Legacy is a format of diversity, a format of extremes, & if you just want to focus on your goals, doing it with one of the more successful "turn 1 combo decks" in the format, because something about killing someone on turn 1 is just so much fun to pull off, then you've come to the right place. On a personal note, this was even my first Legacy deck.
1) Playing Belcher, the ultimate goal
2) Successful decklists & trends
3) Card choices
3a) Maindeck
3b) Sideboard
4) Recross the Paths Belcher (as written by FTW)
5) Price guide
6) Awesome links
7) The previous belcher thread: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...2-Deck-Belcher special thanks to Ewokslayer
8) 20 Match ups
1) Playing Belcher, the ultimate goal:
Your goal as a whole, is to kill the opponent as fast as possible, there's no other way to put it into simpler words. More specifically however, your goal is to be able to produce 4-7 mana, & a kill condition.
Mulligans. It all starts with the opening hand, the key cards to look for are:
Goblin Charbelcher (4 mana to cast, 3 to activate, 7 total)
Empty the Warrens (4 mana to cast, has storm count)
Burning Wish (2 mana to cast, net an Empty the Warrens, totaling 6 mana overall)
After that, you check for the number of remaining spells in hand & see the potential mana you can produce in order to cast one of those 3 above noted cards that are your kill conditions.
-Example- Opening 7: Goblin Charbelcher Lotus Petal Rite of Flame Desperate Ritual Lion's Eye Diamond Tinder Wall Land Grant. Do you see how that's a turn 1 kill? Play Land Grant for free since you have no land in your opening hand, get the single land out of your deck & put it into play, also play the Lotus Petal & Lion's Eye Diamond, tap your land to play the Tinder Wall, then sac the Tinder Wall for 2 red mana, play Desperate Ritual, netting you 3 mana floating, then sac the Lotus Petal to cast Rite of Flame, netting you 2 more red mana, totaling 5, use it (4 cost) to play Goblin Charbelcher, then sac the Lion's Eye Diamond to produce 3 more, using the mana to activate the Belcher at your opponent for the turn 1 kill.
Game 1's: Against most decks, if you are on the play, you will have no idea what your opponent is playing, the only potential help would come from lists that run Gitaxian Probe but aside from that, your on the play game 1's will often be a shot in the dark as to whether or not your opponent has Force of Will, however, that's about all someone will have if you're on the play, these will be the games you likely win the most, simply because the opponent will be likely unprepared.
Game 1's on the draw, if they have turn 1 discard they have it, there's not alot you can do about that. As far as what they might have access to for countermagic, in addition to Force of will, look out for things like Daze Spell Pierce Flusterstorm Spell Snare etc, depending on what they're playing, which you'll get a hint as to what they're playing since they will likely play a land on the 1st turn like 99% of most decks in legacy.
Playing around countermagic, the key number the opponent will likely be looking for is you trying to get to 4 mana, while they can hard counter Burning Wish & Goblin Charbelcher, they can't so easily hard counter Empty the Warrens, because of this, whenever you're against counter magic and have Empty the Warrens, remember they might even try to prevent you from even getting to 4 mana so you can't even cast it, since with it's storm it produces so many copies, so try to get to 3 mana before using a spirit guide for that 4th mana if you can. The other thing to remember against counterspell decks is that you can potentially "bait" them out, as an example, if you have a Lion's Eye Diamond in play, & you cast Burning Wish, they might burn a counter on your Wish because they know, you can still potentially remove a spirit guide from hand, dump your hand to the Lion's Eye Diamond, then have 4 mana & get an Empty the Warrens in which they will not be able to counter traditionally, because of it's storm count.
Game 2 & 3's: A little tricker, depending on what you are up against, most of your "true" sideboard cards will be anti blue stuff like Xantid Swarm Pyroblast etc. Other times however, it's better to keep your focus & just go for the kill to take them out before their sideboard even becomes relevant. "Wishless" Belcher decks have a higher focus on this, speaking of which...
Wishless build notes: If you decide to go this route, your goal is overall the same, however your deck should be looked at as a "48 card deck" (since Manamorphose, Gitaxian Probe, Street Wraith draw for "free") Out of those remaining 48 cards, 8 of them are business (Goblin Charbelcher, Empty the Warrens) or, 1 in 6. As far as the sideboard plan goes for these builds, the "wishless" plan remains all in, to just kill them as soon as possible, afterall, their sideboarded in cards are irrelevant if they're dead. This is the reason you see some Belcher decks with a 15 Island or 15 different Atogs sideboard.
An intro Recommended article of popular demand by fellow Belcher posters
When one looks at the successful finishes posted by Charbelcher decks in Legacy over the summer, something curious seems to be happening. Almost everyone is playing either 8 or 11 kill cards. No other option seems to be under consideration. Is one of those options better? Is there a reason why nobody has tweaked their deck to have 9 or 10? This article will follow my attempts to answer these questions and my quest to build the best Charbelcher deck ever constructed. Bear in mind that this is about building the deck more than playing it, so those with no understanding of how the deck functions will probably not get as much out of their time...
For more: http://blog.mtgdeals.com/oarsman/reb...y-charbelcher/
History:
Since the making of Goblin Charbelcher it has been used in "turn 1 kill" decks, though more popular in type 1 / Vintage when it first came out, did you know the traditional lists back then were "2 land Belcher?" I was able to find these 2 decklists for Legacy dating all the way back to 2005 if you want to take your research that far: 6th place - Jay Palmer - Syracuse NY. & 15th place - Brian Lusk - Richmond Va. After that, I could find nothing at large scale Legacy events until the end of 2009, starting in this list below, when Belcher made it's 1st top 8 at the Starcitygames Open Series by a Cedric Phillips:
2) Successful Decklists & Trends: from here http://www.starcitygames.com/pages/decklists/ & http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/for...=Legacy&page=1
2009:
6th place - Cedric Phillips - SCG Philadelphia (147 players) 2 Land
2010:
8th place - Wilson Fisher - SCG Los Angeles (142 players) 2 Land
16th place - Roger Fondren - SCG Los Angeles (142 players)
9th palce - Lukas Parson - SCG Richmond (236 players) 2 Land
11th place - Cedric Phillips - SCG Indianapolis (286 players) 2 Land
