Originally Posted by
GoblinSmashmaster
I'm convinced. I'll make the switch.
I noticed you struggled against Phoenix in your stream (or at least how to play against them). Here are some strategy ideas that worked for me.
They run up to 8 discard spells (Thoughtseize + Cabal) and 12 cantrips, so expect them to always have discard postboard. On the other hand, many lists lack spot removal and some run 0 counters. That means SB answers in play (Crypt, Relic) are much better than reactive SB answers in hand (Pyrokinesis, Surgical, Faerie Macabre, Containment Priest).
Even though Surgical on Phoenix seems really good, I'd argue that because Surgical is so common and they have so many ways to find discard, no competent player is going to combo off postboard without playing around Surgical. Expect either discard or plan B (Mentor/Stalker/Pyromancer). In all those matches where you boarded in Surgical, how many times did you Extract his Phoenixes? I think 0. I think a Goblin is better. Good Phoenix players won't play into Surgical. Or if they see Surgical in game 2, board it out for game 3. Let them waste tempo playing around a card that isn't there.
Turn 1 proactive answers seem the best: Leyline of the Void, Crypt, Relic, Grafdigger's Cage. They come down before discard can hit (on the play or if he turn 1 Ponders) and cheaply nullify his main plan. He's forced to dig into maybe 2-3 artifact kill cards brought in postboard (maybe 0 if he boarded wrong?), which gives him a lot fewer outs than if he just needs discard to attack your hand.
It's a Cabal Therapy match. Play all 3 Therapies. The "unfair mode" is an A+B combo: Dark Ritual + Buried Alive (+ generic other spell). Strip one from his hand and the deck is significantly worse. You should be able to beat the "fair" mode. I'd name Buried Alive blind (Dark Ritual is defensible too), then flashback to strip cantrips or SB cards. Not only does Therapy break his A+B combo, but it also outgrinds his 1-for-1 discard. He can stop Surgical and Kinesis and Thorn, but he can't stop Therapy.
Waste/Port them off black when you can. It shuts off Buried Alive, discard, -1/-1s, Tombstalker...
Stingscourger is good. Bouncing Phoenix is better than killing it because it's harder for them to deploy it from hand than from the yard. Sting also kills Mentor tokens and buys a lot of tempo bouncing Tombstalker. I'd leave it in.
With Gempalm and Cratermaker, kill Phoenix on his combat step instead of your turn. Good chance he plays 3 spells and doesn't even lose an attack. They have few ways to interact with the board, but many ways to chain 3 spells, so I think that's what you play around in a vacuum.
I'm on the fence about Pyrokinesis. Killing 2 Phoenixes is mediocre, because they can just get them back. Otherwise... you're 2-for-1ing yourself against Mentor? Because they run 1-for-1 hand disruption and draw much better than you (12 cantrips), the card disadvantage hurts. They can just strip other red cards from your hand, leaving you in a position where Kinesis is dead or you're forced to exile something good to "lose less".
Why am I advocating not bringing in some SB cards that could be good against them but lose to discard? Boarding out too many Goblins seems bad. You need a clock (their win conditions are explosive), you need threats to push past their hand disruption and -1/-1s, and you need enough bodies to feed Gempalms and Therapy. They're combo, but the win conditions are also fragile creatures that Goblins has many MD answers for. I've beaten them without ever drawing any SB cards. On the other hand, the best way to lose to Marsh Casualties is to have a creature-light draw and no Ringleaders in the deck to recover.