U/G/W Vial Bant

[Hanni]

Current decklist (as of 1/9/11):

U/G/W Vial Bant

// Lands
3 [ZEN] Misty Rainforest
3 [ON] Flooded Strand
2 [ON] Windswept Heath
3 [R] Tropical Island
2 [R] Tundra
1 [R] Savannah
2 [FUT] Horizon Canopy
4 [TE] Wasteland

// Creatures
4 [CFX] Noble Hierarch
4 [ARB] Qasali Pridemage
3 [ROE] Coralhelm Commander
4 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [CFX] Knight of the Reliquary
4 [ALA] Rhox War Monk
1 [ARB] Jenara, Asura of War
1 [MOR] Vendilion Clique

// Spells
3 [ZEN] Spell Pierce
4 [NE] Daze
4 [AL] Force of Will
4 [DS] AEther Vial

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [PS] Meddling Mage
SB: 4 [EVE] Cold-Eyed Selkie
SB: 2 [WWK] Stoneforge Mystic
SB: 1 [BOK] Umezawa's Jitte
SB: 1 [DS] Sword of Fire and Ice
SB: 1 [LG] Karakas
SB: 2 [WWK] Bojuka Bog

Original Post:

Okay, so I've been discussing this idea with SpikeyMikey, and frankly, the deck just wins.

So a little background on this first before I get into the meat and potatoes. I was playing my U/W/b CounterTop Walker deck on MWS, and SpikeyMikey joined my game with a Bant deck. Normally, my control deck just spanks Bant all over the place. Admittedly I misassigned my role in the matchup, playing as though he were a traditional Bant deck. Regardless, I ended up losing 1-2.

Spikey's deck broke the traditional Bant model, opting for mana dorks and an overload of 3cc and 4cc threats. His deck was designed to beat aggro (like Zoo) with bigger and better midrange threats, while beating the "mirror" by ignoring CounterTop (or blowing it up with Qasali, I guess).

Long story short, I had never been interested in Bant Aggro up until that point. After playing Spikey, I had a rather interesting idea pop into my head: what if I built a Bant Aggro deck modeled after Merfolk, except instead of running shitty Merfolk, I ran better creatures? Thus, this idea was spawned:

Note: if someone had already thought if this idea before, I appologize. I have never seen this idea before, and I'm assuming its still original.

U/G/W Vial Bant

// Lands
3 [ZEN] Misty Rainforest
3 [ON] Flooded Strand
2 [ON] Windswept Heath
3 [R] Tropical Island
2 [R] Tundra
1 [R] Savannah
2 [FUT] Horizon Canopy
4 [TE] Wasteland

// Creatures
4 [CFX] Noble Hierarch
4 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [ARB] Qasali Pridemage
4 [ARB] Ethercaste Knight
4 [CFX] Knight of the Reliquary
4 [ALA] Rhox War Monk
1 [MOR] Vendilion Clique

// Spells
3 [ZEN] Spell Pierce
4 [NE] Daze
4 [AL] Force of Will
4 [DS] AEther Vial

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [PS] Meddling Mage
SB: 4 [EVE] Cold-Eyed Selkie
SB: 1 [LG] Karakas
SB: 2 [WWK] Bojuka Bog
SB: 4 [DK] Tormod's Crypt

Essentially, you're looking at Merfolk. It's literally the same shell, except instead of running Merfolk, it's running Bant creatures. The deck loses some manabase stability going 3c, but running Hierarch and Vial help to alleviate that. Merfolk's creatures are horrible stand-alone threats, and only truly get better with multiples on the board. Bant's creatures are the opposite; they are amazing stand-alone threats. Of course, sticking multiple guys on the board is still ideal, all the same.

Aside from the slight instability of the manabase in comparison to Merfolk, this deck maintains the positive matchups Merfolk has (Combo, CounterTop, Control), but it improves upon its bad matchups (Zoo, Goblins).