4th place - Christian Valenti - SCG Atlanta (200 players) 2 Land
6th place - Christian Valenti - SCG St Louis (193 players) 2 Land
2011:
8th place - Ben Perry - SCG Los Angeles (216 players)
Printing of Mental Misstep in May
0 decklists
Banning of Mental Misstep in October
1st place - Poggesi Luca - Dragonsleague/Tarmogeddon, Padova (125 players)
14th place - Garett Young - SCG Indianapolis (290 players)
10th place - Jared Coppage - SCG Nashville (169 players)
12th place - Garett Young - SCG St Louis (277 players)
7-0 Legacy portion - Christian Valenti - SCG Invitational Charlotte (316 players)
2012:
Winter:
8th place - Kalle Sundberg - Finnish Legacy Champs 2011 (99 players)
15th place - Ethan Walker - SCG Los Angeles (180 players)
12th place - Eugeni Sánchez - 2º torneo Lliga Catalana (109 players)
14th place - Joshua Miller - SCG Charlotte (153 players)
11th place - Garett Young - SCG Memphis (94 players)
10th place - Gerardo Fedon - SCG Tampa (141 players)
Spring:
6th place - Jonas Löb - Legacy Event in Maintal (127 players)
13th place - Jacob Segmiller - SCG Phoenix (138 players)
11th place - Slay Hughes - SCG Birmingham (141 players)
13th place - Garrett Young - SCG Columbus (258 players)
6th place - Geoffrey Moes - SCG Columbus (258 players) Wishless
Summer:
11th - Quinton Ewing - SCG Seattle (187 players) Wishless
32nd place - Adam LeGear - GP Atlanta (905 players)
7th place - Gerardo Fedon - GP Atlanta (905 players)
2nd place - Corbin Rudnick - SCG St Louis (223 players) Wishless
4th place - Joshua Wiitanen - SCG Las Vegas (223 players)
20th place - Marek Vardzik - GP Ghent (1,345 players)
2nd place - Branson Mitchell - SCG Denver (142 players)
13th place - Marcus Knox - SCG Denver (142 players)
4th place - David Soriano - 9º torneo Lliga Catalana, Barcelona (128 players)
Fall:
13th place - Jordi Vidal - LCL 2012 Octubre (131 players)
10th place - Tyler King - SCG Indianapolis (204 players) Wishless
5th place - Brian Guess - SCG New Orleans (91 players)
13th place - Carl Hendricks - SCG Dallas (175 players)
10th place - Zack Meza - SCG Las Vegas (169 players)
2013:
6th place - Ben Perry - SCG Columbus (325 players)
26th place - Mike Augustine - SCG Columbus (325 players)
2nd place - Griffin Hansen - SCG Atlanta (230 players)
12th place - Mike Noble - SCG Edison (279 players)
13th place - Tyle King - SCG Cincinnati (279 players) Wishless
15th place - Anthony Bub - SCG Las Vegas (142 players)
3rd place - Ben Perry - SCG Cincinnati (277 players)
13th place - Jeff Stevens - SCG Cincinnati (277 players)
5th place - Dustin Klopping - SCG Cleveland (234 players)
15th place - Jeramiah Alton SCG Cleveland (234 players)
4th place - Billon Sylvain - BoM 2-Bye Trial 2013 (114 players)
2014:
13th place - Kenneth Mangan - SCG Orlando (239 players)
5th place - Julio Sanna - TeTe Open (113 players)
19th place - Jeremy Chestnut - SCG Seattle (320 players)
5th place - Yurien Seyssel - SCG Los Angeles (374 players)
15th place - Zakk Meza - SCG Los Angeles (374 players)
14th place - Charlie Edwards - SCG Knoxville (218 players)
16th place - Eric Jones - SCG Knoxville (218 players)
10th place - Daniel Brown - SCG Providence (302 players)
6th place - Sonny Aparicio - SCG Vegas (232 players)
6th place - Jesse Parnell - SCG Worcester (290 players)
14th place - Zac Hicks - SCG Atlanta (263 players)
2015:
Day 1 undefeated - Ryuichi Shirakihara - GP Kyoto (1,943 players)
6th place - Karl-Emil Drenck - Danish Legacy Masters (99 players)
3) Card choices:
3a) Maindeck:
Kill conditions: (average #, when ran)
Goblin Charbelcher (4, staple) Namesake card of the deck, play, target, even with 1 land in the deck it is almost always still lethal
Empty the Warrens (3, staple) Your secondary kill condition, cast ritual effects, drop an army of 1/1's turn 1, then take your combat steps to victory
Burning Wish (4, staple) With an Empty the Warrens in the sideboard, this is your other route of action in addition to the other 2 cards, your opening hand should always have 1 of these 3 cards in it.
Recross the Paths Seen in a rogue version of the deck that placed top 32 in SCG Columbus in 2013, article in the "Awesome Links" section below by the same person that piloted it, Michael Augustine
"Free" cantrips:
Gitaxian Probe (4, staple) A cantripping "peek" at the opponents hand, increases storm count, & allowing you to see what they're holding/playing even from game 1 when you're on the play, while drawing a card for free
Manamorphose (4, seen in multiple lists) A cantripping mana fixer, increases storm count, drawing a card for free, also a staple in "wishless" builds
Street Wraith (4, seen in fewer lists) Seen mostly in "wishless" builds that have a focus on drawing more, since they don't run Burning Wish
Permanent mana:
Land Grant (4, staple) Gets you to your single land for free, also a secondary for Chrome Mox fodder.
Taiga (1, staple) The 1 land in the deck, a Forces for Land Grant, & a Mountain for when revealed by Goblin Charbelcher, meaning you'll never have to flip more than 10 cards for lethal, & yes, if you reveal your entire library without a land coming up, it does that much damage.
Chrome Mox (3-4, staple) Your only other recurring, permanent source of mana after your 1 land, also giving you a secondary use for some cards in hand, like when you have 2 Burning Wish for example. Also remember if it "rituals" for a 1 time use of 1 mana, sometimes it's better just to Mox it instead. Also not always a 4 of as it is card disadvantage.
+1 mana:
Simian Spirit Guide (4, staple) Free to cast from the hand, producing 1 red mana
Elvish Spirit Guide (4, staple) Free to cast from the hand, producing 1 green mana
(Always remember when the opponent knows what you're playing, they'll know you have access to Empty the Warrens, so they might try to counter your last ritual effect that attempts to get you to 4 mana floating, & if you're at 3 mana, they can't traditionally counter a Spirit Guide removed to produce mana, allowing you to Empty the Warrens with storm count, which also can't be traditionally countered.)
Lotus Petal (4, staple) 0 to cast, producing any color
Pyretic Ritual (4, seen in most lists) 2 to cast, producing 3 mana total, giving you an increase of +1 red, & +1 storm count
Chancellor of the Tangle (4, seen in fewer decks)
+1 mana, with a potential for +2 mana:
Rite of Flame (4, staple) 1 to cast, potentially giving you +2 mana, if 1 is in the graveyard
Tinder Wall (4, staple) 1 to cast, potentially giving you +2 mana, if you cast it off a Taiga or Chrome Mox, then wait for 1 turn, as a non traditional bonus, it can also be a blocker for a turn against things like, Goblin Lackey as an example
Desperate Ritual (4, staple) 2 to cast, potentially giving you +2 mana for it's "Splice onto arcane", if you have 4 mana to cast, & 2 in hand
Grim Monolith (4, seen in fewer decks) Mostly in older lists, 2 to cast, potentially giving you +3 mana, if you cast it & wait for a turn.
