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technogeek5000
12-29-2007, 09:04 PM
Man i dont realy have a history for this deck. I just liked the domain mechanic and thought that it could be applied in legacy outside of Domain Zoo. Over normal sligh lists it is faster, has a stronger sideboard, and it is stronger against threshold. In turn it is more vulnerable to wasteland and a slightly worse matchup against a few randoms which i believe is a very fair tradeoff. Here is the list i came to after a large amount of testing:

3 taiga
4 wooded foothills
3 windswept heath
3 bloodstained mire
1 savannah
1 tropical island
1 bayou
1 plateau
1 volcanic island
1 balands
4 Tarmogoyf
2 elvish spirit guide
1 simian spirit guide
4 kird ape
4 skyshroud elite
4 keldon marauders
3 jungle lion
4 tribal flames
4 gaea's might
4 Lightning bolt
4 berserk
3 rancor

Sideboard:There is no 1 perfect sideboard. The deck a number of options so what ever your meta calls for you put in. This is the board i am gonna use for the primer but the board will always be different depending on where the deck is played.

4 Leyline of the void
4 pyroclasm
4 Chalice of the void
3 gaddock teeg

Card choices:
Keldon Marauders: This card is a nifty little tool that sligh got in Planar Chaos. This card does five damage for one card most of the time or it is a shock and a creature removal. Since its power is one more then most of the other creatures and it is going to die anyways so it is great with bersek.

Kird ape: 2/3 for one mana works very well for this deck. It beats weenies so its good against aggro decks like Suicide Black, The rock, and other mid range decks.

Skyshroud elite: Kird apes 5-8.

Jungle Lion: This card is just mostly a placeholder. I needed a cheap beater in this slot and jungle lion was the one that jumped out at me. Its still a decent creature and still beats for the win in games.

2/1 Spirit guide split: I needed spirit guides to speed up the deck but the most i could fit in was three. Since green fills a larger part of the deck then red does i decided that two elvish spirit guides and one simian spirit guide was the right choice.

Berserk: This card is the best pump that the deck has. Berserk alongside a gae's might is a devastating 14-16 points of damage and still does a respectable amount of damage when paired with rancor. Even without another pump card it still gives you a boost. Also if need be, you can bersekr your opponents creatures to kill them so the card is very versatile.

Tribal flames/ Gaea's might: From a normal sligh list these take the place of Chain lightning and Fireblast. Full five color domain is very easy to achieve with this deck so tribal flames always does more then chain lightning and gaea's might is more synergistic with the deck then fire blast is. Also gaea's might interacts with berserk so when it is cast along side it, it becomes 8-10 damage for 1 mana. The added damage that these cards provide give the deck a stronger early, mid game.

Pyroclasm: This card is good in this deck because all of your creatures outside of jungle lion (which you most likely side out for these) and the hardcasted spirit guides. It beats goblins


Matchups:
Goblins: This deck wants to stall as long as possible until it can go off and win. Kird ape and skyshroud elite are both great at doing this as they munch on lackey and they both are great blockers against all of their creatures. You stall as long as you safely can with a few creatures until you can deal lethal damage with a explosive combination of pump and burn spells. This is fairly easy to achieve as you will most likely be wittling their life down while you are stalling. Tarmogoyf is a godsend as always against goblins, and backed with a few burn spells to their important creatures you can hold off their whole board. Jungle lion is bad this matchup. Pre-board you want to save him and play him as the last of your threats as he affects them the least. Post board you want to side him out for pyroclasms and that should solve the decks problems and disynergies. As long as you play your pyroclasms strategically and you get a few decent creatures on the board this matchup is relatively easy post-board.

Sideboard out: -3 jungle lion, -1 ESG

Sideboard in: +4 pyroclasm

Threshold: The pump from this deck are probably the most important tools you have here. A single Gaea's might on a blocker or a rancor on a goyf can turn the tide of the game, since they run a small amount of creatures. Counterbalance is bad for this deck so try to lay all of your threats before you cast your pump and burn. tribal flames is better here then chain lightning because chain lightning cannot deal with tarmogoyf. For the sideboard you want to side in leylines because they cripple their non-tarmogoyf creatures and the opposing tarmogoyfs are almost always going to be at a disadvantage to yours.