Ethercaste Knight probably sticks out as an eyesore. In designing the deck, I needed another 2cc creature (for curve reasons), and I needed that creature to be blue to maintain my blue spell count for Force of Will. Here's the list I looked through:

Plaxmanta
Deft Duelist
Galina's Knight
Gaea's Skyfolk
Bant Sureblade
Esper Stormblade
Meddling Mage
Ethercaste Knight
Shorecrasher Mimic
Jhessian Infiltrator

In choosing a blue 2cc creature, I wanted something that would be good against aggro. Ethercaste blocks Kird Ape's and Loam Lion's all day long, is out of Grim Lavamancer range, and swings as a 3/5 with a single Noble Hierarch on the board. 12 Exalted triggers is actually really strong, allowing a board of Hierarch, Ethercaste, Qasali to swing through a single 4/5 Goyf on defense with a 5/5 Qasali. Even more busted than that is swinging with a 5/6 RWM against an aggro deck, or a 3/3 Selkie (postboard) against any deck playing blue (or non-blue aggro-less control).

The sideboard is just a throw-together for right now. More than likely, Meddling Mage is overkill (vs combo), and Dueling Grounds would be good (vs Goblins).

I realize that this is rather unconvential, with me cutting cards like Brainstorm and Swords to Plowshares. There's still alot of room to play with too, with options like Trygon Predator and Rafiq of the Many. Still though, this deck has been performing much better than Merfolk for me in playtesting, and I think that this could easily replace the niche that Merfolk has in the metagame.

There's alot more to be said, like just how strong this mana denial/tempo countermagic shell is with KotR (and Vial/Hierarch obviously). However, I'll wait to dig into more detailed content like that until some discussion gets going on this.

Thoughts?

[SpikeyMikey]

Obviously, I'm a fan. :P

In terms of the possibles, Shorecrasher Mimic looks interesting, but I think you're probably right on running Ethercast over it. Ethercast, to me, looks a lot like Tidal Warrior in early Merfolk listings. It's jank, but it's jank that's good enough to make the cut until something better is printed that can fill it's slot. As strange as it's going to sound to most people, I think that Exalted is heavily undervalued in Legacy, especially paired up with creatures that *do something*. And I undervalued it as much as everyone else. Oh, we've all come to recognize that having a Hierarch or Pridemage to win 'goyf battles is great, but that's like saying SDT is good... When you pair it up with Counterbalance. It's just good on its own, and in a deck like this, you don't necessarily need to land a big threat. 3 or 4 little ones will do. If you've got a pair of Hierarchs and a Pridemage, that cat is swinging for 5. And you've probably got Force mana open. 5 is enough to take down most goyfs. Nobody wants to have to chump Qasali Pridemage with their Tarmogoyf.

The best part is that you've taken Aether Vial and somehow made it MORE scary than it already was.

It's pretty tough for you to lose post-board against half the format (anything running blue) if you stick a Selkie, because if it swings once, chances are that nothing is ever going to resolve again that you don't want to see hit play. And you've got Vial, so it's not as if you're telegraphing your intentions a turn ahead of time. But Ancestral Recall on a stick is pretty good. And it's tough for other aggro decks to race you when you're beating with a 5/6 or bigger RWM. It's like having a 3 mana Baneslayer. It's not like they're swinging through you, because you're stacking up Tarmogoyfs and KotRs that make excellent walls until the point at which you've reached critical mass and you swing for the fences the way that tribal decks do. The difference is that your creatures don't suck prior to that point.

I would want to try and find room for a main deck Maze of Ith, possibly in place of 1 Pridemage. The biggest threat, artifact/enchantment wise, is always Counterbalance, and you can, to an extent, ignore that with Vial. I know you're not a fan, but after having played with KotR and Maze in Rock, I am absolutely sold on the idea. You can use Maze at the end of combat step after damage has already been dealt, which means that you can beat someone with your Knight for 7 or 8, then untap it to use for Wasteland shenanigans or to fetch out Canopy to draw more gas. I haven't played this exact listing, so maybe it's "danger of cool things", but it's just been so key for me while playing Rock that I'd have to at least test with it first before letting the idea go.

[menace13]

Stoneforge 2-3 and a samll equipment package are better than the Ethercast, either as a standalone unit or using her to grab Jitt/SoFI for Nobles. Vial frees up the mana to make equipping and casting removal/counter easy. Stp should also be in the list for Lackey,Bob and random Peacekeepers.