+2 mana:
Seething Song (4, seen in multiple lists) 3 to cast, producing 5 mana total, giving you an increase of +2 red, & +1 storm count
+3 mana:
Lion's Eye Diamond (4, staple) +3 mana to activate Goblin Charbelcher, or +3 mana when you Burning Wish for an Empty the Warrens. Cast Wish > sac Lion's Eye Diamond in response > +3 mana > get your card from the sideboard. (Just make sure you have mana from another source, or that 4th mana in your pool to cast that Empty the Warrens)
Out of the "free cantrips" Gitaxian Probe is the most common over Manamorphose & Street Wraith, +1 storm count, +1 card, & access to information, being the opponents hand, on game 1 can sometimes be invaluable
3b) Sideboard: (average #, when ran)
More common wish targets:
Empty the Warrens (1, staple) your 4th copy is always in the sideboard for a lethal wish target
Goblin War Strike (1, seen in most sideboards) A burn spell based on the # of goblins in play, works well off of Empty the Warrens with a 2nd Burning Wish in hand
Hull Breach (1, seen in most sideboards) Destroy an artifact (Like Pithing Needle) or an enchantment (Like Ghostly Prison) or both at the same time
Infernal Tutor (1, seen in most sideboards) Emptying your hand for ritual effects means this is basically a Demonic Tutor for your deck, provided you have enough mana
Pyroclasm (1, seen in most sideboards) 2 damage to all creatures in play, one of the best sweepers you can ask for with a mana cost of 2
Reverent Silence (1, seen in most sideboards) "free" to cast, destroying all enchantments, like multiple Leyline of Sanctitys in play
Shattering Spree (1, seen in most sideboards) Can destroy multiple artifacts in play, great against hate that is artifact based, as well as a use against match ups with lots of artifacts, like MUD, Stax, & Affinity if you are going slow & want to buy more turns
Other possible wish targets:
Diminishing Returns (1, seen in some sideboards) A potential draw 7, seen in mostly older belcher lists
Cave-in (1, seen in few sideboards) "free" to cast version of Pyroclasm
Tendrils of Agony (1, seen in some sideboards) Sometimes a secondary kill condition, 2 life per storm count
Ignite Memories (1, seen in fewer sideboards) Though amusing against Show and Tell decks with Emrakul, the Aeons Torn & Griselbrands in hand
Past in Flames (1, seen in some sideboards)
Grapeshot (1, seen in fewer sideboards)
Traitorous Blood (1, seen in fewer sideboards)
Non Wish targets:
Xantid Swarm (4, seen in most sideboards) Great against opposing Counterspell strategies, though keep in mind Swords to Plowshares & other cheap removal
Pyroblast (4, seen in most sideboards) Also great against opposing blue decks
Red Elemental Blast (2-4, seen in some sideboards) Sometimes people will 2/2 split the blasts
Carpet of Flowers (2-4, seen in some sideboards) For opposing blue decks
Autumn's Veil (3-4, seen in some sideboards) Can act similar to a counter & a Silence
Guttural Response (4, seen in fewer sideboards)
Mirri's Guile (3-4, seen in fewer sideboards)
Leyline of Sanctity (4, seen in fewer sideboards)
4) Recross the Paths Belcher:
5) Price guide of more common Belcher cards: As of March 2013 (For the most current prices, click on the link of each card) High-Mid-Low according to http://magiccards.info/ & http://magic.tcgplayer.com/all_magic_sets.asp
$50.00+ average:
Lion's Eye Diamond $89.98 $71.97 $62.66
Taiga (Revised) $79.98 $59.99 $54.17
$20.00 to $50.00:
Burning Wish $25.97 $20.90 $16.75
$10.00 to $20.00:
Chrome Mox $15.44 $13.91 $12.40
$5.00 to $10.00:
Infernal Tutor $8.23 $5.99 $3.43
$2.00 to $5.00:
Goblin Charbelcher $7.97 $4.13 $3.30
Lotus Petal $4.49 $3.19 $2.46
Street Wraith $4.47 $3.29 $1.95
Elvish Spirit Guide $5.87 $3.88 $3.20
Shattering Spree $3.99 $3.48 $2.49
Xantid Swarm $4.10 $2.49 $1.95
Rite of Flame $3.80 $2.36 $1.59
Manamorphose $3.91 $2.89 $2.00
Past in Flames $4.95 $2.42 $1.42
$1.00 to $2.00:
Seething Song $2.99 $1.81 $0.76
Tendrils of Agony $2.32 $1.23 $0.53
Carpet of Flowers $1.53 $1.00 $0.59
$1.00 or less average:
Empty the Warrens $1.53 $0.74 $0.38
Gitaxian Probe $1.23 $0.52 $0.30
Land Grant $1.19 $0.63 $0.36
Simian Spirit Guide $1.22 $0.71 $0.42
Tinder Wall $0.88 $0.26 $0.14
Pyretic Ritual $0.78 $0.26 $0.08
Desperate Ritual $1.95 $0.94 $0.65
Pyroblast $1.07 $0.53 $0.30
Red Elemental Blast $0.78 $0.26 $0.10
Diminishing Returns $1.99 $0.56 $0.24
Reverent Silence $0.69 $0.27 $0.09
Pyroclasm $1.00 $0.36 $0.20
Goblin War Strike $1.38 $0.30 $0.19
Hull Breach $0.50 $0.32 $0.23
6) Awesome Links: In relation to Belcher & Legacy
Price trends of singles:
http://www.mtgprice.com/sets/Mirrodi...in_Charbelcher
Belcher articles/reports/etc:
2013:
http://starcitygames.com/events/cove...iffin_han.html Feature match, Belcher in the finals, SCG Atlanta (Griffin Hansen)
http://legitmtg.com/competitive/stac...cks-on-stacks/ Article, Recross the Paths Belcher that made top 32, SCG Columbus (Michael Augustine)
2012:
http://www.eternalcentral.com/?p=3281 Podcast from Serious Vintage, covering Belcher. With Nat Moes, Geoff Moes & Josh Chapple.
http://blog.mtgdeals.com/oarsman/reb...y-charbelcher/ Article, Belcher (oarsman/Joe Lossett)
http://www.starcitygames.com/events/...orbin_rud.html Feature match, Belcher in the finals, SCG St Louis (Corbin Rudnick)
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazin...tl12/welcome#2 Feature match, Belcher in the top 8, Grand Prix Atlanta (Gerardo Fedon)
http://www.gatheringmagic.com/andofe...time-to-belch/ Article, playing the Belcher deck (Ando Ferguson)
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazin...gpind12/day2#7 Deck Tech from GP Indianapolis (Nathan Connor)
http://www.eternal-central.com/?p=2807 Tournament report, SCG Columbus top 8 (Geoffrey Moes)
2011:
http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...-A-long-Report Tournament report, SCG Los Angeles top 8 (everythingitouchdies/Ben Perry)
2010:
http://www.eternal-central.com/?p=659 Tournament report, Belcher in the finals, GenCon Indy 2010 (Matt Hazard)
http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/l...arbelcher.html Deck Tech back when it was 2 Land Belcher (Cedric Phillips, Calosso Fuentes)
Belcher decklist sources:
Starcitygames.com Belcher decklists 2009-to-today
http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/tip...&format=Legacy
Legacy metagame:
http://www.starcitygames.com/pages/decklists/
http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/for...=Legacy&page=1
http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...(started-2012)
7) The previous Belcher thread: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...2-Deck-Belcher started by Ewokslayer with about 6 years worth of Goblin Charbelcher information, starting all the way back in mid 2007. Special thanks Ewokslayer, & to all that took part in the discussion & helped fill the thread with valuable information over all this time.
Page 65 has some discussion about Recross the Paths
Last edited by feline; 11-23-2015 at 10:39 AM. Reason: Update
Primary legacy deck High Tide primer
8) 20 Match ups: (Based mostly on decks that have performed with some level of consistent, higher placings since Return to Ravnica Legacy)
00) Against all decks
Pre sideboard: If you are on the play & it's game 1, there is really only 1 thing to watch out for, opposing Force of Will, aside from that, that's really it! As a bonus, you have the element of surprise, so it's not likely they will keep their hand based on Force of Will alone, because of that, you will win alot of game 1's simply because they will not know you're playing belcher, until you take your 1st turn, & kill them.
