Hi All,
please excuse me if this is an ignorant question. I was watching Drew Levin's videos, and impressed by the deck. One thing that struck me, however, is that legacy is absolutely ripe for abuse by a chalice of the void deck. A chalice on 1 destroys so many strategies, and also hinders the set up for many of this deck's (difficult) combo matchups. Do those who know such things think that main deck chalice is viable? Of course it interacts with the signal pests and drums, but the damage caused to most opponents is going to be far worse (for them!). Further, although the drums are sacrosanct, perhaps the pests could be replaced with something like steel overseer. Of course I appreciate this would affect the explosiveness of the deck. Also there is the question of what could be replaced, possibly (although this is probably heresy) the thoughtcasts?
Thanks
I have Chalice of the Void in the sideboard, because as you say, it does put a hurting on a number of decks in this format. However, there aren't enough decks like that to warrant running it in the maindeck for a deck like Affinity. Maindeck Chalice is fine for mid-ranged or control decks, such as Stax, Aggro Loam, or various (fill in the blank) Stompy decks. It goes against the aggro strategy of Affinity, though. So leave it in the side and bring it in against combo, Threshold, Burn, or other decks that are really heavy on one-drops. And obviously, when you bring it in, you should focus on siding out your own one drops.
I see more than others do because I know where to look.
I just thought of something that could actually speed up the deck, more than Galvanic Blast could do. See this line of play and guess the card:
Turn 1: Inkmoth, Mox, Memnite, Drum, Ravager.
Turn 2: Attack with Ravager and Inkmoth. During Combat Damage Step, tap for mana, sacrifice artifacts to Ravager and then sacrifice Ravager to make Inkmoth a 5/5, cast ________ and then win!
That's six cards, but for a turn 2 win. I don't think Affinity is capable of a turn 2 finish unless you have the absolute nuts hand with Inkmoth and Ravager. My point is that with said card, you can power out a lot of fast wins. This might be our answer to beat some of the slower combo decks instead of having to SB like crazy against them. It might be too cute, but if you're running a robust offense, such as Arcbound Ravager and Inkmoth, the card's pretty live since you can just steal a win with it at any time.
Nope, it's an older card.
Its Berserk
Winner winner chicken dinner
Realistically, though, I can't see myself playing with Berserk as the damn card costs like $40-80 a piece (only $40 if you get the FTV version).
Anyway, another cool trick with Berserk is attacking with a Plated Master of Etherium and resolving Berserk, easily hitting trample damage for 20+.
Last edited by Shawon; 09-28-2013 at 10:32 PM.
Maybe-lst for tomorrow. Lots of combo, tired of playing dredge.
Brobots
Creatures
4 Etched Champion
4 Frogmite
4 Master of Etherium
4 Memnite
3 Ornithopter
4 Vault Skirge
Artifacts
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Cranial Plating
3 Springleaf Drum
4 Mox Opal
Spells
4 Thoughtcast
Plainswalkers
3 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Land
4 Ancient Tomb
3 Glimmervoid
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
Sideboard
4 Tormod's Crypt
3 Ethersworn Cannonist
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Oblivion Ring
@big mana
i have to say i really like your list with chalice maindeck,... the only thing i do not like are the glimmervoids, i think they should be ancient dens to help the speed of the deck, because with chalice you will allready be a bit slower than stock-list affinitys, but i like your decision for a comboheavy meta
@shawon
i have a question reguarding chalice main for a straight UB list, would thorn of amethyst in this case be a good sideboard decision against combo?
and under a thorn of amethyst, does thoughcast still cost only U if you have 5 artifact in play?
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deck...p?DeckID=60004
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Frogmite
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Signal Pest
4 Vault Skirge
Planeswalkers (3)
3 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Lands (14)
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
2 Ancient Tomb
4 Glimmervoid
Spells (19)
4 Cranial Plating
4 Springleaf Drum
3 Spell Pierce
4 Mox Opal
4 Thoughtcast
Sideboard
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Etched Champion
3 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Duress
2 Thoughtseize
3 Whipflare
Has anyone seen a tourney report for this? I'd be very interested to read it.
I played in GPDC over the weekend, ended up making day 2 at 7-2 and finishing up the weekened 10-5 which I don't feel was too bad for my first GP day 2 (4th GP overall) finishing in 140th out of the 1698 that showed up.