[hyc8028]

Interesting take. Is it possible to fit in some standstills or maybe mishra factory?

[Hanni]

I would want to try and find room for a main deck Maze of Ith, possibly in place of 1 Pridemage.

I'll consider it, and I know Maze of Ith does have a nice interaction with KotR, I'm just not sure that the deck actually "needs" it. Keeping toolboxes to a minimum and decks as concise as possible has always been a deckbuilding philosophy that I live by.

Stoneforge 2-3 and a samll equipment package are better than the Ethercast, either as a standalone unit or using her to grab Jitt/SoFI for Nobles. Vial frees up the mana to make equipping and casting removal/counter easy.

There's about a million (not really) 2cc creatures that I'd rather run in the Ethercaste spot that aren't blue. The problem is, they have to be blue to maintain a proper blue spell count for Force of Will, and there's no where else to cut from without weakening the deck to do so.

Also, I'm not sure the deck even needs Equipment. Equipment is bomb diggity, and definitely improves aggro matchups like Goblins and Zoo, but it also dilutes the decks gameplan. What do you cut to fit the Equipment? Gas (creatures)? Control (countermagic package)? The deck already runs massively big guys with Goyf, KotR, and Exalted triggers anyway. Not sure that the extra +4/+4 from something like Jitte is even needed, and the deck has no evasion or removal to make SoFI particularly amazing.

Stp should also be in the list for Lackey,Bob and random Peacekeepers.

I agree that an out to Peackeeper would be nice, obviously sideboard. My sideboard is a throw-together like I said, so it wouldn't be out of the question to cut some Crypt's or Meddling Mages or something for some Swords to Plowshares.

Interesting take. Is it possible to fit in some standstills or maybe mishra factory?

Not really. Most Merfolk lists these days don't even run Standstill's anymore (they run Coralhelm Commander instead). Standstill is really only good against less aggressive decks (typically the blue matchup), which this deck already smashes anyway. Selkie's in the board fit the draw scheme alot better (with the Exalted triggers + Islandwalk).

Mishra's Factory doesn't fit in the manabase, period. The manabase as it is, with Hierarch and Vial to support it, is solid. Any alterations that weaken the current config (like cutting colored sources for Factories), is going to lead to disaster.

[menace13]

There's about a million (not really) 2cc creatures that I'd rather run in the Ethercaste spot that aren't blue. The problem is, they have to be blue to maintain a proper blue spell count for Force of Will, and there's no where else to cut from without weakening the deck to do so.

Also, I'm not sure the deck even needs Equipment. Equipment is bomb diggity, and definitely improves aggro matchups like Goblins and Zoo, but it also dilutes the decks gameplan. What do you cut to fit the Equipment? Gas (creatures)? Control (countermagic package)? The deck already runs massively big guys with Goyf, KotR, and Exalted triggers anyway. Not sure that the extra +4/+4 from something like Jitte is even needed, and the deck has no evasion or removal to make SoFI particularly amazing.

I agree that an out to Peackeeper would be nice, obviously sideboard. My sideboard is a throw-together like I said, so it wouldn't be out of the question to cut some Crypt's or Meddling Mages or something for some Swords to Plowshares.

Blue FoW count noted, hadn't really considered that, but that is definitely an issue. 4 Vials in a bant deck take up an awful lot of room and that gets compounded when trying to add on 2 pieces of equipment. Making room for StP and Brainstorm is important. I am not sure on the exact list. The numbers below do not reach 20 blue and 20 lands, as your list does, but somewhere along these lines.

SoFI grants evasion against Merfolk and Goblins at the same time offering removal for LoA, Piledriver, Lackey. Jitte also removes creatures with -1/-1 counters. Both are relevant against Zoo.

2x Mystic, 3x KotR, RWM, 4x Goyf, Noble, Pridemage. 20 Creatures
4x Brainstorm, Daze, FoW, 3x Pierce. 15 Instants
4x Vail, 1x Jitt, SoFI. 6 Artifacts

[Hanni]

Blue FoW count noted, hadn't really considered that, but that is definitely an issue. 4 Vials in a bant deck take up an awful lot of room and that gets compounded when trying to add on 2 pieces of equipment. Making room for StP and Brainstorm is important. I am not sure on the exact list. The numbers below do not reach 20 blue and 20 lands, as your list does, but somewhere along these lines.

