MTG thread

Came in 13th at states yesterday with Esper control. I never ran into the blue devotion decks but they were already there. I think only one made it into top 8. My overall record was 6-2, and everyone in top 8 was 6-1-1 or better. Better luck next time I guess, but the prize pool for top 16 was pretty good, so I ended up tripling my entry fee in card value off pack pulls. Nylea, Thassa, Elspeth, Thoughtseize, and a handful of $5 rares.

Not bad for a Saturday.

I'm not saying it's wrong, but I see everyone throw around the 'it's a meta game deck' after every pro tour. What deck, exactly,crushes the mono-blue devotion deck that didn't show up to pro tour theros? It can only be a metagame deck if you think it'll beat a specific field, one that is low or devoid of the counter to the deck.

There may be a counter to the deck, but I can guarantee you that this deck will get played at FNMs for the next 3 months until the next set comes out and we have another pro tour. Unload your master of waves and thassas in the next week or so IF you really don't like the deck style. If you might possibly play it, hold onto them and try it out with proxies to see.

I have to agree there Mist. The blue devotion deck is interesting of course but it is inherently fragile and relies on leveraging a very few mechanics right now.

That's great and I love me some 'clever' decks but the cards are less likely to hold value down the road. The power cards aren't going to fit into too many other decks.

Well we will see. The blue devotion deck is being discussed on /r/spikes and from what people like Sam Black have said, in its worst matchup, it is still 50/50 to win which is pretty damn good.

It's biggest advantage is that it's incredibly explosive. It lacks the consistency of older surprise decks like Delver, but it also topdecks a LOT better. Blue has never had a way to slam 10-14 power on the board as early as this.

It's very cool, but I think it will also be hated out pretty quickly.

Got 16th yesterday at California States running my version of Mono Red Devotion.

21 Mountain
2 Nythkos

4 Young Pyromancer
4 Ash Zealot
4 Chandra's Phoenix
4 Boros Reckoner
2 Purphorous
3 Stormbreath Dragons

2 Chandra, Pyromancer

2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Shocks
1 Flames of the Firebrand
4 Magma Jets
4 Lightning Strikes
1 Molten Birth

Won a ton of games against BWR control (Desecration Demon vs tokens=lol) , Red Deck Wins (side in Peak Eruption and Flames of Firebrand), and Esper Control (Skullcrack, Burning Earth, and Stormbreath fuckers). The one Molten Birth, combined with Pyromancer and Purphorous definitely caught some people off-guard. Chandra and her birds were also MVPs. Both matches I lost was to Mono Blue Devotion. I expected the match up to be unwinnable, but Flames of the Firebrand works surprisingly well against the Master of Wave tokens. I just had to keep burning their big devotion creatures before Thassa can come into play. Nevertheless, it's still almost a hard counter against my deck. Oh well.

The one interesting thing I noticed about my deck is that it always gets shit on for Game 1, then dominates for games 2 and 3 when I side in my answers. I guess the mainboard isn't focused enough?

Got a ton of packs but didn't really hit the bank. Nythkos, a few of those Temples (including one foil), Thoughtseize, Polukranos, and a few more 4 dollar rares. But hey, 16th out of 140+ competitors I can't complain.

Mono Blue Devotion will stick around, just because Red will stick around. It's still a niche deck that gets fucked by any Esper Control deck. Hell, red might even have an answer in Electrickery.

Congrats! Our states in GA was about the same. I think we had 130 people, something like that.

I never saw mono-red devotion all day. The closest I came was a boros burn deck that was one of my losses. Chandra's Phoenix + Mutavault rapes control. I can deal with Burning Earth, Skullcrack and even Stormbreath, but Mutavault just ruins my fucking day.