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Frogmite
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Signal Pest
4 Vault Skirge
4 Etched Champion
Planeswalkers (3)
3 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Lands (17)
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Ancient Den
4 Ancient Tomb
1 Glimmervoid
Spells (16)
4 Cranial Plating
4 Springleaf Drum
4 Mox Opal
4 Thoughtcast
Sideboard
2 Whipflare
3 Ethersworn Canonist
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Rest in Peace
3 Ensnaring Bridge
my overall Game Record was 24-12 or something close
R1: ***BYE***
R2: RUG Delver -- 2-0
R3: Jund -- 2-1
R4: Goblins -- 2-0 (main deck goblin tinkerer, SB chalice of the void + a bunch of other artifact hate >.>)
R5: Table 1 against Sam Black on Bant Trueblade -- 2-0
R6: Storm -- 1-2
R7: Aggro Loam -- 1-2
R8: Bant Trueblade -- 2-0
R9: Grixis Delver (Eric Rill) -- 2-0
Day 2:
R10: Michael Martin on Shardless BUG -- 0-2
R11: Elves -- 1-2
R12: RUG Delver -- 2-0 (possibly 2-1 but I cannot remember)
R13: UWR Miracles -- 2-1
R14: Shardless BUG -- 2-0
R15: Sneak and Show -- 1-2 (one of these game loses was due to me being an idiot and not hearing them call the pairings... but oh well I learned my lesson)
Cheers :)
Good job on the 10-5! 140th is pretty decent when you take into account the attendance size being ~1700. You did Affinity proud.
Your MD looks nice. I'm a fan of streamlined MDs for Affinity, without any of those nonsense 1 or 2-ofs that many subpar Affinity lists run. Ever since Drew Levin's Affinity introduction piece, I've started to agree that having 25 mana sources is the way to go if you want to reliably cast bombs such as Etched Champion or Tezz. For the last two weeks, all of my goldfish testing has been focused on determining which card should be my 25th mana source, and I was literally trying out a hundred games each testing either Glimmervoid, Lotus Petal or Paradise Mantle. I started trying out Glimmervoid when I noticed a lot of mulligan-able hands with Mantle in it, however, I just couldn't stand Glimmervoid due to the fact it became utterly useless when I hit my mana threshold. I just played in a 30-man local over the weekend with Paradise Mantle, and I didn't run into any mulligan problems, so I'll probably stick to playing Mantle, since I also play Stoneforge Mystic which can grab Mantle in uncommon situations.
Do you have any insights to share regarding your wins/losses? What cards worked for you in the SB? What was your SB strategy against certain matchups; what cards did you take out and put in post-board?
Is that a 64 card MD or am I just miscounting? 28 creatures + 3 planeswalkers + 16 spells + 17 lands
Regardless, grats on your finish.
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Spell Pierce doesn't blank any of your own cards. Chalice can. For example Chalice on zero could be good against combo decks that use artifact mana but it also shuts off an unacceptable number of our own cards. Chalice on one is the best option of course and that blanks Springleaf Drum and Signal Pest and also prevents you from playing the aforementioned Pierce and discard, both of which I've found excellent. Chalice on two, while great against Storm, blanks Vault Skirge, Ravager, and most importantly Cranial Plating. When I play against combo with Affinity I prefer to slow them with Thoughtseize and Spell Pierce when possible and go for the kill as fast as I can. People tend not to see Spell Pierce coming from Affinity too lol. I have beaten Reanimator, Combo Elves, Belcher, and Sneak and Show with Affinity, and I believe you all would agree that those are poor matchups. Against the Reanimator guy he went for Entomb Elesh Norn Exhume off a Sea and two Lotus Petals and I Pierced and he swore a lot and ragequit and that was Game 2 lol. This is all just my opinion of course and I do not think anyone's ideas thus far expressed are wrong. :)
I agree with you here. I normally find playing against RUG a chore but with Affinity we can just blow them out by reloading with Thoughtcast after they expend their hand on our threats, many of which they MUST counter or they lose. Force of Will 2-for-1íng them is great for us.
My mistake I quoted someone elses post to see how to format cards being that it was my first post on the forum. lol
remove the 4 frogmite from the deck.