The deck needs to be looked at as if it were Merfolk before it gets looked at like traditional Bant, because that's the actual shell this deck is built from. In that sense, Brainstorm and Swords to Plowshares are alot less necessary.

In regards to Brainstorm, I originally had it instead of Spell Pierce. Brainstorm did help to fix landscrew early and landclumps late, and it obviously does help when digging for something specific (like Qasali or Force of Will). Usually though, I was just filtering gas into more gas. This deck is strong because of its redundancy.

As far as Swords to Plowshares go, I'm not really scared of very many creatures the opponent can put down. They lay some threats, I lay some bigger threats, then they run out of threats while I'm still laying more. There are few key creatures that are worth plowing, but they are selective and match specific. In that case, I'd say Swords to Plowshares would be a better sideboard card than a maindeck one.

I'm also OCD when it comes to blue spell counts for Force of Will. I really hate going below 20, and the lowest I'll ever go is 18 if there is just no possible way to get it higher. In this case, I'm at my standard "rule of thumb" 20, and I'm content with that.

SoFI grants evasion against Merfolk and Goblins at the same time offering removal for LoA, Piledriver, Lackey. Jitte also removes creatures with -1/-1 counters. Both are relevant against Zoo.

I've already 2-0'd the Merfolk matchup twice tonight, so I'm really not worried about that matchup. It's like a mirror match where I have way better creatures than them. In postboard games, Selkie owns them so hard that it's not even funny.

As far as Goblins goes, I still need to playtest that matchup. Obviously SoFI owns that matchup, but my manabase is a bit fragile and resolving a 3cc artifact and equipping it for 2 is still a hurdle against the 4 Wasteland 4 Port builds. I definitely think a good sideboard plan is warranted for that matchup, but I don't think a fringe matchup like Goblins warrants MD equipment that are unecessary against everything else.

[SpikeyMikey]

Stoneforge 2-3 and a samll equipment package are better than the Ethercast, either as a standalone unit or using her to grab Jitt/SoFI for Nobles. Vial frees up the mana to make equipping and casting removal/counter easy. Stp should also be in the list for Lackey,Bob and random Peacekeepers.

I thought about this when Hanni first brought me his listing. I thought that he could possibly change Pridemage to Predator (to maintain blue count) and replace Ethercast with 2 Mystics and a Jitte and a Sword. The problem is, I think it would be a very bad change. You're losing the deck's core competency (consistent quality beats) in order to shoehorn in a mana intensive package into a deck that wants to be using all 4 Wastelands every game if possible while saving mana for Pierce. Even with Vial, that's a bit of a stretch. I'm a big fan of the idea of Vial Mystic letting you drop equipment without even worrying about counters. This just isn't the deck for it I think.

[4eak]

With the SFM/Equipment package (which I do believe belongs in any white-vial deck), I think you can run blue creatures which aren't as beefy to great effect. Spellstutter Sprite is an acceptable standalone card, imho. With equipment, it becomes quite strong. Variants of the deck may even consider Mother of Runes (I have no idea where it would fit).



peace,
4eak

[Hanni]

With the SFM/Equipment package (which I do believe belongs in any white-vial deck), I think you can run blue creatures which aren't as beefy to great effect. Spellstutter Sprite is an acceptable standalone card, imho. With equipment, it becomes quite strong. Variants of the deck may even consider Mother of Runes (I have no idea where it would fit).

After getting some sleep and coming back to it, I'm thinking that maybe a SFM package would be good in the sideboard to address Goblins, instead of Dueling Grounds.

I 2-0'd Zoo yesterday, twice. The Zoo match is really good. I didn't even have anything in my sideboard to address this matchup (I'm still using the one I listed), and to be honest, there was only one close game and the rest were blowouts. The reason this deck is successful against Zoo is because it uses more midrange threats than they have, which are all out of burn range (Goyf/KotR/RWM). RWM swings life totals in a way that they never even get me close to a burn out range, and their 4 Path to Exile vs my 4/4/3 countermagic package doesn't really do much. Couple the fact that most lists run shaky manabases, and this deck is pretty good against Zoo.