Sideboard out: -4 Lightning bolt

Sideboard in: +4 Leyline of the void

Landstill: This machup can be favorable or unfavorable depending on the build. Builds that run wasteland and can recur it through crucible hurt the most because this deck has a low land count and it disrupts the domain. Most other builds this deck can deal with although it still is a hard matchup. What you want to do is lay 1 beater and pump it a few times. Never cast all the creatures in your hand though, as you will likely walk into a game winning deed or the like. Also its smart to keep 1 pump in your hand for combat shenanigans, rancor works the best here as it recurs so your creatures will normally end up bigger then their manlands and they will try to stall. If you dont over extend and you wait till the opportune moment to go all in then you can win this Matchup. Sideboarding all depends on the build your are facing. if your playing a UW build with Wrath of god and decree of justice (im mostly referring to Slay's landstill build) then i would suggest boarding in gaddock teeg as that will stop most of their big threats and removal. This was the build i tested against the most and sideboarding in all my teeg realy hurt the landstill build, it knocked out Force of will, fact or fiction, and his WOGs. It creates enough card disadvantage for the opponent and buys enough time to deal enough damage to either kill or put them in the red zone.

Sideboard out: -2 jungle lion, -1 lightning bolt

Sideboard in: +3 gaddock teeg

TES: Preboard this matchup is bad for us. Most of the time they combo off before you can do anything to stop them. Sometimes if they go off with a ETW this deck can play enough creatures to stall and stabilize or you can get a fast hand and race the goblins. Unless that happens or they fizzle out this matchup is... "Difficult". Postboard you want to side out your burn spells and side in chalicethe hoard of goblins. If you can stop or answer their combo then you essentially win. Chalice buys enough time for you to deal enough damage and win even if they have a answer for it. Gaddock teeg stops Tendrills of agony and ETW alltogether, and also since hes a beater he will help race and kill the opponent.

Sideboard out: -3 lightning bolts, -4 Tribal flames

Sideboard in: +4 chalice of the void, +3 gaddock teeg

Armageddon Stax: This matchup is slightly in their favor, but mostly it depends on the player. In this matchup you want to play 1 creature and pump it to win. If you follow this stradegy, then magus of the tabernacle and ghostly prison become significantly less effective. Gaea's might is great here for a suprise factor because when they try to block it with magus you cast might on your creature... killing theirs. Chalice @1 hurts the most here but it is still easily winnable even if they get it out because you still have the goyf which can win games on its own and keldon marauders is grea of the void and gaddock teeg in their place. These two make the matchup a little bit easier and if it suits you you can also sideboard in a few pyroclasms to deal with t at getting the last few points of damage in. Rancor is a great answer to smokestack and it will almost always ensure that they cannot smoke out your board. When you board you want to bring out all 1cc cards for gaddock teeg, as this will make you more resilient to a Chalice @1. Gaddock stops armageddon and smokestack which realy helps as those are the two most effective way they have to deprive you of your mana.

Sideboard out: -3 lightning bolt

Sideboard in: +3 gaddock teeg

Suicide Black: I listed Sui black as one of my MU's over decks like Dragon stompy or Cephalid breakfast because where i play there is about 3+ sui decks in a relatively small field. There are a few different builds of sui black so ill just state the stradegies that apply to both. Since they run lots of targeted removal i suggest spacing out your pump and if your attacking with 2 creatures play 1 on each even if 1 is a berserk because then it will be serious card disadvantage. If they are foolish enough to cast negator then make it your first priority to unload all your burn spells on it, removing all their perms and always winning you the game. As long as you burn away the big/untapped creatures this matchup pretty favorable as they have lots of self inflicted life loss. Since they run almost all basics skyshroud elite is very weak here. Side them out for pyroclasms and the matchup becomes even easier. Their discard hurts alot but unfortunately their isnt much we can do about it.

