Rabblemaster is bad in creature based matchups. It is easily brickwalled and traded with. It shines in that its an unmatched clock. If you dont need a clock, you dont need it.
Magus is just another lock piece. While its your worst one vs Delver, it still blocks tokens and is great in conjunction with chalice. You basically just want to pile on lock pieces until the game ends. You don't need a clock vs delver. Your win condition is that eventually, their cards all have no text.
What about countering this deck? No card seems to be hateful enough to stop it. While blood moon is in play, it turns off 3/4 of the decks, same goes with chalice.
While you have options to get rid of chalice while having only red mana available - it is not so easy to get rid of the moon.
So Blood Sun or Magus of the Moon? Or both?
Both have their pros and cons. Where do you guys fall?
I'd say magus with Rabblemaster and Sun with planeswalker builds
I actually been running the same list that's been doing well with Sun as a 2-of over 3Sphere. Sphere is unquestionably stronger. But I've lost too many games drawing it after it was dead, especially as a 2-of. That, and the whole opponent desperation Wasting you after a T1 Sphere, and still drawing out of it first. Sun on the other hand has basically no drawbacks. Always pitches, always cycles, basically always helps your mana. You have to lose Scab in the board, but with Rabble main, I'm fine with that. I also cut Pia, but that's not something I would broadly endorse.
Due to some mana screw issues and losing the match-up lottery, my team in Toronto only went 9-5, hitting a prize record but missing out on breakers at 31st, but my personal record in the event was 13-1 with
My only loss came to Grixis Delver, because I drew 3 Tombs and no moon effect, and couldn't keep myself at 2 cards in hand to lock 2 copies of TNN behind a bridge. If I drew 1 more land rather than a 4 drop, i would have been able to cast my 3 drops in hand without taking the last points of damage and then stabilize behind the bridges (chalice for 1 was already in play in game 1).7 Mountains
4 Great Furnace
4 City of Traitors
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Bloom Moon
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Trinisphere
4 Chrome Mox
4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Magus of the Moon
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
3 Karn, Scion of Urza
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
3 Fiery Confluence
4 Simian Spirit Guide
Sideboard:
1 Chaos Warp
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
1 Fiery Confluence
2 Kozilek's Return
4 Scab-Clan Berserker
3 Sulfur Elemental
2 Abrade
The deck felt great. Karn felt good. Still not sure if he's better than Hazoret but if he's wrong, its not by enough to be noticeable. He does have some anti-synergy with bridge, but learning his play-patterns and understanding that you have to pass some turns without using him is important. He often just comes down and pumps out 2 karn-structs and and the game ends, or if you get locked in a bridge situation, he makes 2 karn-structs, and then you have to access the board and see if you can afford to pass with a single card in hand. If you can, you can plus and start digging for your direct damage spells, and if you can't you need to sit there until you are sure you can cast the two cards you can get in a single turn (this means you can't plus when you draw a land).
Its certainly an interesting dance with him and bridge, but it really only applies against decks like elves or if a young peezy has gone off. If your opponent only has 1 or 2 creatures that can go under a bridge on 1, then you will likely be able to block them with karn-structs anyways. Additonally, if you miss your direct damage finishers for 3-4 turns, you often just go off the bridge plan as you have 3-4 6/6s and start using karn to draw extra cards, raise the bridge and start smashing in with the karn-structs.
I think I was wrong on him, and he is good enough. I was only taking into account what appeared to be his primary mode as a bad howling mine, but its turns out hes just 2 5/5s and then a bad howling mine.
As for the tournament itself, I beat
1 Lands
2 B/R Reanimator
2 Czech Pile
1 BUG Delver
1 TES
1 Turbo-Depths
5 Grixis Delver
and lost to
1 Grixis Delver
Hi fellow Mono-R players. I placed 3rd at a local Legacy for Staples event this weekend, and I wanted to share some of my experience playing the deck in the event.
The list I ran is here:
http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=19246&d=321973&f=LE
I first want to thank Piroko139 for posting results with the heavy prison style of the deck. I had been playing the more traditional Magus/Rabble build for a few events, but really like how this version plays. I also want to mention that I made a decision to omit any GY hate from my sideboard at the event, fearing the large turnout from DnT at the event.
Matches:
1. Dredge 2-0
G1: My opponents early dredges are horrible, I land a bridge, and win through a Chandra.
G2: I turn 1 Trinisphere on the draw and my opponent never gets a 3rd mana source.
2. 4c Leovold 2-0
G1: I turn 1 blood moon on the play, followed by a chandra, and opponent concedes when i cast a Karn on the Chandra reveal on the next turn.
G2: I keep a slower opener with Chalice and Blood Sun. My opponent lands a turn 3 liliana the last hope and ticks it up for the next 4 turns while K-commanding my chalices and bridge. I topdeck a timely Hazoret to attack the Liliana and then close out the game after 2 turns.
