’t think though that it just pilot’s itself as you are always faced with the decisions of how to best utilize your mana and spells each and every turn. As you are limited by your draws be sure to practice and know your match-ups in advance so you can realize which way you need to fight. This is the ultimate race where your resource is your life vying against his, don’t be afraid to take a couple hits from his creatures if it means you get to blast his dome for a few extra points and kill him a turn faster. But on the flip side make sure you kill his creature before it gets you. In the end you’ll find that the rush of this deck makes it so worth playing.
Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
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Eric Jeffrey Seltzer - May 12, 2014

Boros Burn standard by Tyler Winn (1st at SCG Knoxville Standard Open ...

Champion’s Deck

 

Chandra's Phoenix_Buy-a-box Promo - Boros Burn standard

Boros Burn by Tyler Winn

1st Place at StarCityGames Standard Open on 5/10/2014

Here’s a spicy little Aggro number that while by no means any sort of new concept is quite a sight for sore eyes. It’s nice to see that the Mono-Black Devotion (or more accurately now Golgari Devotion since rotation) was not able to reach the summit, although it did put three decks into the top 8. This is a powerful and fast deck which is highly capable of coming from out of nowhere and beating down the opponent in the blink of an eye.

 

The main focus of Boros burn is to throw burn spells at the opponents face in a fast and furious fashion. To that end we find 22 of the decks spells able to spew lightning to the dome, and additional burn from the decks removal. The varieties of burn come based off of how much damage they will do and land in three varieties doing either two, three or four damage. The starting point of the deck comes with our basic burn at one cost in Shock which is just a straight-up two point blast, but also with two points of burn we have Magma Jet which for its cost of two will also Scry 2 for the deck as some of its only ‘draw’ ability. Then we have three point burn both costing two with Lightning Strike and Skullcrack, but Skullcrack while not being able to target creature has the added value of shutting down lifegain AND damage prevention for the turn which can foil plans of many decks to try and recover from an initial onslaught. And finally we get to the four point burn spells with Boros Charm which will primarily be wasted of its other abilities to blast opponents to an early grave and Warleader’s Helix that will rebuild your life total if you have been under pressure already in the game. As a compliment to all of these burn spells the deck runs Chandra’s Phoenix that will no doubt be returned to hand anytime it has found its way into the graveyard. The other maindeck creature is Eidolon of the Great Revel which may seem like an odd choice seeing that this deck is packed with so many cheap spells but when you drop him you should be far enough ahead and using your burn is either an equal loss on life or you deal those crucial points extra. As the manabase allows for it there’s also a full set of Mutavault which often are those last points needed to seal the deal. For removal the deck is able to use any of the many burn spells of course but also includes Chained to the Rocks and Searing Blood which itself does double as a burn spell when you are able to rid the board of the intended target. For draw the deck has some Scry from both Magma Jet and Temple of Triumph, but also actual drawing from Wild Guess which can easily cycle unwanted lands later in the game. You’ll also notice that the deck eshews Boros Guildgate in favor of Mana Confluence in order to avoid any additional into play tapped lands which go directly against the speed of this deck.

 

So there we have another great contender to battle for control in this post Journey into Nyx metagame. It is well positioned to be the Standard format staple Aggro deck going forward. I would be very surprised if some style of this deck is unable to reach into the top 16 of the major tourneys going forward. I would be very confident to sleeve this up any weekend and expect to compete for the win.

Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on twitter