I used to play a lot of Shardless BUG and just picked it back up after trying out a bunch of landstill variants.... I just 5-0'd two leagues, but I played against all fair matchups and reanimator decks. I didn't play against sneak and show during these matches which I expect is not a great matchup. Here's what I've been playing..
4x Shardless Agent
4x Tarmogoyf
2x Baleful Strix
4x Ancestral Visions
4x Brainstorm
4x Force of Will
2x Ponder
3x Hymn to tourach
2x Thoughtseize
4x Abrupt Decay
1x Toxic Deluge
2x Liliana, of the Veil
2x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2x Bayou
4x Underground Sea
1x Tropical Island
1x Forest
1x Swamp
4x Verdant Catacombs
3x Misty Rainforest
2x Polluted Delta
1x Savannah/Scrubland (your choice)
3x Wasteland
Sideboard:
4x Leyline of the Void
1x Life from the Loam
1x Sylvan Library
1x Bitterblossom
1x Thoughtseize
2x Diabolic Edict
1x Toxic Deluge
4x Meddling Mage (Very unsure, maybe not worth it due to DRS giving consistency.. Chat about it below).
My thoughts are after playing against all fair decks. I'm not entirely sure Meddling Mages are worth it. They only come in versus Sneak Show, random high tide decks, storm. These are all harder matchups, but we also do play a lot of discard as well. I do need to test these matchups to get a feel for how much sideboard we need. I do like the idea of cutting Mages for Containment priest as it's non pyroblast/reb-able.. also great in Sneak and show + reanimator. If I were to cut white I would cut the scrubland/savannah for a misty rainforest.
The maindeck itself is great. The only card I would like to include in the main 60 is maybe maelstrom pulse or to the slaughter. Planeswalkers are hard to answer when behind.. as they always are for bug decks. Leovold in testing has been slow and weak. Abrupt Decay has been sick as everyone tries to cheese you out with counterbalance, back to basics, chalice, blood moon. Anyways enjoy the list and feel free to discuss or ask questions.
I've been playing the same(ish) list and shardless feels like a very underappreciated gem right now. I agree about the pulse/to the slaughter type of effect, I almost lost a game yesterday to D&T because I didn't want to spend double decays killing RIPs. The only other change i'd like to make is probably add a couple of fatal pushes, there are a few matchups where it feels like you just need the extra removal. Feels like charm should probably be somewhere in the 75 but it hasn't felt absolutely necessary.
I think that scrubland is better in general as I think you're more likely to run into combo matchups where you want mm rather than the wasteland + mm matchups. The mana is a little awkward for the mages now but it just comes down to being a little more cautious about fetching.
Been playing this list online lately and it's felt pretty good.
Anyone have any suggestions? I cute the meddling mages because I felt like it wasn't really helping my combo matchups. I need more testing with the deck however.
Things I'm considering - Going up to 4 wasteland. Maybe playing a creeping tar pit if I come across a lot of miracles. Considering playing 1 Leovold in the main.
Shardless Bug:
Maindeck (60)
2 Baleful Strix
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Shardless Agent
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Brainstorm
2 Ponder
2 Thoughtseize
4 Abrupt Decay
3 Hymn to Tourach
1 Toxic Deluge
4 Force of Will
3 Bayou
1 Forest
3 Misty Rainforest
2 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
1 Tropical Island
4 Underground Sea
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Wasteland
Sideboard (15)
1 Fatal Push
1 Thoughtseize
2 Diabolic Edict
1 Life from the Loam
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Pulse of Murasa
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Dread of Night
1 Bitterblossom
1 Sylvan Library
4 Leyline of the Void
I’ve played more and I’ve cut the mages entirely, however, I guess it depends on your meta.
I cut the two ponders for a fatal push and bitterblossom. Cut the deluge main deck for a strix. I do miss the deluge. Cut the scrubland for a misty rainforest.
Currently the sb looks like this:
1x Life from the loam
1x to the slaughter
2x diabolic edict
2x toxic deluge
4x leyline of the void (been seeing a lot of wear tear out of BR, potentially Faerie macabre is the way to go)
1x sylvan library
1x dread of night
1x golgari charm
1x liliana the last hope
1x thoughtseize
Sb can be flexible I think pithing needle and various graveyard hate is good.
Life from the loam has been amazing, I would definitely consider two. Currently got 2 more 5-0s and a 4-1 but online matchups can be skewed to who’s queuing. Eldrazi, grixis control, and loam are all insanely good matchups.
How have you liked “To The Slaughter”?
How have your matchups been against storm?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
How do you generally board for the Grixis Control matchup? I haven't found it to be insanely good but it feels about even. Usually it just ends up with both of you having 0 cards in hand and the person with the better topdecks usually wins. Goyf has been insane despite all the fatal pushes being played, he usually ends the game in about 1-2 after he lands in the late game.