I had a decent MtG weekend. Although it feels like an always the bridesmaid kind of thing. I finished 4th in a SCG IQ on Saturday (out of 25ish) and 8th in the TCGplayer States today (out of 79). I got a total of 36 packs and a handful of qualification point for each. Now that I've scratched the itch I'm wanting more competitive magic. I've just jumped back in (really DOVE in, bought 4 playsets of standard [minus Theros mythics]) to playing again after several years of not even looking at cards. FNM 2 weeks ago was the first constructed event I played since Invasion Block Constructed. I still have the mechanics and the thought process, but I've got to close out tournaments before I get frustrated with myself again. I had to quit before because it just became an expensive hobby and now that I have a decent job where I can actually spend money, it's even more dangerous. I do feel there are more oppotunities for competitve play now than before, so I'm excited to be playing again now.

I've been playing budget Mono Red Fanatic up through the event on Saturday and I just hate the matchup that it has against anything midrange. I feel that unless I blow them out early, they tend to have things like turn 2 Caryatid into turn 3 Smiter where everything on the board and in my hand becomes poop or else something like Fiendslay into Whip into Obzedat or Blood Baron where the same thing is true. I wanted to switch for the event on Saturday, but now I find I'm missing key cards for any deck. It turns out the Theros mythics are worth having.

Today I switched to a Mono Black Devotion deck (the deck Kentarou Yamamto played in the Pro Tour) because it was the deck I almost had the cards for. Fortunately, the card store had a pair of Erebos for a reasonable price to finish out the deck.

Round 1 was a Selesnya deck that I almost got blown out on game 3. I had miscounted something and if he had his Sundering Growth the day would have gone a lot different.
Round 2 was a BG whip deck which was a surprisingly difficult matchup. Game 3 he only drew 2 spells though so it didn't last too long.
Round 3 was another Selesnya that used Ordeals. They were yummy to 2-for-1. This was my easiest match of the day.
Round 4 was against a UWR control deck using Assemble the Legion as a win condition. I actually have no way to deal with enchantments but fortunately it only came down 1 game and only after it was too late. He was also playing Elspeth but I had Hero's Downfall for this. I made a couple simple mistakes during this round (forgot my Lifebane Zombie had intimidate for a turn which let Elspeth stall the game for a few extra turns and forgot to use my Underworld Connections at least once). I need to play more Magic.
Round 5 was against another Selesnya deck. This time I was the one mana screwed and had a grip full of removal but drew the 3rd land about 4 turns too late. This was probably my shortest round of the day.
Round 6 was against an Esper control. Game 1 should have gone to the opponent, but he didn't see that he had the win. I was at 19 life and he had 7 soldiers and Elsepth on 7 loyalty. I almost scooped during my turn when I realized that I couldn't win, but there's a reason to make your opponent beat you. He plus'd Elspeth the next turn and made some more dudes and the next turn I was able to lay a Whip to get out of range of lethal damge. Next turn, plus Elspeth again and then I drew a Hero's downfall to answer that threat. The coolest thing was how this game was finished. He also had Ashiok in play and kept milling me. He found a couple Lifebane Zombies but decided not to take those. He then hit a Desecration Demon. I laid out a 2nd Gray Merchant for I think 10 drain. He took my Desecration Demon with Ashiok which let me sacrifice Gray Merchant and Whip it back for the win. Game 2 was very anticlimactic after that. I ended up winning with 2 Pack Rats and 2 Mutavaults on the table. I can't remember anything he actually played that game other than a Jace which he minus'd and I could kill it.
Round 7 was ID into the Top 8
Round 8 was against a Mono Blue Devotion. It went to 3 games but in the end his Master of Waves washed over me. On the last turn I had activated Erebos I guess looking for an answer to Master of Waves and his 7 minions. I already had my Gray Merchant play in mind. I didn't find anything and played the Merchant which he responded to with Rapid Hybridization. Next turn he drew a Jace and hit a Tidebinder off of it which allowed him to tap down my new Frog Lizard to be able to swing for lethal. I definitely should have sided in more Pharika's Cure for maybe the Devour Flesh or probably Thoughtseize (although this is my only answer to Thassa which I hit in Game 3). This is all part of never playing the deck before today, there are a lot of decisions to make.

