[Primer/Deck] Pox

[Hardcore]

It works with Scourge of Nel toth, too. A bit slow, but if uncounterable is desirable then he is the zombie dragon for you.

[Hardcore]

Yargle, Glutton of Urborg Wizards are almost making fun of us players.

[Mr. Safety]

So I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest getting 1-2 copies of the new Karn. It's going to be very good in this deck. All we need is something like Cursed Scroll, Ensnaring Bridge or Crucible of Worlds and we have a 1/1 token generator, potentially a 2/2 or better depending on how many Factory's we can activate. Pithing Needle, Ratchet Bomb, and other potentially fringe cards can also be very good with him. I like the first 2 abilities enough to play 1 copy, then it becomes a question of whether to build around the 3rd ability or not. He may be a reason to go back to Cursed Scroll, especially where some of the card 'draw' is actually in exile with the silver counters, so having only 1 card in hand for Scroll won't be harder to achieve. Extra lands from the first ability can catch-up post Smallpox/Pox or feed Raven's Crime.

Overall, he's got some serious potential at working with Pox's strategy, filling in holes that Pox has traditionally had.

[Claymore]

Not a bad idea. Able to draw cards, get pressure on the board, not graveyard dependent. I don't think you really need to build around his ability, because the tokens start buffing each other. Aside from that, the usual Pox cards of Needle and Factory combine well.

He doesn't play into the deck's overall strategy of resource and permanent control, but looks good to refuel the deck and end the game.

[Mr. Safety]

Not a bad idea. Able to draw cards, get pressure on the board, not graveyard dependent. I don't think you really need to build around his ability, because the tokens start buffing each other. Aside from that, the usual Pox cards of Needle and Factory combine well.

He doesn't play into the deck's overall strategy of resource and permanent control, but looks good to refuel the deck and end the game.

Pox is a pseudo-prison deck, but one that can be drawn out of. The more I think about it, the more I think this might give Pox just the boost it needs to jump a tier (like tier 3 to tier 2, lol.)

[aslidsiksoraksi]

I agree with the Karn hype. I'm definitely gonna try out a pair of them. Dumb comparison since Jace is so broken, but he's kind of our Jace. Draws cards and can finish people.

Not sure what to cut but I'm pretty excited for him.

[Hardcore]

So, full Dominaria spoiler is out. Long wait and no fun cards. Some quite crappy even. I figure it all makes sense and is balanced for limited.

[Kaono]

Just a note, Karn's tokens count themselves so they'll be 1/1 minimum no matter what.

[Hardcore]

Karn and Bottled cloister seems much the same, except the insane price hike of karn.
€25+. BC by comparison cost €0,02...

[Mr. Safety]

I think Karn is definitely more useful, and I also think speculation is driving his cost up (not to mention he will be standard legal, and probably played in that format.)

[adrieng]

hi to all pox players ;

I am developping a pox-depth that you might be interested in, it has a very fast kill and it crushed all the tempo decks.
I still have issue against death and taxes and miracle (sideboard options for miracle improve it but still unfavored) but the deck is very good and I think it is better than B/G turbo depth which doesn't beat consistently tempo decks if they are well played ie they have to keep waste open.

Maybe I have to test liliana of the veil, but cursed scroll has been good at ending matchups such as grixis when you have an empty board it is game over.


Here is the list :



// 60 Maindeck
// 11 Artifact
4 Pithing Needle
4 Expedition Map
3 Cursed Scroll

// 4 Creature
4 Vampire Hexmage

// 7 Instant
3 Fatal Push
4 Dark Ritual

// 26 Land
4 Dark Depths
4 Thespian's Stage
4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Mishra's Factory
10 Swamp
2 Maze of Ith

// 12 Sorcery
4 Smallpox
4 Innocent Blood
4 Hymn to Tourach


// 15 Sideboard
// 8 Artifact
SB: 4 Ratchet Bomb
SB: 4 Relic of Progenitus

// 1 Land
SB: 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All

// 6 Sorcery
SB: 2 Rite of Consumption
SB: 4 Lost Legacy

[Hardcore]

hi to all pox players ;

I am developping a pox-depth that you might be interested in, it has a very fast kill and it crushed all the tempo decks.
I still have issue against death and taxes and miracle (sideboard options for miracle improve it but still unfavored) but the deck is very good and I think it is better than B/G turbo depth which doesn't beat consistently tempo decks if they are well played ie they have to keep waste open.

