thefreakaccident
10-04-2009, 11:43 PM
Card Name:
Cruel Ultimatum
Mana Cost:
UUBBBRR
Sorcery
Card Text:
Target opponent sacrifices a creature, discards three cards, then loses 5 life. You return a creature card from your graveyard to your hand, draw three cards, then gain 5 life.
I think anyone can agree that if this card were to resolve against a good chunk of the format, it would be pretty difficult to lose the game.
The trick would then be to stall the gamestate accordingly, surviving to the late game so that you can cast ^ and put the win far out of reach for the opponent.
This is one of those things were its so bad that its good... here is what i concocted, and what its done for me:
lands//25
3 underground sea
3 tundra
3 volcanic island
1 badlands
1 swamp
3 island
4 polluted delta
2 bloodstained mire
2 flooded strand
1 urza's factory
2 reflecting pool
creatures//8
2 sower of temptation
4 mulldrifter
2 angel of despair
spells//27
4 swords to plowshares
2 firespout
2 engineered explosives
4 force of will
3 counterspell
3 cryptic command
4 accumulate knowledge
2 fact or fiction
3 cruel ultimatum
sideboard//
2 red elemental blast
2 blue elemental blast
2 pithing needle
1 firespout
1 engineered explosives
4 relic of progenitus
3 extirpate
Lets break down the card choices, as well as some of the general Match ups i've gotten around to testing:
Card choices:
Lands:
Duals/fecthes/basics... obv. come on people
Reflecting pool: Seems horrible, but everyone knows how good this card was in standard, having a vivid land allowed this card to be nuts... and it serves the same role in here, allowing you to color fix into your difficult to cast spells (namely angel and ultimatum).
Urza's factory: Much better than any fetchland in a pure control deck, and since there isn't much room in the main 60 to commit to pure wincons, you only want/need 1 of these. Also it produces colorless... the less of those the better.
Creatures:
Mulldrifter: This card is a beating!
No im just kidding, this card does have some synergy with the deck though... he can be brough back by ultimatum, he draws cards, he helps the deck curve out... he's out of counterbalance range, and he's a body that can get in the way... I play four.
Sower of temptation:
Stealing goyfs is his major concern... he's really good at it too, he's out of counterbalance range, and he's a beast!
Angel of despair:
This is one of those situations where a card is so bad that its good... a random 5/5 flyer can be amazing at times... what really made me put this card in here was the fact that i wanted to play vindicate just because its that good, but i kept finding that i didnt have enough winconditions in the deck... i decided i could have both a good wincon and vindicate. This card swings the board-state so dramatically its not even funny.
Spells:
//Removal
Swords: duh
Firespout: ichorid/tribal/ETW/agro rape... nuff said!
Engineered explosives: give the deck needed flexibility... is still good against agro and agro control and ETW/ichs
//countermagic
Force of will: duh
Counterspell: The card is good, yes, but it is a simple one for one... and you simply want more bang for your buck sometimes.
Cryptic command: An amazing card that does not get played enough...
The combinations can be really annoying for opponents:
Counter a spell and bounce another card w/ CC too high to play this turn... double timewalk/temp removal...
Tap all your guys, draw a turn... a timewalk against agro
Counter your spell, draw a card... not only do you not get the card i get CA too.
//Card advantage
Accumulate knowledge: Why this over brainstorm?! Is he crazy?!
The answer?Probably... The card is still good despite common belief... you already run a huge amount of land so you usually dont need the first/second desperation brainstorm for the land... it simply replaces itself the first time round, but is amazing once you hit the others.
Fact or fiction: This card has been a staple in blue control decks for years... the ability to either get exactly what you need, or a shitton of cards against the opponent is amazing.
Cruel ultimatum: The whole purpose behind the deck... ALONE this card creates +7 card advantage, killing a creature (+1), making them discard 3 (+3), you returning a creature (+1), and finally you drawing three cards (+3)... -1 for the card itself = +7... the life swing isn't something to ignore either... it has won me games just because of the life swing alone in the past.
It is very difficult to cast, but if you do, you will not lose the game.
--------------------------------
THE MATCHUPS:
Threshold (counterbalance) - Favorable...
Every card that matters is out of counterbalance range... You have plenty of removal spells to deal with their threats, and they cannot do anything besides FoW on your large spells... you simply draw too many cards and play too many must answers, they eventually get completely overwhelmed by the sheer power of the cards you play.
Tips: Use your explosives/commands to get rid of counterbalance... their creatures are fragile, you can deal with them easily... counterbalance doesn't do much, but if you bounce it you know that they will waste their next turn replaying it so you don't have to worry about anything else.
Tempo threshold/Merfolk - Slightly Unfavorable
(I know these have nothing to do with eachother, but the principle is the same when approaching the MUs)
Any sort of land-destruction hurts this deck a lot... you need all the land you can get, most merfolk decks have moved away from stifle, so they arent as much of an issue, but wasteland can still be very painful...
