Benie Bederios
01-21-2008, 06:48 AM
Note: originally wanted to post it in the CANG contest, but found it not original enough and to few testing results( 5 to 8 eight games most of the time).
UBw Togless Balanced Trinket Tog
History
I'm always been a fan of Psychatog decks. In the current Meta I only felt that the graveyard hate was just to big for Mister Teeth. A while ago I found somebody use Fledging Dragon instead of Psychatog. It looked like a good idea so I started to fiddle with it. After a while I noticed the card Tombstalker(I'm kinda a thicky). It needs only six cards in your graveyard, only costs BB and black a better then red( Thanks Tarmogoyf) so I chose to play it. It was just a Hulksmash like deck. I could throw out a turn 3/4 Stalker quite easily.
The only problem was the deck was to focussed on getting cards in the graveyard and winning the turn after Tog came into play. I started to remove cards like Intuition and Accumulated Knowledge and even the complete green splash.
I decided to use the remaining slots for the Counterbalance engine. From there it was a smalls step to Trinket Mage.
Anyway this is my current list:
Decklist
Maindeck
4 Flooded Strand
1 Swamp
4 Polluted Delta
2 Island
4 Underground Sea
4 Tundra
4 Tombstalker
3 Trinket Mage
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
3 Predict
3 Cunning Wish
4 Counterspell
4 Force of WIll
4 Swords to Plowshare
3 Counterbalance
2 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Pithing Needle
Sideboard
2 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Slaughter Pact
2 Extirpate
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Disenchant
1 Echoing Truth
4 Engineered Plague
3 Duress
Card selection
Manabase
It's a light manabase, but this deck has a low curve anyway. Eight cantrips and 2 slowtrips for smoothing out the manabase. 3 basics against Wasteland. Eight fetches for getting a quicker Tombstalker.
Kill Condition
Tombstalker does a nice job in shrinking Tarmogoyf, and beating face. Trinket Mage is a 10 turn clock but gets the job done.
Draw and Tutor
Brainstorm and Ponder are autoincludes for decks that play few lands. They just smooth the deck so much. With 10 library manipulation Predict is a nice cheap card advantage card. It makes casting Tombstalker easier too. It's also nice for messing with your opponent's topdeck tutors. Cunning Wish is left from the old deck. It's still nice being 3 CC for Counterbalance and is never dead.
Control Package
Counterbalance is of course great in alot of matchups. Especially with Sensei's Divining Top and the cantrips. Force of Will and Swords to Plowshare are autoincludes. Counterspell seems rather weak, but after you resolve a Tombstalker you still have to protect for some turns. Counterspell does this without questioning: Daze isn't a hard counter and Spellsnare doesn't counter Swords to Plowshare.
Trinket Toolbox
Sensei's Divining Top is an autoinclude. Engineered Explosives and Pithing Needle are general answers too. Tormod's Crypt is a Metagame slot. This could be another Engineered Explosives/ Sensei's Divining Top or a card outside the Toolbox.
The sideboard
Nothing Special here. Fact or Fiction is rather weak so maybe it will become a second Disenchant. I know Goblins is on the decline, but this deck hasn't got a nice matchup and quite some dead cards in the MD.
Strategy
This is a control deck, that doesn't want to wait until turn 20 to win. It wants to get through the early game and after that beat down with a flying 5/5 monster, while controling the opponent with Counterbalance and co. Use the cantrips to set up a quick Counterbalance lock or a Tombstalker.
You have to keep in mind this deck can switch very fast from control to aggro and the other way around. You have to know wich roll to play.
Matchup analysis
Goblins: Preboard unfavorable / Postboard slightly unfavorable
Counterbalance is rather weak in this matchup. You have only eight answers against Lackey. One of them forces you to fetch an non-basic land for there Wasteland. Postboard you get Engineered Explosives, wich is still awesome againt Goblins. You just have to slow them down, until you can find a a wincondition and beat face.
Thresh(UGr) Preboard favorable / Postboard even
You have the Counterbalance engine really screw them. a Wincondition that shrinks Tarmogoyf. And Trinket Mage which can find Engineered Explosives and Tormod's Crypt. The problem is you can't board anything in, where your opponent gets Krosan Grip. The nice thing is your opponent can't deal with Tombstalker.
TES Preboard favorable / Postboard favorable
Counterbalance beats combo. Sure they will get through some wins with early Goblins tokens or a protected Tendrils, but this isn't a matchup you have to worry about. Postboard you get Duress to make there life even worse.
Standstill Untested probably slightly unfavorable
On paper it looks quite even. They have problems with killing Tombstalker and you have problems killing manlands. I do think Landstill has the upperhand, because they have alot more cardadavantage then you.
Aggro-Loam Preboard even / Postboard Slightly unfavorable
If you can Extirpate there Loam yout in good shape. If you can't it's very though. They have threads that can slip through Counterbalance and a nice draw engine. Again I can't board anything in so postboard it gets a little worse for me.