Maybe I have to test liliana of the veil, but cursed scroll has been good at ending matchups such as grixis when you have an empty board it is game over.


Here is the list :



// 60 Maindeck
// 11 Artifact
4 Pithing Needle
4 Expedition Map
3 Cursed Scroll

// 4 Creature
4 Vampire Hexmage

// 7 Instant
3 Fatal Push
4 Dark Ritual

// 26 Land
4 Dark Depths
4 Thespian's Stage
4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Mishra's Factory
10 Swamp
2 Maze of Ith

// 12 Sorcery
4 Smallpox
4 Innocent Blood
4 Hymn to Tourach


// 15 Sideboard
// 8 Artifact
SB: 4 Ratchet Bomb
SB: 4 Relic of Progenitus

// 1 Land
SB: 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All

// 6 Sorcery
SB: 2 Rite of Consumption
SB: 4 Lost Legacy

I would ditch the rituals. Your spells are cheap and don't require a ramp.

On the subject of mana i think ten Swamp and four urborg is less than you need. One untimely wasteland could leave you in deep problems.
The Urborgs and combo lands are fine. This leaves you with the slots for Mishra's, rituals and mazes to use to improve your mana base.

As for the dnt and miracle match ups the biggest problems would be swords to Plowshares and terminus, right?
While discard cards in the sideboard is one idea to counter that, I think it may be better with a card like Crucible of the worlds, or grim discovery. The idea being to outlast the opponents answers.

[kombatkiwi]

BG Turbodepths is hugely favored vs Tempo decks because Wasteland is the only way they can interact with you and you can just Pithing Needle it.
I think this Turbodepths/Pox hybrid is trying to do too many things that don't make sense together

[sonorous]

Thoughts on adding 1 or 2 Coercive Portal as a means of card draw?

[OmniStrata]

Thoughts on adding 1 or 2 Coercive Portal as a means of card draw?

Both Karn and Bottled Cloister are better, especially if Liliana of the Veil is your go to PW. BC I realize does throw your cursed scrolls out the window. Also makes Ensnaring Bridge awesomesauce. Why do you want to draw more when you're running CS?

[sonorous]

Both Karn and Bottled Cloister are better, especially if Liliana of the Veil is your go to PW. BC I realize does throw your cursed scrolls out the window. Also makes Ensnaring Bridge awesomesauce. Why do you want to draw more when you're running CS?

I want to draw more cards when it gets to mid and/or late game.
Anyway, Karn over Portal, noted.

[naynay666]

The Pox thread wasn’t on the 1st page, so I took notes at the weekly.

1x The Abyss
3x Innocent Blood
1x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Thoughtseize
3x Collective Brutality
4x Hymn to Tourach
4x Smallpox
1x Bontu's Last Reckoning
2x Cursed Scroll
2x Phyrexian Totem
3x Dark Ritual
2x Fatal Push
4x Liliana of the Veil
2x Liliana, the Last Hope
1x Nether Spirit
1x Maze of Ith
4x Mishra's Factory
4x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4x Wasteland
12x Swamp

Sideboard
3x Pithing Needle
2x Ensnaring Bridge
2x Extirpate
1x Surgical Extraction
2x Bontu's Last Reckoning
2x Lost Legacy
1x Nether Void
1x Night of Souls' Betrayal
1x Necropolis Fiend


Rd 1. Dredge.

Game 1. No interaction.

Game 2. Turn 1 on the play Thoughtseized into 3 dredgers, Dread Return, a rainbow land, Breakthrough, LED. Took Breakthrough and then lost that game too. Should have mulliganed more aggressively for better hate.

0-1

Prayed to Urborg to dodge the bye. He came through like he always does.

Rd 2. Bant Blade.