Goblins, on the other hand, I haven't gotten to playtest against yet. I can see that matchup being very problematic, with turn 1 Lackey openings (when I'm on the draw) being pretty difficult to overcome. There's a number of ways this matchup could be addressed, however I'm thinking that cutting Spell Pierce and Force of Will for SFM/Equipment postboard would be a solid plan.

[Hanni]

After logging some more playtesting, I decided to change the sideboard up a bit.

Tormod's Crypt just seems really unecessary. There are few matchups where this deck really needs the extra graveyard hate. The fact that this deck attacks with Wasteland/Daze/Force/Pierce is enough to destabalize decks like Dredge long enough to either race, or get a Knight of the Reliquary in play. Knight of the Reliquary + Bojuka Bog is all the deck really needs to answer graveyard based strategies.

I went ahead and cut the 4 Crypt's for 2 SFM, 1 Jitte, 1 SoFI. This gives me something to sideboard into for matchups like Goblins, Elves, and other swarm strategies. Now I have a sideboard which addresses all major archetypes: Combo (MMage), Blue/Control (Selkie), and Aggro (SFM/Equips). I'll keep the Karakas for Emrakul/Iona and the 2 Bojuka Bog for Dredge/Vengevine.

Here's the new sideboard:

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [PS] Meddling Mage
SB: 4 [EVE] Cold-Eyed Selkie
SB: 2 [WWK] Stoneforge Mystic
SB: 1 [BOK] Umezawa's Jitte
SB: 1 [DS] Sword of Fire and Ice
SB: 1 [LG] Karakas
SB: 2 [WWK] Bojuka Bog

Enjoy.

EDIT: I just 2-0'd Zoo again. I'm not sure why I keep running into Zoo all of a sudden on MWS, but I'm not complaining. In game 2, I boarded out 4 Force of Will for the SFM/Equip package, but never saw SFM or any Equips. This deck absolutely smashes Zoo, I'm loving it.

I don't understand why there is so little discussion going on about this deck right now. I just took one of the best Tier 1 decks in the format (Merfolk), turned its worst matchup (Zoo) into one of its best matchups, and the deck loses nothing against its good matchups. Ah, well...

[SpikeyMikey]

I'm just not sold on Meddling Mage. Without being able to see their hand (black or more Clique) you can't Mage effectively. What would you think of Spellstutter in board against combo? It would give you another counter to disrupt their mana (Ritual, LED, etc.) And it still beats, albeit not for as much.

[Jak]

I'm just not sold on Meddling Mage. Without being able to see their hand (black or more Clique) you can't Mage effectively. What would you think of Spellstutter in board against combo? It would give you another counter to disrupt their mana (Ritual, LED, etc.) And it still beats, albeit not for as much.

If you know the decks of the format, you really don't need the cute tricks of Clique or discard to Mage effectively. Naming Swords to Plowshares (since you don't run it) or Counterbalance against CounterTop or Bant is always good. Infernal Tutor against AdT. Board wipers against Landstill etc.

[Hanni]

I'm just not sold on Meddling Mage. Without being able to see their hand (black or more Clique) you can't Mage effectively. What would you think of Spellstutter in board against combo? It would give you another counter to disrupt their mana (Ritual, LED, etc.) And it still beats, albeit not for as much.

Well, after game 1, you should probably know what type of combo deck they are playing. In that case, its not very difficult to know what to name with Meddling Mage. At worst, its still beating for 2 (+ Exalted). However, Spellstutter is also a viable alternative. Without Mutavault's, I'd be concerned with its lack of hitting 2cc targets, but its still disruptive, blue, and has legs.

For those who don't feel comfortable with Meddling Mage, Spellstutter is a fine alternative. Not beating as hard isn't too relevant, since this deck is full of clock.

For me personally, Meddling Mage is really good against combo. If I have a hand that attacks manasources, I can name manasources (like LED) to keep them off manasources. If I have a hand that is light in mana denial, I can name tutors to slow them down. Against combo decks like Show and Tell, Spiral Tide, Reanimator, etc... Meddling Mage is just a house. Meddling Mage is also really good against Dredge, naming Cabal Therapy to limit Bridge tokens, and then naming Dread Return.