Normally cut four decay, forest, fatal push, a force of will.
Bring in library, loam, liliana, thoughtseize, to the slaughter, diabolic edict, golgari charm.
Storm can be dicey, but I’ve won it three times I’ve played it. Very small sample size. It’s played out the same way, discard into a liliana or threat and win. They obviously have some busted opening hands, but I’ve been lucky enough to dodge em. I don’t mind the matchup but I also don’t love it.
To the slaughter has been amazing because bug decks struggle against planeswalkers and it gives the deck an out to em. It also a third card against depths and lands. It’s either that card or maelstrom pulse. So far slaughter has been good.
I’m winning most of my game 1s but getting smoked games 2 and 3. My sideboard must not be right yet.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hello! I played Shardless for years and had a lot of success with the deck. I’m looking to put it back together, and am curious about the Mono Red Prison match-up. How do we beat this deck, and what are some good sideboard options? Thanks for your insights!
4 main deck Abrupt Decay with a basic swamp and basic forest.
I suppose you could run Krosan Grip if you wanted to out of the side. That way you only need a green. Other than that I feel like the matchup isn't bad.
The deck isn't super popular right now so I wouldn't worry about running into it.
I would worry about running into STORM. Thats a terrible matchup.
If storm is our biggest nemesis, how about a couple Mindbreak trap in the side?
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Ca...verseid=197532
A lot of times they always have discard before they go off.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Storm player here. I can verify this. Mindbreak Trap is one of the things I fear the least out of opposing sideboards.
A better option for Shardless would be to maximize the discard, and then use something that would prevent the storm player from recovering.
Traditionally Deathrite did this with its grave hate, but now things like Leovold, Grafdiggers Cage, Scavenging Ooze (bring in for a Tarmogoyf or two), etc. are all decent options.
Should we play Leovold is the main or in the side or not at all?
I just feel like Leovold is going against what we are trying to do as a shardless deck.
the last "undefeated deck" didn't play Leo.. http://www.tcdecks.net/deck.php?id=28289&iddeck=231026
But I prefer a list looks like this one: http://www.tcdecks.net/deck.php?id=28008&iddeck=227157 (with +1tourach -1jitte)
But a question: is the deck still competitive right now?
B U G
born by a broken condom. grown in a manger.
twitter.com/toffino
I've been having success with it online, no 5-0's but it's been very competitive.
My Death's Shadow matchup is great, which seems to be a huge part of the meta online.
Decks I seem to struggle against, Eldrazi (Big and Small), Storm (All variations) and Show and Tell. Reanimater can be tough but my sideboard currently works well for that matchup.
Miracles, D&T and Delver variants I seem to be favored against.
Decks like Mavick, Aggro Loam and Lands can go either way, depends on the draws.
Can anyone else confirm my findings? Again this is just from what I've played against online.
With a good pilot and the right sideboard, absolutely. I played Shardless for the first time in over a year at a small weekly event last night. Misplays cost me a match against Reanimator, but I handily beat UB Shadow, MUD, and Grixis Delver/Pyromancer. I feel that all the true names, anglers, emrakuls, and Marit Lages flying around make main deck sac effects crucial, and I’m playing two Diabolic edicts. Lily Last Hope was also a beast for me, as she saves removal against small threats and lets us re-cast our Agents and Strixes. I feel like the deck should lean more heavily to black, to accommodate more Hymns and both Lilianas.
From my perspective, Shardless began to die with the banning of Top. We lost arguably our most important favored match-up, and the appearance of Czech Pile also made things difficult. There, you had a deck that could actually outgrind Shardless, and Leovold took away our one advantage in card draw. Now, we can prey on DnT, which seems more prevalent than ever, along with Miracles, Delver and UB Shadow. Combo still sucks, but that’s always been the case with Shardless. You lose Game One, then trust that your board can carry the match. These are all just my personal opinions, however, and I might be wrong. Regardless, I’m back to slamming agents.
The lists I've seen 5-0 play 4 Leyline of the Void in the side. I don't really like that card. In the late game it's just a dead card. At least with Faerie Macabre I can cast it later in the game if needed. I tried to diversify my sideboard and play cards that can be used in multiple matchups. This is very much a Rock style sideboard. I find myself sideboarding out Force of Will most of the time.
Maindeck (60)
3 Baleful Strix
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Shardless Agent
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Ancestral Vision
4 Brainstorm
1 Fatal Push
2 Thoughtseize
4 Abrupt Decay
3 Hymn to Tourach
1 Toxic Deluge
4 Force of Will
1 Bitterblossom
2 Bayou
1 Forest
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
1 Tropical Island
4 Underground Sea
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Wasteland
Sideboard (15)
3 Faerie Macabre
1 Thoughtseize
2 Diabolic Edict
1 Life from the Loam
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Pulse of Murasa
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Pithing Needle
1 Dread of Night
1 Sylvan Library
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)