If you are on the draw game 1, there is additional stuff to watch out for, they might do turn 1 discard against you, that can't really be stopped, but other than that, all you have to do is keep in mind if they have access to blue or not after they pass the turn, an single untapped Island can cast Spell Pierce Spell Snare Flusterstorm & though less likely, even the possibility of Envelop. Other cards in addition to Force of Will are Daze. This is something to remember whenever the possibility presents itself.
Post Sideboard: As for game 2/3, you'll want to cut the weakest ritual effect, like pyretic ritual, or even gitaxian probe, once you know what you're opponent's playing, you can play games 2 & 3 like they have a more disruptive hand & play how you would play if you knew they had it anyway, however that requires being comfortable enough so if you prefer keeping in Gitaxian Probes, then cut Pyretic Ritual. You will largely be focused on the same goals, their sideboard increase will likely be in the form of disruption, discard if it's black, counterspells if it's blue, as well as other random stuff like Leyline of Sanctity. Your primary hated color to watch out for however is blue, so your true sideboard cards are going to focus on that, via Xantid Swarm & Pyroblast. Since you know what they are playing after game 1, if you play the remaining games with their worst countermagic in mind, you can take out the Gitaxian Probes to bring in some of your Blasts / Xantids, since taking out too much mana producing stuff will make you slower to go off, & against blue tempo strategies like RUG, you won't have a bunch of turns to sit & build up a hand. Even against slow blue control type decks, they will spend their turns picking up more & more countermagic, so you have to judge each individual game accordingly given the situation for when it is appropriate to do what. Also keep in mind, any deck has the potential to be running Mindbreak Trap when they don't have traditional ways to fight a fast combo deck, being that Mindbreak Trap is essentially "free" to cast.
Other suggestions I have been informed of: Against opposing Wasteland from decks that will likely slow you down, a lesser known strategy is to have a 1 of Forest in the sideboard, bringing it in so you can play a land without having to worry about it being a 1 time use against Nonbasic land hate.
As far as the specific match up's go, your ultimate goal remains the same, so I will focus more on what they will have as potential disruption against you.
01) RUG (Disruption, Moderate-Heavy playtesting recommended, a more common match up)
Pre sideboard: Cards to watch out for at all times Force of Will, if they're on the play Daze, Spell Pierce & Spell Snare, & Stifle against your storm trigger, or even Belcher activation.
Post sideboard: Add Pyroblasts, as they have burn access, & unless you think you can "next level" them bringing in Xantid Swarms & think they will side out their burn, you don't want to play a Xantid Swarm only to have it get easily answered. They will likely bring in Pyroclasm in the form of Rough//Tumble, since it doesn't kill their flipped Delver of Secrets.
02) Stoneblade (Disruption, Moderate-Heavy playtesting recommended, a more common match up)
Pre sideboard: Cards to watch out for at all times Force of Will, if they're on the play, Inquisition of Kozilek, Spell Pierce, Thoughtseize, & possibly Engineered Explosives for 0. If they get to turn 2 or later, also Counterspell, Snapcaster Mage, Vendilion Clique, Wrath effects, a Batterskull gaining life, this is one of the most important match up's where you kill them as soon as possible, waiting it out will only become more difficult.
Post sideboard: Add Pyroblast. Again, you might be able to "next level" them bringing in Xantid Swarms, but that's only if you suspect they would side out their Swords to Plowshares suspecting that you wouldn't bring Swarms in. 1 thing to note though, they might be forced to use a counterspell on an attempted Xantid Swarm, since their early removal is mainly just Swords to Plowshares. They will however, likely bring in more disruption in the form of increased discard & counterspells.
03) UW control variants (Disruption, Moderate-Heavy playtesting recommended, a more common match up)
Pre sideboard: Cards to watch out for at all times Force of Will, if they're on the play Spell Pierce & possibly Engineered Explosives for 0. If they get to turn 2 or later, they will set up miracle tricks with Terminus, possibly get a Counterbalance + Sensei's Divining Top lock going, and have access to more disruption in the form of Counterspell, Vendilion Clique. Whatever their kill condition is remains irrelevant like most decks, whether it's the Helm combo or Entreat for X 4/4 Angels, your goal is to kill them well before they get to that point.
Post sideboard: Add Pyroblast. Unless you think you can "next level" them with Xantid Swarms like against other opponents with maindeck removal. 1 thing to note though, they might be forced to use a counterspell on an attempted Xantid Swarm, since their early removal is mainly just Swords to Plowshares. They will likely bring in more disruption in the form of increased counterspells.
04) BUG decks Aggro, Midrange, Shardless, Control (Disruption, Moderate-Heavy playtesting recommended, a more common match up)
Pre sideboard: Cards to watch out for at all times Force of Will (notice this is a trend against many Legacy decks), if they're on the play Daze from BUG aggro/tempo strategies, Thoughtseize from more BUG control strategies. Also never forget the potential for Spell Pierce, Inquisition of Kozilek, though I didn't see the latter on most higher placing BUG maindecks as of recent. If they get to turn 2 or later, Hymn to Tourach, also be aware of Deathrite Shamans ability to block a 1/1 without dying, and the potential to gain 2 life every turn, so make sure you make a big enough army if you're on the draw & they turn 1 play a Deathrite Shaman.
Post sideboard: Add Xantid Swarm especially if you're on the play, their removal that is Abrupt Decay will be too slow, & if they tap out on their turn 2 to kill it because they're on the play, then they will be tapped out giving you a possible out to just go off with only Force of Will in mind. The more BUG aggro strategies might bring in Spell Pierce if none are maindecked, while any BUG deck has the potential to sideboard in more discard & counters to compliment what is maindecked already.
05) Jund (Disruption, Light-Moderate playtesting required, a more common match up)
Pre sideboard: If you're on the play, you should win this game by default. If they're on the play, they have turn 1 discard in the form of things like Thoughtseize and that's about it, also note if they play a Deathrite Shaman since it can block, take out a 1/1, not die, & potentially gain them 2 life a turn, so make sure your 1/1 goblin army is big enough. From their turn 2 they can also Hymn to Tourach, & from turn 3, potentially Maelstrom Pulse your 1/1 goblin army away, though most don't run more than 1 or 2 of these, & it's only a turn 3 or later play for them anyway.
Post sideboard: There's no reason to bring in Swarms or Blasts here so you're basically the same deck. They will likely bring in more discard like Duress, and maybe Engineered Plague naming goblins, but they can't cast that until their turn 3 which could be too late.
06) Dredge (Disruption, Light playtesting required)
Pre sideboard: If you're on the play, you should win this game by default. If they're on the play, they have 1 out, Cabal Therapy, however, they likely won't know you're playing belcher on game 1, so they will likely spend their 1st turn doing what dredge does best, setting up their dredge cards.
Post sideboard: There's no reason to bring in Swarms or Blasts here so you're basically the same deck. They might bring in Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite or Iona, Shield of Emeria as a Dread Return target, but that's too slow most of the time. The only other option they "might" have is to bounce Goblin Charbelcher with a Chain of Vapor, & if you can activate it the same turn you play it, then it doesn't even matter.