[lordofthepit]

Interesting deck--I'd probably run it over Merfolk the next time a Fish strategy seems viable.

I know you've done a lot of testing, but I still believe Ethercaste Knight is a mistake. You've mentioned wanting something that fits the following criteria: 1) 2-cc creature, 2) pitches to FoW, and 3) is good against aggro.

I'd argue that a 1/3 exalted creature really doesn't do anything against aggro, and I think while there's an opportunity cost to not satisfying criteria #1 or #2, it's better than running a subpar creature. If you really want to run more 2-drop creatures, I'd consider Meddling Mage main or Spellstutter Sprite (and try to fit an addition Clique somewhere). I'd also consider non-creature spells like Standstill, or to take a page out of another "Fish" deck, a non-blue creature like Weathered Wayfarer, which I feel this deck is very suited to abuse. (The latter would probably justify the inclusion of Brainstorm to gain card advantage and quality, to up the blue count for Force of Will, etc.--at the cost of cutting some other cards to be determined.)

[Hanni]

I know you've done a lot of testing, but I still believe Ethercaste Knight is a mistake. You've mentioned wanting something that fits the following criteria: 1) 2-cc creature, 2) pitches to FoW, and 3) is good against aggro.

I'd argue that a 1/3 exalted creature really doesn't do anything against aggro, and I think while there's an opportunity cost to not satisfying criteria #1 or #2, it's better than running a subpar creature. If you really want to run more 2-drop creatures, I'd consider Meddling Mage main or Spellstutter Sprite (and try to fit an addition Clique somewhere). I'd also consider non-creature spells like Standstill, or to take a page out of another "Fish" deck, a non-blue creature like Weathered Wayfarer, which I feel this deck is very suited to abuse. (The latter would probably justify the inclusion of Brainstorm to gain card advantage and quality, to up the blue count for Force of Will, etc.--at the cost of cutting some other cards to be determined.)

When I first started testing, I picked him up as pretty much the lesser of all of the other evils. After playtesting with the guy for a little while, I actually like him. Sometimes I get a weak draw with Hierarch's, Qasali's, and tiny Goyf's (due to lack of opponent putting spells in the graveyard). The extra Exalted really goes a long way during these times, making my little guys a real threat. Consolidating all of my power into a single body is sometimes just what the deck needs.

However, I'm still open to playtest other options.

I initially tested Meddling Mage, but he's pretty awful in game 1 when you don't know what to name, and a 2/2 body is lacking. With Exalted triggers, he's not too bad, but he's still rather meh.

What I do want to try next, is Esper Stormblade. I very frequently have another creature on the board who's multicolored, so pumping him should be rather easy. I've come to respect Flying in this deck quite a bit during playtesting, when the lone Exalted Clique is the one who gets in there for me. Having 4 more potential 3/2 Flying guys, especially with the (8) Exalted triggers, seems pretty good.

[TheSleeper]

I'm currently looking for a Zoo-killer so will be testing this deck - cheers Hanni. Let us know how Stormblade works for you, as with your exalted triggers the flying seems decent. Maybe 2 Stormblade 2 Ethercaste?

[Karhumies]

Ethercaste Knight probably sticks out as an eyesore. In designing the deck, I needed another 2cc creature (for curve reasons), and I needed that creature to be blue to maintain my blue spell count for Force of Will. Here's the list I looked through:

Plaxmanta
Deft Duelist
Galina's Knight
Gaea's Skyfolk
Bant Sureblade
Esper Stormblade
Meddling Mage
Ethercaste Knight
Shorecrasher Mimic
Jhessian Infiltrator

In choosing a blue 2cc creature, I wanted something that would be good against aggro.

Although your list is definitely more aggro than control, you may nevertheless wish to try out Waterfront Bouncer or Spellstutter Sprite in that slot. In some very specific metas, even MD Gilded Drake may be viable. Of course, Sprite gets much better if you decide to run MD equipment such as 1-2x Jitte. It should not be too difficult to find slots for Jitte IMO (e.g. -4th Daze), as it would seem to improve the deck more than to dilute or "take away" from it. Naturally, you need to be careful about the overall blue count.

