I played Maverick yesterday with a blue splash and ended up in 13th at the SCG Legacy Open In Providence. I have a few comments to make about the deck and the specific list I played.
1. Fauna Shaman is insane, it helps your combo matchup signficantly, allowing to ditch any useless card (Noble Hierarch, Dryad Arbor, Qasali Pridemage) for one that you really need, i.e. Ethersworn Canonist, Gaddock Teeg, even Thalia. In my Rd 6 matchup against High Tide, I was able to get All 3 of the forementioned "stoppers" out against Tide, all because of a Fauna Shaman on the board. Against Combo Elves, I was able to get Linvala as well, although he ended up being able to beat me down with mass elves because he was just a turn ahead of me having been on the play.
2. 3 Spell Pierce/Flusterstorm is really good as something that people just don't expect. Against Maverick in Rd 1, I played a Spell Pierce that countered a swords to plowshares on my knight, which allowed me to connect for 10 and close out the game quickly thereafter. It's not something that most players will play around, because they don't expect you to be playing blue. However, if they do play around it and respect the threat of spell pierce, that gives you the extra turn or 2 that you need to just beat them down with knights/thalias/oozes.
3. Linvala is definitely a gamebreaker, as well as aven mindcensor. I highly recommend running both of them, as well as Fauna Shaman. I did not play during the survival era, but seeing how powerful shaman is, I can only imagine how broken survival of the fittest was. I definitely think it is correct to be playing shaman over stoneforge, since you're only running 2 jittes these days anyways. the 2nd stoneforge is mostly just a squire at that pt.
My only losses were to combo elves in Rd 2 and to Kevin Jones playing Esper Stoneblade in Rd 8 for win and in. It was a difficult matchup in both scenarios, with elves being just a turn faster and getting out elves before i could drop linvala. Stoneblade blew me out with a maindeck zealous persecution on my noble and mother in game 1, and then I had to mull to 5 on the play in game 2 to lose fairly easily thereafter. Congrats to Kevin for Top8ing!
Final Thoughts:
I highly recommend this deck as it is very intuitive and extremely consistent. (I rarely needed to mulligan). It has good game against all the decks, and shaman makes it even better against combo, as well as your pierces/flusterstorms. It's an autowin against Delver most of the time, since Choke completely locks them out of the game.
P.S. My tournament matches throughout the day:
Rd 1. Maverick - W2-0
Rd 2. Combo Elves - L2-0
Rd 3. Rock - W2-0
Rd 4. Feature Match Thopter-Stoneblade W2-0
Rd 5. Dredge - W2-0
Rd 6. High Tide - W2-0
Rd 7. Dredge - W2-1
Rd 8. Feature Match Esper Stoneblade L2-0
Rd 9. RUG Delver W2-0
Finally Record: 7-2
If anyone has any requests, I could write a tournament report too. Good luck everyone and remember to always have fun :)
Last edited by Krondo9; 05-08-2012 at 12:06 AM.
WOW, 8-1 and didn't make top 8? That is either incorrect or just absurd.
I played in a tourney with a 1 of shaman, he got sworded instantly in the mirror which i suppose is fine. ONLY time i saw him. I think I will cut my mystics down to 1 since you can basically just tutor for equipment in a few easy steps :D (I still like/play SoLS), the only other cuts I can see making is pridemage down to 2 for myself or witness.
i also cannot see myself playing Linvala MD. It's pretty mediocre to bad vs everything not maverick/elves.
Round 8 was a loss, so 7-2. I've looked at your list and like a lot of what it's doing. Looks much more stream lined to me than the Loyal Retainers builds. Congrats!
Linvala is also fine against RUG and UR Delver lists. 4 toughness flyer > Lightning Bolt and Delver.
West side
Find me on MTGO as Koby or rukcus -- @MTGKoby on Twitter
* Maverick is dead. Long live Maverick!
My Legacy stream
My MTG Blog - Work in progress
Yeah I miswrote one of them. I was 7-2 haha. I expected to see a lot of maverick so I played Linvala Main. She wasnt ever terrible. Shes good against Stoneblade too because they cant flash in batterskull then. Also, having them Swords your shaman is WAY better than having them swords your KOTR. Shaman is kind of like GSZ 5-6. she can basically give you any creature in your deck if she untaps.