I definitely had more fun with this deck that I have with the Mono Red so will probably keep playing it through the week, or I may switch to Mono Blue once my cards come in the mail. I was able to pick up my Master of Waves and Thassas on Thursday off eBay for $6 and $9 respectively. I had no idea they were going to skyrocket in price. I just wanted them to round out my Theros collection and open up more deck options. I'm still missing some of the playable mythics, but I've got enough for now (don't ask me that same question tomorrow though).

I guess there's another SCG Trial on Thursday nearby so I'll probably play in that, although I think the top prize is just some qualification points and not an actual invite. That should make 4 nights of Standard this week, wheeeee.

Congrats to you both! I also personally got back into MtG after quitting during Kamigawa. I played Standard literally 6 days of the week, driving 20 miles everyday after work to Channel Fireball. My reasoning for it was that all the money for weed and barhopping is going into Magic, haha.

Yeah congrats to both of you

I've been trying to put together a deck that is at least tier two in the BUG domain. However it definitely still needs some tweaking. Anyone have suggestions or ideas? Here's the list:


Some thoughts:

• Do I want some stabilizing lifegain, perhaps via Whip of Erebos?
• I'm not 100% sure about the Lifebane Zombie yet.
• Do I need more card draw and/or counterspells?
• In theory the deck should do O.K. versus blue devotion.
• I get the feeling that this deck is trying to do a little too much of everything. Hence why I'm asking for feedback.

Lots of success all around and glad to see players getting back in to things.

I didn't even go to states here in Alabama. The TO is a complete tool and the prize support was literally equal to FNM. I am not driving 3 and half hours each way to pay for a $25 FNM.

That said, I do have 5 major tournaments in the next 2 months. GP Louisville (Standard), SCG Invitational Indianapolis (Standard/Legacy), GP Washington DC (Legacy), GP Dallas (Standard), and SCG Invitational Las Vegas(Standard/Legacy).

For standard I still playing my evolved version of B/G control. It's a strong deck and not really all that popular which is how I like it. Willy Edel played a similar list at the PT and went 7-1 in the Standard portion. Golgari Charm > Master of Waves.dec And for Legacy I am still in on Shardless BUG, although I am starting to think it's a poor meta call for the Invitational. There will be a lot of combo there.

Xalara_sl said:

Yeah congrats to both of you

I've been trying to put together a deck that is at least tier two in the BUG domain. However it definitely still needs some tweaking. Anyone have suggestions or ideas? Here's the list:

Spoiler

Creatures:
1x Aetherling
3x Lifebane Zombie
2x Prognostic Sphinx
2x Prophet of Kruphix
4x Reaper of the Wilds
4x Sylvan Caryatid

Planeswalkers:
3x Jace, Architect of Thought
1x Vraska the Unseen

Instants:
2x Abrupt Decay
1x Dissolve
2x Doom Blade
1x Far // Away
2x Hero's Downfall
2x Opportunity
1x Putrefy

Sorcery:
4x Thoughtseize

Land:
4x Breeding Pool
1x Forest
2x island
4x Overgrown Tomb
4x Swamp
4x Temple of Deceit
2x Temple of Mystery
4x Watery Grave

Some thoughts:

• Do I want some stabilizing lifegain, perhaps via Whip of Erebos?
• I'm not 100% sure about the Lifebane Zombie yet.
• Do I need more card draw and/or counterspells?
• In theory the deck should do O.K. versus blue devotion.
• I get the feeling that this deck is trying to do a little too much of everything. Hence why I'm asking for feedback.

Click to expand...

I REALLY like the BUG concept in general, but I also feel that 3 color decks are a mistake right now (for high level competitive play). What you gain in power is not worth what you give up in consistency. Although my opinion is a little skewed. My deck choices are always geared towards tournamets with 7-16 rounds (before top8) where being consistent is king.

Wish I could go to GP Louisville, but I've got too much travel for it to work out.