Or if you want more card draw, you can try out the UW tempo-guy Fathom Seer (although he's actually a cc3 rather than cc2 creature). But as a cc2, he has many of the same benefits you listed with Ethercaste Knight so I thought he is a fair alternative which actually gets better as the game progresses and you draw into redundant lands.

Another option would be to discard the whole idea of a cc2 blue creature and add 4x Brainstorm in that slot. You already have 8 cc2 creatures, and if you were to add 2 Jitte, that would raise the amount of 2-drops up to 10 (with the fallback option of hardcasting a Daze on opponent's turn). Mana Leak might not be too bad, either, as you are practically trying to buy time for your cc3 "lords" with your cc2 blue slot.


SB: Where's Llawan, Cephalid Empress? You need him versus Lord of Atlantis IMO. Otherwise, Islandwalk can kill you.

[SpikeyMikey]

Although your list is definitely more aggro than control, you may nevertheless wish to try out Waterfront Bouncer or Spellstutter Sprite in that slot. In some very specific metas, even MD Gilded Drake may be viable. Of course, Sprite gets much better if you decide to run MD equipment such as 1-2x Jitte. It should not be too difficult to find slots for Jitte IMO (e.g. -4th Daze), as it would seem to improve the deck more than to dilute or "take away" from it. Naturally, you need to be careful about the overall blue count.

Or if you want more card draw, you can try out the UW tempo-guy Fathom Seer (although he's actually a cc3 rather than cc2 creature). But as a cc2, he has many of the same benefits you listed with Ethercaste Knight so I thought he is a fair alternative which actually gets better as the game progresses and you draw into redundant lands.

Another option would be to discard the whole idea of a cc2 blue creature and add 4x Brainstorm in that slot. You already have 8 cc2 creatures, and if you were to add 2 Jitte, that would raise the amount of 2-drops up to 10 (with the fallback option of hardcasting a Daze on opponent's turn). Mana Leak might not be too bad, either, as you are practically trying to buy time for your cc3 "lords" with your cc2 blue slot.


SB: Where's Llawan, Cephalid Empress? You need him versus Lord of Atlantis IMO. Otherwise, Islandwalk can kill you.

You'd need to run 4 because you have no consistent filter. Selkie is just better. If you draw 3 or 4 cards a turn, you're not going to lose because they're not going to resolve anything. Basically, you're just racing and trying to match them with free counters. Your creatures have better abilities and you're sending just as much into the red zone. Jitte is, of course, good against them too.

[Hanni]

SB: Where's Llawan, Cephalid Empress? You need him versus Lord of Atlantis IMO. Otherwise, Islandwalk can kill you.

I've only playtested the matchup twice, but I 2-0'd my opponents both times. During the early game, my creatures are capable of swinging because of the Exalted and them not wanting to lose guys, while I keep a big guy back on defense so they can't/won't swing. By midgame, once their guys get pumped to good levels, they're typically on defense because I was the aggressor early. Lord of Atlantis does allow them to evade my fat, but I'm typically not holding fat back by then anyway. Neither of us run creature removal, so it's really a matter of racing, where my deck is capable of starting sooner.

One major thing about the "mirror" is Vial control. There are a multitude of counter wars early on in regards to Aether Vial. I have more tools to keep them off Vial with Qasali Pridemage. If I can keep them off of Vial via countermagic/Qasali and blow their mana up with Wasteland/KotR, I usually win those games.

Preboard, Rhox War Monk helps win the race war too, since it seperates the life totals by a pretty large margin.

Postboard, Selkie is a damn animal in the "mirror." They could run it themselves, but they don't for some reason. They (usually) can't block Selkie, and when I'm drawing multiple cards a turn, they have a problem keeping up with all my gas.

Llawan is a bad sideboard card to run unless Merfolk is dominating your metagame, because it only answers 1 specific matchup (Merfolk), which isn't even a bad matchup. If you really felt the need, you could bring in the SFM/Equip sideboard package, which is a better sideboard plan because its useful in other matchups. In my limited testing, I didn't feel like I needed the additional edge with Equipment, but there's no harm in having extra advantages.