I agree with the streamlined affinity list, I think that certain cards have proved to me to be very useless in the deck either from theorizing or from actual playtesting, such as tangle wire being almost unplayable because of how you want the deck to run.
Drew Levine's article was very well thought out and solidified some of the ideas I had been bumping around with for quite some time.
your opponents can counter your mantle and kill the creature that it becomes equip 2, despite the fact that the deck is low curve it still has to be very efficient with it's mana post board and also a little bit in the main. The only mana decision I have been mulling over is whether I should shave an ancient den for a great furnace to add an additional red source for SB whipflares
as far as Side boarding is concerned anything with delver next to it I brought in 4x Chalice and -4 Pest, RUG delver I cut down on Memnite to bring in 2 RiP as well, towards the end of day 2 I began trying out whipflare as well to shave all memnites from the mainboard.
against goblins (and in extension though I never faced it Death and Taxes) I bring in 2 Whipflare
Jund I bring in Rest in Peace and cut memnites the best card in the matchup is champion the opponent literally cannot touch the card. cut memnites
I side boarded incorrectly against Sam Black as in G1 I did not see noble hierarch only brainstorm and I think swords to plowshares so I only brought in 2 chalice and I also brought in RiP and Bridge after seeing True Name and KotR, Thankfully I only saw Chalice and was able to win the match swiftly 2-0 later that day I Sideboarded correctly and brought in 4 Chalice and whipflare cutting 4 pest and 2 memnite.
Storm is -4 champion -3 Tezz -4 Signal Pest +4 Chalice +3 Canonist +3 Rip +1 Whippflare and that could even be 2 whipflare if it is TES since they traditionally win off of empty over tendrils
GY based decks (Dredge, Loam, Pox) I just bring in 3 RiP and cut down on Memnites or Signal Pest. unless it is dredge then I cut Etched Champion
Elves I bring in the same Package as storm but not RiP and 2 Whipflare, and some number of ensnaring bridge (I think I brought in 2 against it) they have 2G Vindicate that is repeatable though and I think that cursed totem is worth it if you expect a lot of elves but its a nonbo with ravager and that card won me a lot of games.
Shardless bug I just bring in RiP, etched champion is king here just like jund but harder to make stick.
Miracles is a scary matchup and you usually have to be on the play to have a chance in the older list I ran, chalice comes in here and so does ensnaring bridge because of the number of dead cards, etched champion comes out along with pest because the only have a few creatures + entreat so he's not really doing much work and all their dudes fly.
Whipflare was awesome.
Rest in Peace was a nice safety net and a card I love playing in affinity the other GY spells are not as good, though if you expect elves playing a 1 of grafdiggers is fine imo.
I wish there was a better card than ethersworn cannonist in the SB, it is only good in 1 type of match up and even then its still not impressive, just another necessity.
Chalice of the Void is above and beyond amazing, it turns off effectively half the format and allows you to play magic while your opponent dies. it requires some sequencing to make sure it goes well as well as reading your opponent to make sure you don't play it into soft counters (can't play around hard ones)
Ensnaring Bridge was a last minute call in order to sure up the Sneak and Show Match-up it was the right call but I both A) only played S&S once and B) never drew it in that match up. it did allow for me to remove chaff cards for games 2 and 3 since they become useless in certain match ups (see etched champion and memnite)
I do not think you can Maindeck chalice, you can't play it blind on 1 and you want to run as smoothly as possible in order to close it out early, Games 2 and 3 don't have to be as quick because the jig is up and you need to be able to play against what they have for you (which is awesome in legacy because it ain't much)
people are terrified of ravager, if they can, they will counter it. It brings me back to sequencing, playing a ravager on turn 1 (either through the multiple dudes into ravager of opals and drums or just off of a tomb) or playing it before a plating or tezzeret. Playing it before other high impact spells is awesome because it lets you know what your opponent has. a lot of control players have a habit of speaking differently than non-control players, saying words like "resolves" instead of "ok" but that is not a causality and does not imply every one of them will speak the same, just read your opponent and try to surmise what they have in hand.
I was able to successfully play ravagers into counter spells in order to ensure plating resolving, to be fair ravager is almost like plating 5-8 but it's worse merely because they can kill it.