Thanks Koby!
Indeed. I am also a strong advocate of retainer builds being cute, clunky, and as fulfilling as a professional one night stand for $150.
That would fall in the mediocre catagory where one miraculously resolves a 4 mana creature against an already positive matchup :DLinvala is also fine against RUG and UR Delver lists. 4 toughness flyer > Lightning Bolt and Delver.
against RUG Delver I board:
In: 2 Path to Exile, 2 Choke, Surgical Extraction, Bojuka Bog, Spell Pierce or Flusterstorm (Depends if I see cursed totem)
Out: Elspeth, Linvala, 3x Qasali Pridemage, Sylvan Library, Karakas
But yeah, its basically unlosable. I've tested the matchup extensively
West side
Find me on MTGO as Koby or rukcus -- @MTGKoby on Twitter
* Maverick is dead. Long live Maverick!
My Legacy stream
My MTG Blog - Work in progress
Nicolas Becvar Tilt Master?
He had absolutely no business scooping G1 and G2 kept an unplayable 6... How did he make top 8?! I get that people get tired... but c'mon, keep it together!!
Played in a small event locally. Went 3-1-1 then lost in Top 8 to the mirror.
Mainboard
4 Mother of Runes
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Qasali Pridemage
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Fauna Shaman
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Scryb Ranger
4 Sword to Plowshares
4 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Sylvan Library
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Dryad Arbor
4 Savannah
4 Windswept Heath
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Forest
1 Plains
2 Horizon Canopy
4 Wasteland
1 Karakas
1 Gaea's Cradle
Sideboard
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Choke
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Maze of Ith
1 Bojuka Bog
2 Path to Exile
2 Enlightened Tutor
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Circle of Protection: Red
Round 1 - Breakfast (2-1) win g1, lost g2 cuz I didn't see anything g1 brought in back the StPs, then won handily
Round 2 - RDW (2-0) COP red.
Round 3 - TES (1-2) lost the die roll, lost games 1 and 3 before I hit 2 mana.
Round 4 - Deadguy (2-1) Won G1, then lost control G2 against a Turn 3 Liliana backed by Perish, StP, Edict, Massacre, etc etc etc. Sylvan Library did work overtime to keep up, but couldn't stick a threat to kill Lily all game. Won a close G3 against active Jitte by holding it down with Mom.
Round 5 - ID
Top 8 - Mirror, lost in G3 when I drew 3 lands in a row with my starting 4 in hand, couldn't find one of 17 answers (QPM x3 GSZ x4 Jitte x2 SFM x1 STP x4 PTE x2 Maze of Ith) = at least 33% chance. Oh well. (Linvala is a baus in the mirror in the maindeck)
West side
Find me on MTGO as Koby or rukcus -- @MTGKoby on Twitter
* Maverick is dead. Long live Maverick!
My Legacy stream
My MTG Blog - Work in progress
Played in a small event yesterday with Koby. Went 3-2 and top 8'ed to my surprise. Then lost to Bant Troll.
Mainboard
4 noble Hierarch
4 Mother of Runes
4 Knight of the Reliquary
2 Scavenging Ooze
3 Qasali Pridemage
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Aven Mindcenser
2 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Terravore
1 Scryb Ranger
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Sylvan Library
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Dryad Arbor
2 Forest
1 plains
4 Savannah
4 Windswept Heath
2 horizon Canopy
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Karakas
1 Gaea's Cradle
4 Wasteland
Sideboard
3 Gut Shot
2 Path to Exile
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Bojuka Bog
2 Choke
Round 1- RDW (1-2)
Round 2- Bant Maverick (0-2)
Round 3- MUD (2-1)
Round 4- U/R Delver (2-0)
Round 5- Pox (2-1)
Top 8- G1, Mana screwed my opponent then a quick beat down Aven Mindcensor with Qasali Pridemage and Noble Hierarch exalted triggers. G2, my opponent kind of mana screwed me after Dazing my t1 Noble Hierarch and I was stuck on 2 land the entire game. G3, Troll with Spectral Flight killed me, not much interaction at all.