07) Maverick (Light playtesting required)
Pre sideboard: If you're on the play, you should win this game by default. If they're on the play, they will not even do anything relevant until their turn 2, which at that point would be a Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or Green Sun's Zenith for a Gaddock Teeg, but again, that isn't until their turn 2 or later.
Post sideboard: There's no reason to bring in Swarms or Blasts here so you're basically the same deck. They might bring in more hate bears, but any of them will likely be too slow. This is also one deck that, since they have no access to discard or counterspell colors, might sideboard in Mindbreak Trap since it'd be their only out from their turn 0.
08) Ad Nauseam storm decks (Combo, Disruption, Light playtesting recommended)
Pre sideboard: This is one of the few decks that can actually race you, usually decided by a die roll. If you make an army of 1/1's & need a couple combat steps to win, they have the potential to combo out before that & actually kill you, or even making their own 1/1 army of goblins, so push for playing a belcher if you have it since they don't run Force of Will. If they're on the play, they might have access to cheap discard spells like Cabal Therapy, Duress, Inquisition of Kozilek, less likely Thoughtseize because of how Ad Nauseam works with life loss, they want as much life as possible. However whatever their discard is, if they have it they have it, & they will nail something from your hand regardless.
Post sideboard: There's no reason to bring in Swarms of Blasts here so you're basically the same deck. They will likely remain largely unchanged post sideboard games as well since they to sometimes run Xantid Swarms & a bunch of Burning Wish targets. Again, this is a match up that is a race, & since you're both "super fast kill decks" it can literally come down to who win's the die roll if 1 person just combos out before the opponent, the key difference however is that TES & ANT type strategies have some disruption in the form of discard.
09) High Tide (Combo, Disruption, Light playtesting recommended, however a less common match up)
Pre sideboard: Cards to watch out for at all times Force of Will. If they're on the play, also potentially Flusterstorm, from turn 2 on, they can start Merchant Scrolling for more counters directly. They are a combo deck, but they're much slower, if they win, it will be through their counterspells.
Post sideboard: Add Xantid Swarm for sure, you're fighting a mono blue deck (No removal, swords, burn, etc.) After that, your goal remains the same, kill them before they kill you, just always keep in mind that if they have an untapped mana, they have access to casting Flusterstorm, as one of the decks that will actually maindeck 2-3 of this card.
10) UR Delver (Disruption, Light-Moderate playtesting recommended)
Pre sideboard: Cards to watch out for at all times Force of Will. If they're on the play, also potentially Spell Pierce & Daze. Similar to the elements of RUG, UR Delver runs a cheap casting decklist with fast creatures & tempo disruption, but has more of a burn focus.
Post sideboard: Add Pyroblasts, they run too much burn for Xantid Swarms. They might bring in their own blasts, but this is one of the few times where it might be Blue Elemental Blast instead of the Red ones, since they sometimes sideboard them, and you're playing a deck with red in it.
11) Show & Tell variants (Combo, Disruption, Moderate playtesting recommended, a more common match up)
Pre sideboard: Cards to watch out for at all times Force of Will. If they're on the play, also potentially Spell Pierce & Daze. This is another fast combo deck, off the namesake card Show and Tell which can actually benefit you, if you have a Goblin Charbelcher in hand, & they cast Show and Tell, you can just put it into play without worrying about it getting counterspelled, & then just activate it off of a Lion's Eye Diamond in play, or Lotus Petal, Tinder Wall, Spirit guides removed from hand, the Taiga or Chrome Mox, etc.
Post sideboard: Add Xantid Swarms, they have little removal options so these will have to be counterspelled by the opponent to answer them. Even if they Show and Tell you can just drop it into play, if you have to swing into a blocking Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or whatever, doesn't matter, you're now "free" to go off because of the Swarms ability, & can just Belcher them right there. If you have to do it with actual storm count, if they go low enough off of a Griselbrand you might be able to just Burning Wish for a Tendrils of Agony if you run it as a 1 of and just kill them right there.
12) Reanimator (Combo, Disruption, Light playtesting recommended)
Pre sideboard: Cards to watch out for at all times Force of Will. If they're on the play, Daze & discard like Thoughtseize. They are a fast combo type deck, reanimating a creature from the graveyard with cheap spells, however your deck is faster, & you should have combo'd off before they do every time. Some decklists will maindeck an Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite though, so if you make an army of 1/1's, make sure they can get the job done fast, the more combat steps it takes to kill the opponent, the closer they are to reanimating and giving all your creatures -2/-2.
Post sideboard: Add Xantid Swarms. If they weren't maindecking Elesh Norn, they are sideboarding it in for sure. They will also potentially bring in more disruption in the form of more 1 cast discard or cheap counterspells like Spell Pierce if it's in their sideboard. They may also bring in Echoing Truth for your 1/1 goblin army. The ultimate goal is the same, kill them, before they kill you, if you resolve a Xantid Swarm against this deck, all it takes is 1 swing with it and you will be on your way.
13) Elves (Combo, Light playtesting required)
Pre sideboard: This is another game that should be an easy win, by default anyhow. They are probably combo elves like most lists, but their combo is slower. The only potential out they may have is to destroy your Goblin Charbelcher with a Green Sun's Zenith for a Viridian Shaman, but that's too slow for what you're doing. If you make an army of 1/1's, they can also drop alot of creatures fast, though not as fast as 12 goblins on turn 1, also elf lists have adopted Deathrite Shaman so make enough of an army for that +2 life gainer that can also kill a 1/1 by blocking each combat phase. For the most part however, the match up should be in your favor. Also don't forget you can Burning Wish for a Pyroclasm at any time, one of the match up's where this really shines.
Post sideboard: There's no reason to add Swarms or Blasts so you're basically the same deck. If they're running Deathrite Shaman, they likely have Bayous, and that gives them an out against combo in discard, so they might bring in Cabal Therapy since they have so many creatures to easily sac to it, maximizing useage of their Cabal Therapies on you. They're also a deck that might have Mindbreak Trap.
14) Merfolk (Disruption, Light-Moderate playtesting recommended)
Pre sideboard: Cards to watch out for at all times Force of Will. If they're on the play, Cursecatcher if they play it, & Daze. While most of their counters are "taxing" counters, it is very effective against a deck like belcher that is so full of ritual type effects for mana sources. If you don't want them to draw into a Force of Will, you can combo out asap, while if you see that they don't have a force in hand, but have access to taxing counters, then try to get a Tinder Wall into play, it's +1 mana on the combo turn, but +2 mana if you wait a turn.
Post sideboard: Add Xantid Swarm since they won't likely have removal, though some random Merfolk decklists might run a couple Dismember it's not common and usually only a 2 of, never maxing out on a playset. They will likely bring in Spell Pierce for more counter, but that's about it, if you can get past their counters, which isn't as hard to do with access to a storm mechanic kill spell if you can get to the 4 mana to cast it, then you can steal the game even against a mono blue deck, though obviously, any deck that runs blue is going to give you the hardest time trying for your win.
15) Goblins (Light playtesting required)
Pre sideboard: This is a deck that has almost no interaction with you even after their 1st couple of turns, they are just not equipped to deal with your strategy, & this is another example of what for belcher decks is usually a "free win" The only exception, is if they are splashing black, which means they likely have some Duress or one of the other cheap 1 cast discard spells in their decklist, but that will be the extent of their disruption in those setups.