Sideboard out: -4 skyshroud elite

Sideboard in: +4 pyroclasm


Sample hands:
Lightning Bolt, Skyshroud Elite, Kird Ape, Berserk, Taiga, Bloodstained mire, Elvish Spirit Guide: Keep
On your first turn you want to cast both kird ape and skyshroud elite off of the taiga and the ESG. Next turn fetch for one of the red duals. Bolt creatures that are in your way and berserk when they are low enough. If you draw any pump you want to use it in conjunction with berserk so you want to wait and use it at the end. The rest should be self explanatory.

Berserk, Wooded foothills, Windswept Heath, Keldon Marauders, Badlands, Gaea's Might, Kird Ape: Keep
First off you want to cast your kird ape with the badlands. Next turn crack the windswept heath for a savannah, cast keldon marauders, and swing with the 2/3 kird ape. On your next turn you want to fetch for a tropical island, cast gaea's might and berserk on a keldon marauders and that should be enough damage to kill the opponent (-4 from 2 turns of kird ape, -2 for CIP/LP keldon marauders, attacking with (3/3+5/5= 8/8+8/0=16/8) a 16/8 keldon marauders for 22 damage).

Windswept heath 2x, jungle lion, SSG, tribal flames, lightning bolt, bayou: Mulligan
At a first glance this hand seems playable, but it realy doesnt do much and is relatively slow so its probably best to throw this one back. You have 3 mana not including spirit guide and the majority of your spells are red while all your lands are green. If you fetch for red to smooth out the mana then you dont get a strong tribal flames. Simian spirit guide doesnt do much in this hand, and your only permanent source of damage is jungle lion.

Kird ape 2x, jungle lion 2x, Tribal flames, berserk, bloodstained mire: Probably Keep
What you realy want with this hand is to topdeck that second land so if your going second then you probably want to keep this hand because its less of a risk. You can risk it if you want while going first and if you get that second land then your set. If you dont then you can still play the hand because almost everything is 1 mana.

Windswept heath 2x, ESG, SSG, Tarmogoyf, berserk, rancor: Keep
Turn 1 you fetch for a tropic, savannah, or bayou and use the esg to cast goyf. Wait till next turn to cast the rancor and fetch or another off color dual. Dont fetch for a taiga because you have SSG and chances are that soon you will draw into a red dual or fetch. Your opponent will most likely facilitate Tarmogoyfs P/T so you will will be able to berserk for lethal in a few turns.


Sideboard options:
As this deck runs 5 colors one of its strengths is the extremely wide variety of cards that you can put in your sideboard. The deck can use nearly any sideboard tool thats 3 mana or less and doesn't interfere with the domain mechanic. Some options are:

Ancient Grudge: Card advantage against Stax and can also hurt a few random decks (im gonna stretch and say 5/3... its mostly for stax)
Pithing needle: Effective against landstill. Name it on a factory or other manlands with it and you buy time/ open way for creatures to attack.
Engineered explosives: The deck runs 5 colors so it can utilize this card extremely well. If you need a way to answer any kind of problem card
Pyrokenisis: Scrath that. i thought it hit creatures and players.
Chill: Hurts goblins and Dragon stompy, and TES/belcher
Karmic justice: Great against stax and a few random decks.
City of solitude: Another good card against landstill. It neuters all their counters so it protects your creatures while you are pumping them, making your kill easier to pull off.
Planar void: A alternative to leyline if for some reason you dont want to run them. One plus is that its alot easier to cast if its not in your opening hand.
Duress/Thoughtsieze: Card to battle combo and control. Other cards are probably stronger.
Chains of Mephistophles: This one is probably the strongest anti-Landstill cards ive listed (its also great against thresh, stopping all of there cantrips). It makes standstill and brainstorm unplayable and several other cards as well.