Yeah right now I am trying to gear my deck towards going at least 3-1 at FNM. Granted the FNMs I go to are relatively competitive since it is Card Kingdom. The only upcoming PTQs are sealed, and while I will be going to GP Vancouver for standard, that isn't for a few more months.

I will say a BG deck is also attractive especially since it opens up room for things like Golgari Charms, Whip of Erebos, and Varolz shenanigans. That and I think there was at least one or two Varolz based decks at the Pro Tour? Another mini goal of mine is figuring out a deck that utilizes Lotleth Troll in some way too.

I'm going to try and build Mihara's deck for this week's FNM. While I'm pretty competitive, once I do reasonably well with a deck I usually switch gears and go to something else for a while to try and build other skills. Particularly for FNM, I'm a big believer in winning one week, then learning another deck so that other people don't feel discouraged and the store meta stays fresh.

I'll need to scrape together 2 more Nykthos and 2 Garruks, otherwise I should be good for Mihara's deck. It can generate some truly terrifying amounts of mana with Nykthos and Voyaging Satyr.

Xalara_sl said:

Yeah right now I am trying to gear my deck towards going at least 3-1 at FNM. Granted the FNMs I go to are relatively competitive since it is Card Kingdom. The only upcoming PTQs are sealed, and while I will be going to GP Vancouver for standard, that isn't for a few more months.

I will say a BG deck is also attractive especially since it opens up room for things like Golgari Charms, Whips and Varolz shenanigans. That and I think there was at least one or two Varolz based decks at the Pro Tour? Another mini goal of mine is figuring out a deck that utilizes Lotleth Troll in some way too.

Click to expand...

I was just thinking about something abusing Lotleth Troll and Whip to bring in an Obzedat or AEtherling in a straight BG deck. Obzedat is obvious, but getting the blue mana to activate AEtherling probably would not make him worth it. Could run a few UB Temples and Caryatids I guess, but still probably not worth it just for these shenanigans. A potential turn 4 Obzedat seems pretty sweet though.

Yeah Aetherling doesn't really belong in a BG whip deck due to the lack of blue. Obzedat is definitely good but also can't be your primary win condition, so I feel it is a two of at most. Varolz might belong in a BG whip deck but there is some tension between his scavenge ability and Whip of Erebos. On the other hand, his ability gives you more options with the graveyard in case*you can't get your whip out.

Giant Adephage is also a decent Whip of Erebos candidate and can be hard casted if needed in a BG deck. Not that it matters much but Giant Adephage's tokens also add to your green devotion so there is the possibility for shenanigans there too.

Grabbit Allworth_sl said:

Lots of success all around and glad to see players getting back in to things.

I didn't even go to states here in Alabama. The TO is a complete tool and the prize support was literally equal to FNM. I am not driving 3 and half hours each way to pay for a $25 FNM.

That said, I do have 5 major tournaments in the next 2 months. GP Louisville (Standard), SCG Invitational Indianapolis (Standard/Legacy), GP Washington DC (Legacy), GP Dallas (Standard), and SCG Invitational Las Vegas(Standard/Legacy).

For standard I still playing my evolved version of B/G control. It's a strong deck and not really all that popular which is how I like it. Willy Edel played a similar list at the PT and went 7-1 in the Standard portion. Golgari Charm > Master of Waves.dec And for Legacy I am still in on Shardless BUG, although I am starting to think it's a poor meta call for the Invitational. There will be a lot of combo there.

Click to expand...

Grabbit, I can only expect that when you win the Invitational you will request your likeness be represented on an Assassin token. It's the only right one for you.

Chickenpants_sl said:

Grabbit, I can only expect that when you win the Invitational you will request your likeness be represented on an Assassin token. It's the only right one for you.

Click to expand...

Haha! Touche. I hadn't considered it, but that's perfect. Do we know each other? Guilded together at one point?

Seriously though, I am going to have a really hard time with the Legacy portion due to the my low amount of reps in the format. I am working on it, but there are a lot of subtle nuances in Legacy that are easy to miss (and cost you games on the spot) for my expectations to be too high.