Post sideboard: There's no reason to add Swarms or Blasts so you're basically the same deck. The only out they really have against you is potentially bringing in Mindbreak Trap, anything else is likely going to be too slow.
16) Zombardment (Disruption, Light-Moderate playtesting recommended, however a less common match up)
Pre sideboard: If you're on the play, you should win this game by default. If they're on the play, they have access to turn 1 Cabal Therapy & Thoughtseize, however with the element of surprise, not knowing what the opponent is playing, Cabal Therapies are definitely the weaker of the 2 discard options since it's second cast from the graveyard requires getting a creature into play, and even that can be just to slow for a turn 1 combo deck like belcher. Technically they also have access to Tidehollow Sculler, but it cost 2 to cast.
Post sideboard: There's no reason to add Swarms or Blasts so you're basically the same deck. They "might" bring in additional discard from the sideboard, but that's about it, other than their discard options, they are just an aggro deck trying to kill you with Goblin Bombardment and combat steps.
17) 12 post (Light playtesting required, however a less common match up)
Pre sideboard: If you're on the play, you should win this game by default. If they're on the play, they might be maindecking Pithing Needle based on the list that won San Diego in January, but that's about it. They also run Show and Tell so they might drop a bomb early, but even if they do, you still get another turn, and there's no counter magic to play around so feel free to cast whatever you feel is the best course of action from turn 1. As far as their ramp goes, that is even slower than their cast Show and Tell plan.
Post sideboard: You could technically add Xantid Swarms but it'd only be for 1 card, Flusterstorm. Based on the sideboard of that same list from San Diego, they might bring in Flusterstorm, Chalice of the Void or even Elephant Grass. They do have some outs with the Grass, Pithing Needle, Chalice if they get it early, & Flusterstorm if they get a turn with an untapped island in play, however you can still be faster than even all of that, with so many routes to just combo on turn 1, especially on the play, this is another match up that should be in your favor because they don't run Force of Will.
18) Junk/The rock (Disruption, Light-Moderate playtesting recommended)
Pre sideboard: If you're on the play you should win the game by default, if they're on the play they have access to turn 1 discard like Inquisition of Kozilek & Thoughtseize, but that's about it, late game they also have Maelstrom Pulse for your 1/1 goblin army, but that only becomes relevant if they have it, & live that long. Also note Deathrite Shaman's here, since they can prolong them long enough to actually do that, blocking & killing a 1/1 without dying itself, & potentially gaining them +2 life a turn to negate some of the damage, so again, make sure your army of 1/1's can go the distance accordingly, making as many as you possibly can.
Post sideboard: There's no reason to add Swarms or Blasts here, so you're basically the same deck. They might bring in Hymn to Tourach if they aren't maindecking them already, but it costs 2 to cast, and their Pernicious Deeds & Green Sun Zenith'ing for a Gaddock Teeg costs even more, so really it will come down to who's on the play, & when they're on the play, if they even have any turn 1 interactions with you.
19) Death & Taxes (Light playtesting required, however a less common match up)
Pre sideboard: If you're on the play you should win this game by default. Even if they're on the play, a turn 2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or Phyrexian Revoker naming Goblin Charbelcher will just be too slow when you go off before that. This is another match up that should be in your favor & unless you have some bad luck, consider it one of another "freebies" because your opponent wasn't playing Force of Will or even any turn 1 disruption. As far as Stoneforge Mystic for a Batterskull, then putting the Batterskull into play a turn later, all that stuff is just too slow.
Post sideboard: There's no reason to add Swarms or Blasts so you're basically the same deck. They might bring in Ethersworn Canonist to increase their hatebear count, but again, it costs 2 to cast, and that's still just not traditionally fast enough against a turn 1 combo deck that the majority of the time, combo's on turn 1.
20) Belcher, the mirror match! (Light-Moderate playtesting recommended)
Pre sideboard: If that happens, it's die roll time! How do we find out if our opponent is playing Belcher? They kill you before you kill them. 1 thing to note however, if Belcher deck #1 casts an army of turn 1 goblins, Belcher deck #2 can respond with a Burning Wish > Pyroclasm so even if you lose the die roll, you might actually be at an advantage if they go the 1/1 goblin route, only to learn you're playing Belcher as well.
Post sideboard: Even sideboard games, the plan will largely be the same, kill or be killed, whoever is 1st will have an advantage, now not just because of Goblin Charbelcher but also because you will know what each other are playing, and playing into a Pyroclasm is much less likely
Last edited by feline; 03-31-2014 at 11:06 AM. Reason: Update
Primary legacy deck High Tide primer
That is an amzing primer so far. Well done.
Good work. I would suggest to mention Grim Monolith and Chancellor of the Tangle as possible maindeck cards, and Chancellor of the Annex , Mirri's Guile and Leyline of Sanctity as sideboard cards.
Nice read. But what happened to the second land (Bayou)? Why was it played for a long time, and then suddenly disappeared?
I took Belcher to the Open last weekend in Baltimore. In 9 rounds, I went 5-4, going 5-2 before dropping the final 2 rounds. My games were
Rd1: ANT (W 2-1)
Rd2: Shardless BUG (L 2-0)
Rd3: Lands (W 2-1)
Rd4: ANT (W 2-1)
Rd5: ANT (L 2-1)
Rd6: BUG Delver (W 2-1) (won G3 with Grapeshot)
Rd7: Death and Taxes (W 2-1)
Rd8: Elves(Ross Merriam) (L 2-1)
Rd9: Elves (L 2-0)
All in all I feel pretty good about continuing to play this deck in these tournaments. I got pretty lucky though dodging FOW pretty much all day.
Side note: I am 0-4 against Elves. I don't know why I cannot beat that deck.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Against elves, I normally loo and pray for a belcher route. ETW route cannot out run elves. And since you mentioned Grapeshot, I bet you have Burning Wishes in your build, go for Tendrils. Good job on the open. Can you do a brief report, sharing what you can still remember, from your weekend’s open. Thanks!
TJB
http://deartiyopaeng.blogspot.com/ <---- (updated) MTG related blog. ^_^
TES: 102nd out of 2000 players at GP Kyoto 2015 (Legacy)
UR Storm: 37th of 950 players at GP Guangzhou 2016 (Modern)
Quick report from SCG Open KC:
Had a blast playing the deck especially since this was my first time running the Burning Wish version, it really did open up a lot of things
Round 1 L 1-2
Junk Deathblade: Just had nothing going the second two games after a pretty awesome game one, turn 2 and 3 Hymn to Tourach after mulling to 5 but still stormed out to make 10 goblins for the win. It was pretty fun for everybody. But games 2 and 3 had me up against alot more hate, and couldn't quite get there.
Round 2 W 2-0
Death and Taxes: These games went by really quick. Game 1, had a probe to let me see a hand of Waste, 2x Vail, 2x Plains, Mother of Runes, and an Aven Mindcensor. Seeing nothing to worry about I had a turn 1 hand and we moved to game 2, which went much like the first he dropped a plains and a Mom but another probe let me see another hand with no answers, but he had some of his sideboard cards, Thalia, Revoker, Ethersworn Canonist, but I had another good hand.