Edit: Current list
3 taiga
4 wooded foothills
3 windswept heath
3 bloodstained mire
1 savannah
1 tropical island
1 bayou
1 plateau
1 volcanic island
1 balands
4 Tarmogoyf
4 kird ape
4 skyshroud elite
4 keldon marauders
3 Boros Swiftblade
4 tribal flames
4 gaea's might
4 Lightning bolt
4 berserk
3 rancor
3 Chain Lightning

4 leyline
4 pyroclasm
3 Gaddock teeg
2 E explosives
2 Thoughtsieze

DeepfriedDynamite
12-29-2007, 09:41 PM
I like the deck for the sideboard versatality more then the domain mechanic. I do think it improves the sligh deck because sligh had trouble with control and combo and this deck gives it the tools it needs to beat it. One thing i noticed though. You side out lightning bolt alot and you suggest Pyrokinesis to speed up the deck. Your deck wants to win as fast as possible and it seems that pyro would help that. Why not replace the lightning bolts with them or atleast a with a few of them and that would make your speed even better.

Also the deck is ridiculously expensive. 9 duals +10 fetches +4 goyfs +4 berserks (and if i were to run it +4 Chains of Mephistopheles)

technogeek5000
12-30-2007, 09:18 AM
I like the deck for the sideboard versatality more then the domain mechanic. I do think it improves the sligh deck because sligh had trouble with control and combo and this deck gives it the tools it needs to beat it. One thing i noticed though. You side out lightning bolt alot and you suggest Pyrokinesis to speed up the deck. Your deck wants to win as fast as possible and it seems that pyro would help that. Why not replace the lightning bolts with them or atleast a with a few of them and that would make your speed even better.

Also the deck is ridiculously expensive. 9 duals +10 fetches +4 goyfs +4 berserks (and if i were to run it +4 Chains of Mephistopheles)

Maindeck Pyrokinesis seems ok, but i wouldnt want to add 4 because often i wouldnt be able to use them. Ill test a 2/2 split of pyro and lightning bolt and see how it goes.

Eldariel
12-30-2007, 09:26 AM
Are you sure pump-spells are better than just playing more burn? With access to Tribal Flames, it seems like you could stack the deck with high damage burn-spells to end the whole ordeal very quickly. Sure, Berserk and Might are more effective when they work, but if opponent kills all your creatures or even just has one removal-spell in response to Berserk or happens to have a blocker with First Strike (and you lacking Might) or some such, they will be pretty bad. Also, playing so little burn gives you very little reach. I'd think the added few extra points wouldn't be worth the unreliability of the pump.

endrunn3r
12-30-2007, 07:41 PM
I think that the Keldon Marauders should be replaced with Boros Swiftblade as used in the Extended deck. Double Strike with pumps works very well.
I also agree with Eldariel that there should be some extra burn for reach. (Mass) removal hurts you and the addition of maybe just 3-4 burn spells would help.

technogeek5000
12-31-2007, 09:36 AM
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. First off about the burn in place of the pump. Burn makes the deck slower but more consistent and also weakens berserk. One of this decks weaknesses currently is a small consistency problem so ill test chain lightning in place of rancor. Next is Boros swiftblade. The card is very interesting and the deck can easily support it with 12 ways of getting white. But if i were to run this then i probably wouldnt want to switch rancor for chain lightning. Ill test a few different configurations and see how it works.

DeepfriedDynamite
01-01-2008, 12:42 PM
I think that boros swiftblade would be a good idea in a deck full of pump spells, but if you add him then you would probably not want to put in more burn. Also why would you take out keldon marauders. It seems like one of the better caerds in the deck and in the post its easy to see that jungle lion is the weakest creature. I would take 3 lions out for three swiftblades that way you get the brokeness of boros, you wont be as dependant on finding that 1 white mana, and you have better game against a chalice at 1 which is a automatic win against the deck in its current state. The deck is still interesting though. I have a sligh list in my MWS folder so ill change it around and see if the deck is worth playing.

TheCramp
01-01-2008, 10:57 PM
Next is Boros swiftblade. The card is very interesting and the deck can easily support it with 12 ways of getting white.

Ummm, Gae's Might Get There? Remember that deck in extended, last season? It was bad-ass.