THRASH is the most inconsistent threshold variant... you just hope they dont have 2+ stifles/wastes... you can recover just fine if they dont have more, but if they do then you WILL lose.
Tips: If you have to chose between dealing with a threat now or drawing cards, draw cards... you need your landdrops no matter what in this MU. Once you get a nice amount of land on board, the MU shifts drastically in your favor...
Merfolk runs no cantrips to set up a tempo strategy, either they have it or not... if they do, then thats too bad, if they dont, then you have lots of fun things to do to their critters, like explosives, firespout, sower, swords... and since they run irrelevant cards like vial and daze, you can just deal with their critters and counter their standstills... all the while drawing a bunch of cards.
Survival: Favorable
Firespout/explosives/swords to slow them down, draw a bunch of cards, counter survival, win... they run so many irrelevant cards (creatures... swords) its not even funny.
Ichorid: Not tested enough... but some notes
Mulldrifter is really good against them when they try to slowroll you... explosives and spout deal with the swarm, swords deals w/ ichs/dread return target... counters are for discard outlets and dread return...
Postboard you get relic/extirpate/spout/explosives/needle...
Yeah... what can they possibly do to that?
I think the MU is actually favorable... dont quote me on this though, as ive only played it out a handful of times.
Elves/goblins: Favorable
Most goblin builds are starting to go Rb to make them slightly more powerful in the redzone *no wastes/ports, and less drivers*.. you stall, draw cards, sweep them, tap their guys down, counter the bombs, play humongous spells that end the game shortly after.
Elves has no means to keep going like goblins do, so while the game plan is very similar, they just do less.
Combo (TES/FT)... Not enough testing
Honestly , there is enough threshold out there that you dont have to worry about combo in the MD too much... I've played a few games against TES, and this is how it went:
I counter the chant/duress... they sit there waiting and sculpting the perfect hand... i do the same in the meantime. If they wait too long, then i just cruel ultimatum them and win the game (this has actually happened 3/4 of the wins so far)...
They cant realistically combo early for ETW, as you have the quick outs... if they go for that, you deal w/ the tokens and win... if they know whats up, you get into scenario #1 seen above...
Sometimes they just have those hands (1st/2nd turn win w/ protection)... but they usually dont...
Postboard you get blasts and pates.
Zoo: Favorable
Counter burn, kill creatures, draw cards, make it impossible for them to win w/ cruel ultimatum... simple.
....................................................
I will add more to the primer at a later time.
Cruel Ultimatum
Mana Cost:
UUBBBRR
Sorcery
Card Text:
Target opponent sacrifices a creature, discards three cards, then loses 5 life. You return a creature card from your graveyard to your hand, draw three cards, then gain 5 life.
I think anyone can agree that if this card were to resolve against a good chunk of the format, it would be pretty difficult to lose the game.
The trick would then be to stall the gamestate accordingly, surviving to the late game so that you can cast ^ and put the win far out of reach for the opponent.
This is one of those things were its so bad that its good... here is what i concocted, and what its done for me:
lands//25
3 underground sea
3 tundra
3 volcanic island
1 badlands
1 swamp
3 island
4 polluted delta
2 bloodstained mire
2 flooded strand
1 urza's factory
2 reflecting pool
creatures//8
2 sower of temptation
4 mulldrifter
2 angel of despair
spells//27
4 swords to plowshares
2 firespout
2 engineered explosives
4 force of will
3 counterspell
3 cryptic command
4 accumulate knowledge
2 fact or fiction
3 cruel ultimatum
sideboard//
2 red elemental blast
2 blue elemental blast
2 pithing needle
1 firespout
1 engineered explosives
4 relic of progenitus
3 extirpate
Lets break down the card choices, as well as some of the general Match ups i've gotten around to testing:
Card choices:
Lands:
Duals/fecthes/basics... obv. come on people
Reflecting pool: Seems horrible, but everyone knows how good this card was in standard, having a vivid land allowed this card to be nuts... and it serves the same role in here, allowing you to color fix into your difficult to cast spells (namely angel and ultimatum).
Urza's factory: Much better than any fetchland in a pure control deck, and since there isn't much room in the main 60 to commit to pure wincons, you only want/need 1 of these. Also it produces colorless... the less of those the better.
Creatures:
Mulldrifter: This card is a beating!
No im just kidding, this card does have some synergy with the deck though... he can be brough back by ultimatum, he draws cards, he helps the deck curve out... he's out of counterbalance range, and he's a body that can get in the way... I play four.
Sower of temptation:
Stealing goyfs is his major concern... he's really good at it too, he's out of counterbalance range, and he's a beast!
Angel of despair:
This is one of those situations where a card is so bad that its good... a random 5/5 flyer can be amazing at times... what really made me put this card in here was the fact that i wanted to play vindicate just because its that good, but i kept finding that i didnt have enough winconditions in the deck... i decided i could have both a good wincon and vindicate. This card swings the board-state so dramatically its not even funny.