The best part about this deck is the amount of noticeable skill it takes to pilot correctly. this deck has infinity more under the hood than the surface would presume and I'm happy to have done moderately well with it.
Hope that helps :)
also, People were not in the mood to counter thoughtcast, whether they didn't want to or thought that the cards i drew after wards could be countered is beyond me, but 1 mana draw 2 is pretty damn good and I would counter it if I could.
I don't particularly agree with cutting Memnites against tempo decks, seeing as how Memnite + Thopter indirectly count as part of your manabase, and I don't like the prospect of weakening your mana consistency against tempo decks. But I can see why you did it against RUG to reduce less dead draws, considering that's what I used to against RUG, so if it worked out for you in your two wins, then keep at it. I haven't tried cutting Memnites since Deed decks were in vogue, but I might revisit cutting mana/Kobolds as a sideboard strategy against grindier fair decks.
How did your actual match against Storm go? I think adding Whipflare is overkill, because your whole game plan is to prevent Storm from going off, and you're only running a 2-of that's only useful in one game state where they take a gamble and ETW on turn 1. You're already removing a 10+ cards from your offense to hedge your Storm matchup, keep in mind you also need a way to win if you do happen to roadblock Storm.Storm is -4 champion -3 Tezz -4 Signal Pest +4 Chalice +3 Canonist +3 Rip +1 Whippflare and that could even be 2 whipflare if it is TES since they traditionally win off of empty over tendrils
Why would you take out Etched Champions against Miracles? Your point on taking him out leads me to believe you think Etched Champion is used for defensive purposes, when in fact, he should be deployed as one of your scariest, must-counter threats.Miracles is a scary matchup and you usually have to be on the play to have a chance in the older list I ran, chalice comes in here and so does ensnaring bridge because of the number of dead cards, etched champion comes out along with pest because the only have a few creatures + entreat so he's not really doing much work and all their dudes fly.
While Rest in Peace doesn't conflict with Chalice@1 like Relic/Cage would, I'm still skeptical as to how anyone could consider Rest in Peace to be an acceptable answer versus dedicated gy decks, as in Reanimator, not Loam. It's 1W, so you can't naturally cast it (let alone have backup against Daze effects) off of Ancient Tomb, and it's 2 mana, so if you plan on casting it turn 2, it might already be too late against Reanimator.Rest in Peace was a nice safety net and a card I love playing in affinity the other GY spells are not as good, though if you expect elves playing a 1 of grafdiggers is fine imo.
I noticed in most of your matchups your sideboarding usually involves cutting Signal Pest. Why keeping running him if he's going to be a dead card in a lot of matchups? He dies in an embarassing fashion to Baleful Strix & Vendilion Clique, makes Jitte counters much more brutal, conflicts with your Chalice@1, makes RUG's Rough / Tumble more of a blowout... the list goes on. I came to this conclusion at the last minute before a GPT, and I cut the Pests for SFM + Batterskull (made top 4 btw). I haven't looked back since.
Ensnaring Bridge seems like a good idea. I've always known about it, but I never bit the bullet and tried it against Sneak-Show because I thought it was too narrow against one matchup, but it's something I might consider testing against Elves. You are right that Elves can answer Bridge with Viridian Shaman, but Ensnaring Bridge does some time and could allow for a strategy of just sitting on Bridge and trying to drain your opponent with Tezz's ultimate.Ensnaring Bridge was a last minute call in order to sure up the Sneak and Show Match-up it was the right call but I both A) only played S&S once and B) never drew it in that match up. it did allow for me to remove chaff cards for games 2 and 3 since they become useless in certain match ups (see etched champion and memnite)
I think MDing 'tech' cards like Chalice/Revoker/Canonist is a short-sighted decision. Sure, it may randomly steal game 1s from combo, but you might also lose winnable games against fair decks that could've been won if you just went all the way aggro.I do not think you can Maindeck chalice, you can't play it blind on 1 and you want to run as smoothly as possible in order to close it out early, Games 2 and 3 don't have to be as quick because the jig is up and you need to be able to play against what they have for you (which is awesome in legacy because it ain't much)
I definitely agree. Keep on playing Affinity!The best part about this deck is the amount of noticeable skill it takes to pilot correctly. this deck has infinity more under the hood than the surface would presume and I'm happy to have done moderately well with it.
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