Game 1. Horizon Canopy into DRS. Innocent Blood. Island, Noble Hierarch. Innocent Blood. Another DRS. Fatal Push and some hand hate. That happened for a while until his topdecks dried up. Somewhere in there he Swords’d his own Knight of the Reliquary to gain 11. Factory Beats with Phyrexian Totem sneaking in when the coast was clear ended the game.

Game 2. Killed creatures for a while. Dropped an Abyss, Night of Souls Betrayal and Cursed Scroll. Geist of Saint evaded The Abyss, but Maze of Ith took care of Angel tokens for a while. Bontu’s Last Reckoning took care of the Geist. The 2nd Liliana of the Veil uptick forced the scoop.

1-1

Rd 3. Sneak & Show.

Game 1. Hand hate and an early Liliana forced the scoop, albeit possibly premature.

Game 2. Opponent mulled to 5 and kept a nolander and then shuffled off a Ponder off a Petal. He missed the land drop. My turn 1 Dark Ritualed into Liliana into Force of Will. Pass. Landdrop Preordain. Lost Legacy naming Emrakul. Felt sketchy not knowing the opponent’s hand but this is why I jammed Lily first. Lost Legacy resolved and stripped Emrakul. Fast forward a few turns Show and Tell dropped his Omniscience and my The Abyss. He played a Griselbrand, drew 7, played cantrips for about 10 minutes and passed the turn. I drew an Ensnaring Bridge and jammed it. It got countered. The next turn he lost one Grizzy and played another. He dug and dug and dug only to pass the turn. I draw and pass. After The Abyss killed Griselbrand I Extirpated it. With no way to win, he scooped.

2-1

Rd 4. Dragon Stompy.

Game 1. Ancient Tomb, Chalice on 1 pass. Misura’s Factory pass. Mountain, Blood Moon pass. Urborg, Tomb of Mountains, pass. Mountain, Blood Moon on a stick pass. Mountain of Ith pass. Mountain, Blood Moon on a stick, swing, pass. WasteMountainland pass. Swing pass. Draw pass. Swing pass. Draw pass. Lather rinse repeat.

Game 2. He starts with the same 2 turns as last game. I get an opener with two Swamps. I jammed an early Lily and discarded a Nether Spirit, pass. Hazoret, wrecks Lily. Chump block for a while. The Abyss in my hand merely kills my blocker. So does the Bontu. Beats and beats later I get to go home.

2-2
No game 3s.



Very much looking forward to Karn. I know I’m gonna take out 1 Collective Brutality for the 1st, but I don’t know where to add the 2nd.

[Hardcore]

Funny game vs the sneak and show! Just what he deserved for playing such a deck.

[aslidsiksoraksi]

http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=18983&d=319416&f=LE

very interesting Pox style list

again in Japan it looks like. no factories. more swamps. seems aimed at doing crazy stuff with Lake of the Dead. plays 4 bitterblossom, apparently to abuse Braids, Cabal Minion. new Liliana also seems good with Braids. surprised at so few Lakes, and no dark rituals or therapies, since i imagine without lake the deck feels very slow, and with all the tokens therapy feels great.

I love this deck and want to play it so much.





http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=19028&d=319755&f=LE

also Clayton Levi (if that's one of you guys, much respect) puts up another top8 in two months. similar list as before. he's got the 4 bloodghast package, but the rest seems more or less standard stuff.

[kombatkiwi]

It's extremely risky to play more than 2 Lake of the Dead (especially in a deck with no library manipulation) because they are totally dead in multiples

Planeswalkers + Braids is a pretty cool combo
Pretty sure that's the first time anybody has ever top 8 a legacy event that big with maindeck Sorin Markov lol

I'm also surprised at no Rituals in that deck, there are so many cards that cost 4+ mana.
For this reason Smallpox has always seemed very awkward to me in these big Lake of the Dead decks (because sacrificing a land is a big drawback), so maybe something like Collective Brutality is correct instead
I'm a huge fan of the Lake/Grave Titan 'shell' so it's interesting to see something very different that can be done with it (compared to the Reanimator version which is slightly more common I think, even if that's still very fringe)