I also went to the same tourney as the previous two posters. Managed to pull out a victory despite multiple misplays! I'm very comfortable with the deck however added the shaman and linvala the day of the tournament. As such, I didn't have a chance to test the exact build and that led to some misplays. Also, my unfamiliarity with the mirror was quite evident although I did beat it twice.
Can't really find fault with the archetype as it's served me quite well over the past few months. I highly recommend it but also recommend plenty of playtesting.
Creatures
2 Fauna Shaman
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Mother of Runes
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Qasali Pridemage
3 Scavenging Ooze
1 Scryb Ranger
Enchantments
1 Sylvan Library
Instants
4 Swords to Plowshares
Legendary Artifacts
2 Umezawa's Jitte
Legendary Creatures
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Sorceries
4 Green Sun's Zenith
Basic Lands
2 Forest
1 Plains
Lands
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Maze of Ith
2 Misty Rainforest
3 Savannah
4 Wasteland
4 Windswept Heath
2 Tropical Island
Land Creatures
1 Dryad Arbor
Legendary Lands
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Karakas
Sideboard:
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Choke
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Path to Exile
3 Spell Pierce
1 Flusterstorm
1 Life from the Loam
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Gut Shot
How do you guys beat sneak attack? Especially now with Griselbrand as a target for show and tell and sneak attack.
West side
Find me on MTGO as Koby or rukcus -- @MTGKoby on Twitter
* Maverick is dead. Long live Maverick!
My Legacy stream
My MTG Blog - Work in progress
Two ridiculous quotes coming off each other.
So he plays Show and Tell, it resolves and you play Karakas. He plays Sneak Attack and activates it and puts Griselbrand into play. He then draws 7, you bounce? If you dont bounce he can swing and draw 7 more, if you bounce you are tapped out for the Lotus Petal+Emrakul he just drew.
So he plays Show and Tell, it resolves, you play Knight of the Reliquary. He puts in play Griselbrand, draws 14 (if he has the life, otherwise 7) and then puts in another dude with Petal and swings for lethal.
Sneak and Show is not like reanimator in any way or form.
To me against sneak and show, or show & tell/hivemind type decks the best plan of attack is thalia+wasteland. Alot of that depends on being on the play/draw but if you land a thalia and have wastelands to back it up while building an attack force/karakas trying to tempo them is the best form of defense I've tested. These, again my opinion, are the decks that Maverick is weakest to. The bullet vs. combo is usually teeg, but show and tell gets right around him. There are alot of ways to try and combat them, and pridemage is good to take out the sneak attack.
Argh this is frustrating me to no end:
How do we effectively answer the combo matchup from killing us before we get a chance to lay down a hate-bear? I keep trying to look at the blue splash for Spell Pierce/Flusterstorm, but I don't get the impression that it helps (nevermind the added benefit against Burn and dedicated spell-control decks).
Leyline of Sanctity is also highly variant and we can't afford to mulligan to get it when UB/x and High Tide already bring in bounce to deal with hate bears.
What about Chalice of the Void @ 0 to stop their ridiculous mana accel? Chalice @ 1 is better vs them, but we need something for Turn 0 and turn 1.
Silence/Orim's Chant as the proactive answer, but limited in application.
Thoughts? Is the matchup infrequent enough to even bother?
West side
Find me on MTGO as Koby or rukcus -- @MTGKoby on Twitter
* Maverick is dead. Long live Maverick!
My Legacy stream
My MTG Blog - Work in progress
I can't see benefits in having mana open for Chant (or wider application of it), Chalice is interesting but leaves me with mixed feelings you're still dead T0 but Chalice on 1 and hatebear sounds good, I'd expect more with Cavern of Souls
If you have to play Mindbreak Trap, it's most narrow but one can't check both ground and hand most time (and protects T0), or just accept you lose to some deck more often like any other deck... by printing Thalia Maverick can actually win with Storm, that is ridiculous =/
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)