Wallace
01-02-2008, 10:02 PM
Actually the Extended version no longer runs Swiftblade, Swiftblade is yet another creature that lost its job to tarmogoyf. I am in favor of running more burn over the pump spells. There is a lot of creature removal running around now days(thanks to Goyf) and I would hate to have every pump spell countered by STP or smother.

Rancor seems fine but Gaea's might is very under-powered, trust me I rocked the Extended deck that abused Might, this is legacy though. You would be better off running chain kightning over Gaea's might. I would drop 2 of the Berserks and find room to fit 4x Lightning Helix.

I really don't think you need the Spirit guides, the deck if fast without them. To me thay are a dead draw mid to late game. Another creature would be nice in there place. You could play any number of creatures in the slot opend up by dropping the guides, Q. Dryad seems like a great choice here, Savannah Lions, Grim Lavamancer, gaddock teeg, Watch wolf, or even the Boros Swiftblade's would fit.

Jungle Lion, why not Isumaru insted. He is a 2/2, the fact that he is legandary is really nbd if you only play 3.

Just my thoughts on the deck, I am really intrested to see how this works, looks like it could be solid with some work...

freakish777
01-02-2008, 10:43 PM
Actually the Extended version no longer runs Swiftblade, Swiftblade is yet another creature that lost its job to tarmogoyf.

I would run Swiftblades over Keldon Marauders in this list (and it's debatable as to whether it's Swiftblade or Watchwolf that lost it's job to Goyf in Extended).

Jungle Lion should be Isumara. Being able to block is relevant in this format.

Wallace
01-02-2008, 10:47 PM
I would run Swiftblades over Keldon Marauders in this list (and it's debatable as to whether it's Swiftblade or Watchwolf that lost it's job to Goyf in Extended).

Jungle Lion should be Isumara. Being able to block is relevant in this format.


Yeah not loseing to Mogg Fanatic or to a Blocked Lacky seems good. Swiftblades over KM's would be a good choice, just seemed to me that swiftblade never got there and without a pump spell they are really just a 2/2 for :w::r: (1/2 w/ dbl strike) Maybe running watchwolf over the KM's would be a better choice.

technogeek5000
01-03-2008, 09:21 AM
So if i were to make the suggested changes to the list in the opening post it would probably be something like:

-3 jungle lion
-4 keldon marauders
-4 gaea's might
-3 spirit guides
-2 berserk

+3 isamaru
+4 watchwolf
+4 chain lightning
+1 rancor
+4 burn spell


I dont know if i like isamaru though. The deck has a slight problem of finding white so its not gonna come down as turn 1 as much as i would like it to. For the burn slot i dont realy want to run lightning helix because then it would be pushing the white to far and i would need another white dual to get it consistently enough... which i cant do because the manabase is currently locked (i need 19 lands to support the domain, 20 would push it because all my spells are 1 and 2, and i cant cut a fetch or one of the off color duals). Since im taking out most of my pump it would probably be a better idea to go with watchwolf then swiftblade. I added a rancor because it doesnt become wasted if the opponent kills the creature. Maybe the burn slot could be rift bolt: it doesnt die to chalice, still played on turn 1, and can be hardcasted lategame.

I also wanted to test a different sideboard:

4 leyline
4 pyroclasm
3 chains of mephistopheles
2 E explosives
2 duress

freakish777
01-03-2008, 09:45 AM
just seemed to me that swiftblade never got there and without a pump spell

In Extended sure, but in Legacy we have Rancor in addition to Gaea's Might. Going turn 1 Ape/Isa/Elite, turn 2 Swiftblade, turn 3 Rancor/Might seems extremely common. If you don't have a pump spell in your hand and you have Swiftblade, what are the odds it's your only legitimate 2 drop that turn?

Speaking of 2 drops, where in the hell is Dark Confidant in this deck?

EDIT: Chains of Mephistopheles is basically crap at the moment. When High Tide saw play, I wouldn't disagree with running it in the board.

HdH_Cthulhu
01-03-2008, 11:40 AM
What average dmg has Gae's might done in your testing?