Round 3 W 2-1
Lands: These were fun games and I hadn't thought about this match up really. I got surprised by the Glacial Chasm off a crop rotation in response to my cracking LED to activate Belcher. But the deck is slow and my good hands won me the game.
Round 4 L 0-2
Elves: There were scary fast and I had to mull down pretty far. With having more EtWs then Belchers this match up was hard since their creatures are better. This was the first game of the day where I was starting to doubt the wisdom of 4 Chrome Mox, they just always seemed like bad top decks.
Round 5 W 2-0
Death and Taxes: This game was much like the first, they don't have much to interact with you game 1, and game 2 I knew I had to go belcher since storming was hard with their storm hate, got to drop some early artifacts, including a LED. Got the Belcher off the topdeck right after they dropped Canonist, with 7 mana on board.
Round 6 L 1-2
Burn: This shouldn't have been a bad match up but a case of bad hands and awful draws left me with a blind activation of Belcher as my only win and Taiga was the 10th card, letting them win it before I could activate again. It was also against a friend I had come to the tournament with so that was no fun.
Round 7 L
Can't remember what I faced here, or the record, sorry.
Round 8 L 1-2
MUD: Game 1 was good but they are quick to build a board and no number of goblin tokens could fight through Wurmcoils or Batterskulls. Not to mention a Sundering Titan wearing a Batterskull
Round 9 W 2-0
Sneak and Show: Won the first game off a quick storm and lost game 2 to Emmy + Grizz, plus Daze and Spell Pierce to back it up. Game 3 I had a good hand that let me fight through, Xantid swarm ate a FoW round 1 and when I cast Belcher a turn or two later 2 Brainstorms and a Ponder couldn't find another one.
So not the best record 4-5 but it was a blast, going to play with the Chrome Moxes. Thanks for all the help in this thread, I really felt that I played pretty smartly and the games that I lost were either to blame on bad draws or slow hands, I can't think of to many play mistakes on my part, though I am sure I made some.
I guess I should start with my list. I think it's a pretty typical Belcher list with Burning Wishes.
4x Tinder Wall
4x Simian Spirit Guide
4x Elvish Spirit Guide
4x Lotus Petal
4x Lion’s Eye Diamond
4x Chrome Mox
4x Rite of Flame
4x Gitaxian Probe
4x Desperate Ritual
4x Land Grant
4x Manamorphose
4x Seething Song
4x Goblin Charbelcher
4x Burning Wish
3x Empty the Warrens
1x Stomping Ground
SIDEBOARD
4x Xantid Swarm
4x Guttural Response
1x Empty the Warrens
1x Past in Flames
1x Tendrils of Agony
1x Goblin War Strike
1x Grapeshot
1x Hull Breach
1x Void Snare
My Open weekend started Saturday night when I packed up myself and my 3 kids and made the hour drive to Baltimore. I luck out in that regard as my mom still lives down there so free food and lodging! Sunday morning I got to the event hall a little before 8, bought my copy of Void Snare and paid my entry fee. I was a bit nervous because Belcher had been not so small lately and I was afraid there might be a larger concentration of evil decks. For the record, my tournament Pandora station was Rammstein Radio. As they call for round 1, I'm in the midst of Feuer Frei! (this will be relevant in a second). I get my table number and make my way over, just as I take my phone from my pocket to pause the song... it ends. Alright good mood now from that perfect timing.
Round 1: ANT (W; 2-1)
Game 1: On the draw, I make some number of goblins. He plays much like Sneak and Show until he makes a land drop of Gemstone Mine. This tips me off to a storm deck. He can't get there with the goblin beatdowns
Game 2: No sideboarding in this one, he makes me discard the opening hand win con on turn 1. I never draw another one.
Game 3: Turn 1: Belcher. Activate. Win.
After the round, I catch up with a few buddies. I'm jamming away when round 2 pairings go up.
Round 2: Shardless BUG (L; 2-0)
Game 1: On the play, Mull to 6, get Belcher forced.
SIDEBOARDING:
-2 Land Grant
-1 Tinder Wall
-1 Chrome Mox
+4 Xantid Swarm
Game 2: On the play, I probe him revealing a hand with 0 counterspells or Golgari Charms. I exile Elvish Spirit Guide and cast Xantid Swarm, despite having the ETW storm out in my hand. Misplay central over here, I never draw another mana source to get my storm started.
After the round, I'm very ticked off at myself. I have a smoke, eat some beef jerky, and jam out in preparation for my 8-1 and top 8.
Round 3: Lands (W; 2-1)
Game 1: On the draw, Belcher. Activate. Win.
Game 2: No sideboarding for this one either, I turn 1 16 goblins on the draw. He topdecks Tabernacle. A few turns later, it's Marit Lage vs. a goblin... I think we know who wins in THAT battle.
Game 3: Back on the play, I make turn 1 belcher with no activation mana. Draw: Burning Wish, Burning Wish. Luckily he doesn't kill me in this time, and I draw LED. Play, crack, activate Belcher. Opponent responds by casting Crop Rotation on one of his lands to search out Glacial Chasm. At this point, I figure he's locked me out with Exploration and then he only needs a Loam, but I do not concede. I flip Mox, Land. I pass turn, he opts not to pay for his Chasm. Loams back a Wasteland, the Chasm, and something else. He makes his land drops: Wasteland. Grove of the Burnwillows. He passes turn. I flip LED off the top, activate Belcher again. no Crop Rotation this time as he takes all the damage.
So at this point, I'm 2-1 and feeling good. I get Cedric to sign my Empty the Warrens, and he promises me some of his Goblin tokens after the next round.
Round 4: ANT (W; 2-1)
Game 1: On the play, Goblins get there.
Game 2: On the draw, I storm out on turn 1 for Gobbos. He takes advantage of my lowered life total and Tendrils me for exactly lethal.
Game 3: On the play, Turn 1: Belcher. Activate. Win.
Stoked because I'm 3-1 and my 7-1 is very viable at this point. I get 10 signed Cedric Phillips tokens eat some more Jerky, jam out and mentally prepare to rattle off the 4 straight wins needed. I see Feline slightly before the pairings go up and have her sign my proplaymat. She gives me a hi-5 for being X-1 with Belcher.
Round 5: ANT (L; 2-1)
Game 1: On the draw, I see fetch, sea, ponder. I go off with Belcher on my turn.
SIDEBOARDING:
-2 Land Grant
-1 Tinder Wall
-1 Chrome Mox
+4 Guttural Response
Game 2: Mull to 6 on the draw. He T1 Thoughtseizes my Burning Wish (the win con). Never draw another, his Tendrils hurt a lot.
SIDEBOARDING:
Return to main deck configuration.
Game 3: Mull to 5 on the play, keep a hand that can make 6 goblins. Turn 1, I probe him, seeing a hand that is nowhere close to going off. I opt out of the rest of the storm for more Goblins. He topdecks Thoughtseize, nabs my ETW. A few turns later, I haven't drawn a win condition so I cast an Elvish Spirit Guide. I beat down with the ESG and a judge walks up behind me, looks at our board state and asks if the ESG is in play. I give him the affirmative and he sits down to enjoy ESG beats.... but the opponent goes off next turn.
After my longest ever round with Belcher (we finished with left 7 minutes on the clock), I eat some jerky and prepare for my 7-2 top 16 performance.