Spells:
//Removal
Swords: duh
Firespout: ichorid/tribal/ETW/agro rape... nuff said!
Engineered explosives: give the deck needed flexibility... is still good against agro and agro control and ETW/ichs
//countermagic
Force of will: duh
Counterspell: The card is good, yes, but it is a simple one for one... and you simply want more bang for your buck sometimes.
Cryptic command: An amazing card that does not get played enough...
The combinations can be really annoying for opponents:
Counter a spell and bounce another card w/ CC too high to play this turn... double timewalk/temp removal...
Tap all your guys, draw a turn... a timewalk against agro
Counter your spell, draw a card... not only do you not get the card i get CA too.
//Card advantage
Accumulate knowledge: Why this over brainstorm?! Is he crazy?!
The answer?Probably... The card is still good despite common belief... you already run a huge amount of land so you usually dont need the first/second desperation brainstorm for the land... it simply replaces itself the first time round, but is amazing once you hit the others.
Fact or fiction: This card has been a staple in blue control decks for years... the ability to either get exactly what you need, or a shitton of cards against the opponent is amazing.
Cruel ultimatum: The whole purpose behind the deck... ALONE this card creates +7 card advantage, killing a creature (+1), making them discard 3 (+3), you returning a creature (+1), and finally you drawing three cards (+3)... -1 for the card itself = +7... the life swing isn't something to ignore either... it has won me games just because of the life swing alone in the past.
It is very difficult to cast, but if you do, you will not lose the game.
--------------------------------
THE MATCHUPS:
Threshold (counterbalance) - Favorable...
Every card that matters is out of counterbalance range... You have plenty of removal spells to deal with their threats, and they cannot do anything besides FoW on your large spells... you simply draw too many cards and play too many must answers, they eventually get completely overwhelmed by the sheer power of the cards you play.
Tips: Use your explosives/commands to get rid of counterbalance... their creatures are fragile, you can deal with them easily... counterbalance doesn't do much, but if you bounce it you know that they will waste their next turn replaying it so you don't have to worry about anything else.
Tempo threshold/Merfolk - Slightly Unfavorable
(I know these have nothing to do with eachother, but the principle is the same when approaching the MUs)
Any sort of land-destruction hurts this deck a lot... you need all the land you can get, most merfolk decks have moved away from stifle, so they arent as much of an issue, but wasteland can still be very painful...
THRASH is the most inconsistent threshold variant... you just hope they dont have 2+ stifles/wastes... you can recover just fine if they dont have more, but if they do then you WILL lose.
Tips: If you have to chose between dealing with a threat now or drawing cards, draw cards... you need your landdrops no matter what in this MU. Once you get a nice amount of land on board, the MU shifts drastically in your favor...
Merfolk runs no cantrips to set up a tempo strategy, either they have it or not... if they do, then thats too bad, if they dont, then you have lots of fun things to do to their critters, like explosives, firespout, sower, swords... and since they run irrelevant cards like vial and daze, you can just deal with their critters and counter their standstills... all the while drawing a bunch of cards.
Survival: Favorable
Firespout/explosives/swords to slow them down, draw a bunch of cards, counter survival, win... they run so many irrelevant cards (creatures... swords) its not even funny.
Ichorid: Not tested enough... but some notes
Mulldrifter is really good against them when they try to slowroll you... explosives and spout deal with the swarm, swords deals w/ ichs/dread return target... counters are for discard outlets and dread return...
Postboard you get relic/extirpate/spout/explosives/needle...
Yeah... what can they possibly do to that?
I think the MU is actually favorable... dont quote me on this though, as ive only played it out a handful of times.
Elves/goblins: Favorable
Most goblin builds are starting to go Rb to make them slightly more powerful in the redzone *no wastes/ports, and less drivers*.. you stall, draw cards, sweep them, tap their guys down, counter the bombs, play humongous spells that end the game shortly after.
Elves has no means to keep going like goblins do, so while the game plan is very similar, they just do less.
Combo (TES/FT)... Not enough testing
Honestly , there is enough threshold out there that you dont have to worry about combo in the MD too much... I've played a few games against TES, and this is how it went:
I counter the chant/duress... they sit there waiting and sculpting the perfect hand... i do the same in the meantime. If they wait too long, then i just cruel ultimatum them and win the game (this has actually happened 3/4 of the wins so far)...
They cant realistically combo early for ETW, as you have the quick outs... if they go for that, you deal w/ the tokens and win... if they know whats up, you get into scenario #1 seen above...
Sometimes they just have those hands (1st/2nd turn win w/ protection)... but they usually dont...
Postboard you get blasts and pates.
Zoo: Favorable
Counter burn, kill creatures, draw cards, make it impossible for them to win w/ cruel ultimatum... simple.
....................................................
I will add more to the primer at a later time.