Try it out maybe Might of Old Krosa is Better in this deck!

technogeek5000
01-03-2008, 04:16 PM
Gaea's might does 4-5 all of the time. Also the act that it gets played in the combat phase is extremely important. Chains is good against thresh and landstill. Im still testing dark confidant but I dont especially like the results. It doesnt beat which is a requirement for creatures in this deck and confidant is more of a midrange card where as this deck is focuses on the early game. It might be a good sideboard card to refill your hand against sweepers.

DeepfriedDynamite
01-04-2008, 03:22 PM
Techno: The changes you made i dont think are correct. I modified my MWS sligh list to be this deck and gae's might was one of the strongest cards in this deck. I used the swiftblades in place of jungle lion and it made the deck realy strong. I think that the deck could use more burn but the pump is just so good here that i dont think that it should be taken out. I didnt like the spirit guides so I added in the chain lightnings and it worked nice.

technogeek5000
01-04-2008, 04:27 PM
Those werent the changes i made to my actual list, but just the ones suggested by the others. Gae's might is probably one of the strongest cards in the deck especially with boros swiftblade. The added burn helped alot more then the spirit guides did. Also i took out the three chains of mephistopheles in the board back for 3 gaddock teeg. Here is the current list i have been running.

3 taiga
4 wooded foothills
3 windswept heath
3 bloodstained mire
1 savannah
1 tropical island
1 bayou
1 plateau
1 volcanic island
1 balands
4 Tarmogoyf
4 kird ape
4 skyshroud elite
4 keldon marauders
3 Boros Swiftblade
4 tribal flames
4 gaea's might
4 Lightning bolt
4 berserk
3 rancor
3 Chain Lightning

4 leyline
4 pyroclasm
3 Gaddock teeg
2 E explosives
2 duress

Valdez
01-04-2008, 10:41 PM
Domain Zoo was quite poular in Germany for a short Time, due to thist 1st Place Finish (http://www.deckcheck.net/deck.php?id=10097) by Julian Brüggemann.

technogeek5000
01-23-2008, 04:02 PM
Im back after some testing and made a very slight change to the deck:

-2 Duress
+2 Thoughtsieze

This makes it so i can effectively side it against Cephalid breakfast. Its a very small change to the board but it improves a matchup without sacrificing anything so im satisfied. Also it can be boarded in against aggro decks as you see fit. Oh and boros swiftblade is amazing. Alot of the time I can bait the opponent into blocking it with a goyf something else and cast a gae's might in game 1, killing the Lhurgoyf. Even if they see it coming and chump it, it still kills alot of creatures in the format especially with a rancor and if they decide not to block it then thats 10-12 points of damage.

Curby
01-24-2008, 03:39 PM
Great idea. I've always wanted to make a funny 5-color deck that uses a bunch of 1-drops to go aggro on someone. The problem is that Countertop and Chalice would basically mean game over. While this deck has some 2-drops as well, it seems to still suffer from that problem. Have you tested much against Chalice-happy decks like Stax and Faerie Stompy? The latter is worse because they can counter your Explosives, leaving you with no gameplan whatsoever.

Aside: It's a bit odd how absolutely everyone thinks Gaea is spelled Gae. :wink:

technogeek5000
01-24-2008, 08:15 PM
Thanks for the reply Kirby. Yes chalice does hurt this deck but if your meta has a lot of Chalice stompy and stax then you run a different sideboard to effectively counter it. My sideboard currently is for the general meta but local metagames will vary differently. For stompy decks you will want to play more explosives or play something like ancient grudge/ krosan grip. This is why i believe that the deck is a big improvement from its predecessors because running a 5 color manabase opens enormous amounts of board posibilities to suit any meta.

Oh and i think i caused that bad spelling with might. I spelt it wrong in the opening post so i could imagine others spelling it like that.

DeepfriedDynamite
01-25-2008, 10:54 PM
If chalice is a problem then wouldnt you want to play Shattering spree. Its good at getting rid of Cotv @1 and its great against stax. Its seems like the best anti Chalice (and anti stompy deck) card that this deck will ever realy want to run.