Round 6: BUG Delver (W; 2-1)
Game 1: On the draw, see fetch, trop, brainstorm. Belcher. Activate. Win.
SIDEBOARDING: See Last Round
Game 2: On the draw, lose to Goyfs after getting Belcher forced.
SIDEBOARDING:
-4 Guttural Response
+4 Xantid Swarm
Game 3: Here is the Grapeshot game. On the play, exile ESG, Xantid Swarm. It resolves and I pass turn. He goes draw-land-go. I get the turn back and attack. Nothing doing, pass turn. He plays draw-land-Delver of Secrets. On my turn I know I need to do something in order to get the Delver gone or I have no shot anymore in this game. I attack, trigger Swarm, then storm up for Grapeshot plus 6 copies. 1 targets Delver, 6 go to the dome. We go back to draw-go for a while. I probe and see Land, Land, Pierce, Pierce, Daze. Glad I protected that Swarm! A few turns later, I probe again and he's added a Force to the mix. We go another few turns, and I'm ready to make Goblins. I declare the attack with my Swarm, his hand shoots up and he calls for a judge. Asks the Judge is if Swarm is a trigger. Get the affirmative, stifle the trigger. I pass turn. Next turn I draw Song, attack with the Swarm, trigger, no stifle. I go rite, ritual, ritual, song, wish, past in flames, rite then I ask a just to confirm if the rite sees itself in the GY when casting (I did not think it did, but I wanted to confirm because of things like Golgari Grave-Troll, which will see itself). As the Judge is double-checking(BTW it doesn't), I show my opponent my graveyard, pointing out how I have him dead on the Grapeshot, so he scoops.
I was stoked to be on the run for 7-2! I told all my buddies about Grapeshot, because they laughed when I showed it to them in the board. Jerky, Smoke, Jams.
Round 7: Death & Taxes (W; 2-1)
Game 1: On the draw, I make 12 goblins. He drops SFM, fetches Batterskull. I cannot compete.
Game 2: No sideboarding, Belcher. Activate. Win.
Game 3: No sideboarding, Belcher. Activate. Win.
The Jerky is gone. I'm 5-2. Top 64 needs to happen, especially after 68th and the tiebreaker heartbreak last time. Pairings hit Twitter. iPhone out, Twitter up. Ross Merriam... Elves... dangit.
Round 8: Ross Merriam with Elves (L; 2-1)
Pre-game 1 I get Ross to sign my proplaymat
Game 1: Make goblins, he can't get there by the time they kill him. Woo! Get the Elvish Monkey off my back this round! Let's do it!
Game 2: Mull to 5 (yes, it was that bad) still keep a possible T1 10 goblins... until he soul reads my ETW with a Therapy. A turn or 2 later, natural order for hoof and I'm dead.
Game 3: Turn 1 Belcher. No Activate. Hand's empty. All I need is the mana, draw nothing but win cons. I die to the hoof with a hand of something like Belcher, Wish, ETW, Belcher. I refused to peek at the top card, I didn't want to know.
I remark to Ross as we're leaving the table. "I bet I get paired against Elves again. I can't beat your deck for some reason." We both chuckle and part. Jams, last smoke. Let's do it.
Round 9: Elves (L; 2-0)
Game 1: Mull to 5. Am I playing against Elves again? My deck never cooperates against Elves. Opponent goes Bayou, DRS. Brain says "OK, just another BUG deck. You've already beat 1 today." I can't go off on my turn 1 and pass the turn. Turn 2 for the opponent goes, Verdant, Crack for Forest, Glimpse, Visionary. Brain says "Well, here we go again." He drops me.
Game 2: Mull to 6. T1 nothing. Opponent therapys my Belcher. Brain says "See! I told you!" He's got a few things out and I go and make 26 (yes, TWENTY SIX) goblins. He takes his next turn and NOs for Hoof. I'm at 10, he's attacking for... 26! I block to clear his board of his attackers, which sweeps my stuff. We immediately start speaking of how I should have left myself some attackers and taken some of the damage... Which he was right about. A few turns later, GSZ for Hoof ends my day.
I know, I remember a lot for being as far back as it was. I hope that my next tournament I run better than I did here at the end. I'll probably be representing our great deck at GP Jersey next.
Thanks for the recap of yoru Open, always nice to read other people's experience.
How are you liking the Void Snare? I was talking about it with someone the other day and they were sad it wasn't an instant and I explained why I was glad it was sorcery, but I never made the leap to Belcher Board with it. It would be a handy piece of tech at times I think.
Well majority of day 2 was Delver decks. Probably has something to do with the x-4 on day 2. A belcher deck going 9-0 doesn't fail to be recognized
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TJB
http://deartiyopaeng.blogspot.com/ <---- (updated) MTG related blog. ^_^
TES: 102nd out of 2000 players at GP Kyoto 2015 (Legacy)
UR Storm: 37th of 950 players at GP Guangzhou 2016 (Modern)
I'm considering to pick this deck up, just because it's something else then the decks i usually play.
Is there a reason that noone plays the recross the paths version anymore?
Is there a consensus over the best main deck?
Thanks in advance.
1. The raw speed of belcher is definitely the reason to play it. Recross the paths is cheaper, but slower and still has the same weaknesses as 1-land belcher. Imo there isn't a strength that justify it over 1land Belcher.
2.
Joe Losset's thoughts on belcher:
http://blog.mtgdeals.com/oarsman/reb...y-charbelcher/
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle".
- Albert Einstein
Hello,
1. Pyroclasm or Cave-In?
2. 3/1 split MD/SB or 4 MD Land Grant?
I try to read up on belcher but these two I am not sure about.
Also:
3. Has Carpet of Flowers 'replaced' Pyroblast in this build?
Hey folks, I've been a Belcher aficionado for a while, and I just dusted it off to play in SCG Worcester.
I had a blast and went 6-3, no day 2, but oh well.
I thought I'd share my list.
4 Goblin Charbelcher
4 Burning Wish
3 Empty the Warrens
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Tinder Wall
4 Pyretic Ritual
4 Desperate Ritual
4 Land Grant
4 Rite of Flame
4 Lotus Petal
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
3 Chancellor of the Tangle
3 Chrome Mox
2 Seething Song
1 Taiga
4 Xantid Swarm
3 Sylvan Library
3 Hull Breach
1 Grapeshot
1 Shattering Spree
1 Reverent Silence
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Empty The Warrens
I played against:
Eldrazi
Miracles
Jund
Death and Taxes
Sultai Delver
Enchantress
Burn
Infect
Mud
I lost to the blue decks.
The wish board might as well have been Sedge Trolls, but I liked the Swarms, the Libraries, and the Hull Breaches.
It seems like there's a lot of non blue decks around, and that's good for us!
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Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment.
from the list of florian stange finished second at the bazaar how about putting 4 chancellor of annex in side?
Anybody interested in testing the spoiled Aetherflux Reservoir? I'm wondering whether we'll be able to capitalize on it because we're already trying to go off quickly, so we can use our starting life total to help us get there. It's cheaper than a Belcher activation, but we've got to front-load spells to make it work, and it doesn't combo with Spirit Guides. So what do you guys think?
All Spells Primer under construction: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e...Tl7utWpLo0/pub
PM me if you want to contribute!
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