3. Turbo Depths 2-0
G1: I land an early trinisphere followed by a blood sun. Karn comes down and makes two fattys to close out the game.
G2: I get a turn 1 sun into a turn 2 chalice for 2. My opponent resolved a turn 2 Bob that reveals another bob, abrupt decay, and land. He plays a seal of primordium into my chalice instead of the abrupt decay first and scoops when he realized his mistake.
4. Food Chain 2-1
G1: Early trinisphere followed by bridge and Chandra while my opponent never hits his 3rd land. I don't see what he's really playing so I just board as if he's on a 4c style deck.
G2: I turn 1 a spyglass that I draw, see and name foodchain. Opponent casts a trinket mage to get a walking ballista then casts a 1/1 ballista and races me down with some help from my ancient tomb. He had a turn 1 thoughtseize to take my chalice and then force to counter my bridge.
G3: I have a better idea of what he's playing. I boarded out of all my ensnaring bridge as he's running ballista, and board into scab clans as additional threats. I land a turn 1 trinisphere backed by a scab clan and go on the beat down, it snowballs quickly.
5. Lands played for T8 seating(0-2)
G1: I mull to 5 on the play and keep a chalice, blood moon hand. I sand bag the chalice thinking I should cast it on 2 to stop his 'engine' pieces. He proceeds to cast 4 1 drops including a molten vortex while I struggle to get my 4th mana source under the moon. He molten vortexes me for 18. I learned to chalice on 1 against lands if I have the option.
G2: I mull to 6. Op grips my bridge and beats in with trackers and excavator.
~I haden't played this matchup before as the only other lands player I faced scooped to T1 moon giving me little to learn. Glad I played it out.~
6. Jeskai Stoneblade (ID)
Top 8:
QF play: Infect (2-1)
G1: I chalice on 1 on the play and land a Chandra that gets there.
G2: I keep a triple chalice hand. Opponent turn 1's a glistener elf. I cast chalice on 1, but he has the FOW pitching FOW. He plays a second land, noble, triple pumps for the turn 2 kill.
G3: I play great furnace, double chrome mox exiling 2 Chandra, cast Trinisphere. He has the force of will. He plays a glistener elf. The last card in my hand is a second trinisphere that resolves. I cast a turn 3 Karn, making a blocker. He doesn't hit a 3rd mana and I'm able to confluence his creature before beating down with constructs.
SF draw: ANT (1-2)
G1: I mull to a chalice, but he has probe-therapy. kills me 4 turns later while i draw lands and durdle.
G2: I turn 1 Blood Moon. He plays 4-5 duals/fetches and never casts a spell.
G3: I keep a 6 that has a turn 2 trinisphere, also a berserker thinking its good enough. Opponent plays turn 1 ponder, counts to himself, says "yep", tops all the cards and draws. I draw another land, play a great furnace and pass. My opponent wins on turn 2.
Notable Cards:
Blood Sun - This card is great. The durability makes this card better than Magus IMO. The card draw was only ever welcome, and the synergy with City of Traitors is awesome.
Great Furnace - a lot of synergy with your Karn, Pia and Kiran, and Quicksmith Rebel. I'm sure I'll get punished somehow in the future, but at this even I found no downside.
Karn - He's the real. Making a 5/5 or 6/6 on turn 3 created a very fast clock. The -2 was the most frequent ability i used unless I was behind a bridge. The additional cards in hand were never a bad thing during the event.
Quicksmith Rebel - I chose to play this card in place of the 4th confluence. I never played it at the event, but have since played it and have been very impressed with how well the ping deals with opposing creatures. I would consider a 2nd in the 75.
Trinishpere - I highly advocate playing the full play set in the mainboard. Trinisphere felt like the best card in the deck.
Wellllllll... Technically.
It's like naming Lion's Eye Diamond with Pithing Needle. As long as you don't tell the opponent they can't activate LED, there is nothing illegal about letting them think it has been turned off.
Despite how Spyglass is worded, if your opponent doesn't know any better, it effectively works... But I wouldn't get in the habit of relying on tricks like this.
Well since he won G1 his opponent would have his turn 2 first, so he resolved Bob before CotV came down.
Sorry didn't take advantage of the context
Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk
@jandax I'll try to be more clear in the future - i kind if just word vomitted everything i was remembering. TLK is correct my opponent resolved his bob on the play on turn 2.
@zturgeon I'm not sure if my opponent knew that spyglass didn't work or not, but he chose not to cast it; likely making the correct choice to just race me in that game.
Now that blood sun has displaced magus moon in the maindeck, is it worth playing some magus in the board against those matchups that are devastated by nonbasic hate?
Any interest in Goblin Razerunners? I'm unsure if saccing a land for a +1/+1 counter that helps kill Planeswalkers and players is worth it or not...
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