Anyway the deck needs to finetuned( especially the SB) and I would like your opinion about the deck.
UBw Togless Balanced Trinket Tog
History
I'm always been a fan of Psychatog decks. In the current Meta I only felt that the graveyard hate was just to big for Mister Teeth. A while ago I found somebody use Fledging Dragon instead of Psychatog. It looked like a good idea so I started to fiddle with it. After a while I noticed the card Tombstalker(I'm kinda a thicky). It needs only six cards in your graveyard, only costs BB and black a better then red( Thanks Tarmogoyf) so I chose to play it. It was just a Hulksmash like deck. I could throw out a turn 3/4 Stalker quite easily.
The only problem was the deck was to focussed on getting cards in the graveyard and winning the turn after Tog came into play. I started to remove cards like Intuition and Accumulated Knowledge and even the complete green splash.
I decided to use the remaining slots for the Counterbalance engine. From there it was a smalls step to Trinket Mage.
Anyway this is my current list:
Decklist
Maindeck
4 Flooded Strand
1 Swamp
4 Polluted Delta
2 Island
4 Underground Sea
4 Tundra
4 Tombstalker
3 Trinket Mage
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
3 Predict
3 Cunning Wish
4 Counterspell
4 Force of WIll
4 Swords to Plowshare
3 Counterbalance
2 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Pithing Needle
Sideboard
2 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Slaughter Pact
2 Extirpate
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Disenchant
1 Echoing Truth
4 Engineered Plague
3 Duress
Card selection
Manabase
It's a light manabase, but this deck has a low curve anyway. Eight cantrips and 2 slowtrips for smoothing out the manabase. 3 basics against Wasteland. Eight fetches for getting a quicker Tombstalker.
Kill Condition
Tombstalker does a nice job in shrinking Tarmogoyf, and beating face. Trinket Mage is a 10 turn clock but gets the job done.
Draw and Tutor
Brainstorm and Ponder are autoincludes for decks that play few lands. They just smooth the deck so much. With 10 library manipulation Predict is a nice cheap card advantage card. It makes casting Tombstalker easier too. It's also nice for messing with your opponent's topdeck tutors. Cunning Wish is left from the old deck. It's still nice being 3 CC for Counterbalance and is never dead.
Control Package
Counterbalance is of course great in alot of matchups. Especially with Sensei's Divining Top and the cantrips. Force of Will and Swords to Plowshare are autoincludes. Counterspell seems rather weak, but after you resolve a Tombstalker you still have to protect for some turns. Counterspell does this without questioning: Daze isn't a hard counter and Spellsnare doesn't counter Swords to Plowshare.
Trinket Toolbox
Sensei's Divining Top is an autoinclude. Engineered Explosives and Pithing Needle are general answers too. Tormod's Crypt is a Metagame slot. This could be another Engineered Explosives/ Sensei's Divining Top or a card outside the Toolbox.
The sideboard
Nothing Special here. Fact or Fiction is rather weak so maybe it will become a second Disenchant. I know Goblins is on the decline, but this deck hasn't got a nice matchup and quite some dead cards in the MD.
Strategy
This is a control deck, that doesn't want to wait until turn 20 to win. It wants to get through the early game and after that beat down with a flying 5/5 monster, while controling the opponent with Counterbalance and co. Use the cantrips to set up a quick Counterbalance lock or a Tombstalker.
You have to keep in mind this deck can switch very fast from control to aggro and the other way around. You have to know wich roll to play.
Matchup analysis
Goblins: Preboard unfavorable / Postboard slightly unfavorable
Counterbalance is rather weak in this matchup. You have only eight answers against Lackey. One of them forces you to fetch an non-basic land for there Wasteland. Postboard you get Engineered Explosives, wich is still awesome againt Goblins. You just have to slow them down, until you can find a a wincondition and beat face.
Thresh(UGr) Preboard favorable / Postboard even
You have the Counterbalance engine really screw them. a Wincondition that shrinks Tarmogoyf. And Trinket Mage which can find Engineered Explosives and Tormod's Crypt. The problem is you can't board anything in, where your opponent gets Krosan Grip. The nice thing is your opponent can't deal with Tombstalker.
TES Preboard favorable / Postboard favorable
Counterbalance beats combo. Sure they will get through some wins with early Goblins tokens or a protected Tendrils, but this isn't a matchup you have to worry about. Postboard you get Duress to make there life even worse.
Standstill Untested probably slightly unfavorable
On paper it looks quite even. They have problems with killing Tombstalker and you have problems killing manlands. I do think Landstill has the upperhand, because they have alot more cardadavantage then you.
Aggro-Loam Preboard even / Postboard Slightly unfavorable
If you can Extirpate there Loam yout in good shape. If you can't it's very though. They have threads that can slip through Counterbalance and a nice draw engine. Again I can't board anything in so postboard it gets a little worse for me.
Anyway the deck needs to finetuned( especially the SB) and I would like your opinion about the deck.