It's out of vogue right now but Fire // Ice is a good option against BUG. It gives you a kill card against their little guys and a way to tap down their bigger guys in the mid-game when you need to. It's particularly good against Shardless BUG because it's another way to keep them from reaching 3 mana in their main phase early in the game when things are still running slightly in your favor.
current deck and sideboard
Creatures: 12
4 delver of secrets
4 nimble mongoose
4 Tarmogoyf
Instants: 25
4 brainstorm
4 daze
4 force of will
4 lightning bolt
3 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
4 Stifle
Sorcery: 5
4 Ponder
1 Forked Bolt
Land: 18
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Tropical Island
3 Volcanic Island
4 Wasteland
Sideboard: 15
1 Null Rod
1 Sulfur Elemental
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Flusterstorm
3 Red elemental Blast
3 Submerge
2 Surgical extraction
2 Rough/Tumble
Reasons:
I play the third spell pierce maindeck over the second forked bolt for match-ups like Bug and Shardless Bug. It has not disappointed me yet. Sometimes I think of switching the Forked bolt to Fire/Ice but I never like to spend two mana on spells unless it's Tarmogoyf, Rough/Tumble, Life from the loam or Ancient Grudge. Depends on the meta as well for playing Kgrip. For Sulfur Elemental he is debatable at the moment for me, his only use if for DnT as Mom and other whimps are annoying. I contemplate on making it a Pithing Needle. As far as cutting Grafdiggers Cage, Surgical improves match-ups like Bug and Shardless on so many levels for me, that being said that is the worst match-up for this deck. DnT I never have a real problem with. Thoughts? Opinions?
I saw more and more people packing 1 or 2 [card]Surgical Extraction[/card] into they sideboard, and this is maybe not just for typical grave-hate reason.
Does anyone know if these Surgical are also sided-in for others matchup than Reanimator, Storm and Dredge ?
Are they used to support some kind of mana disruption or creature removal (once in the yard, of course).. ?
If so, what are the typical target ?
Maybe because it makes winning vs Omnitell a lot easier :)! Extract Show and Tell and you've won (vs most lists lately). Throwing Show and Tells in your face and grind you out won't work then. It could also improve the matchup vs Lands a bit. The free mana cost also fits RUG Delver's plan, I've seen enough copies in the past. I'm always fond of 2x Cage + 1 Surgical, because cage also helps a lot vs Elves. That should be some decent gy hate.Originally Posted by markkugel
I do use Surgical, but I was more in a "traditional" way against graveyard deck.
Good to know it is not "crazy" to sideboard in Surgical against some kind of deck like Show and Tell, etc.
Next week, I will play in a +100 player Trial for GP Lille (France).
I expect lot of combo deck in Lille, so I think RUG Delver is well positioned, plus I play it for several years here and there.
Here is my sideboard for the Trial.
My local meta is more tribal and creature deck, lot of Jund/Infect and clunky deck (MUD, and so), not that much combo, very few Omnitell :
SB: 1 Ancient Grudge
SB: 1 Krosan Grip
SB: 2 Pyroblast
SB: 1 Red Elemental Blast
SB: 3 Submerge
SB: 2 Pyroclasm
SB: 2 Sulfuric Vortex
SB: 1 Grafdigger's Cage
SB: 2 Surgical Extraction
For the GP, where I expect more combo deck, I will add +2 Flusterstorm, and cut -1 Submerge, -1 Vortex or Pyroclast, dont know yet...
- MD Dismember helps a ton because the game so often comes down to Goyf, especially on their side of the table since he's able to block Goose. It's also usually worth using on an early DRS if you're constrained on other removal spells or if you don't have any R mana source.
- Fire \\ Ice will do more if you're looking for a dual use removal/tempo card.
- The die roll matters a lot. We're usually 51% against the field, but against BUG I'd say it's more like 49%. Spell Pierce is a very good card against them because of Hymn/Lily.
***I was thinking about doing just so, but for me it'd be due to the snooze fest that is the LANDS deck!
I bring in surgical against Miracles and it's super effective. Extract Terminus when they trigger another one or extract plow in resp to Snapcaster. I also bring in a copy against BUG and Jund to extract away Decay.
Split the finals of a 5 round, 21-person tournament. My list is the 54 RUG core and 2 forked bolt, 2 spell pierce, 1 dismember, 1 chain lightning. My reason for the card choices especially more burn and dismember was that my meta is usually infested with BUG delver variants with lots of goyfs, tasigurs, anglers. Also noticed elves too so went with the forked bolts.
My SB is:
2 rough tumble
2 pyroblast
2 submerge
1 grafdigger's cage
1 sylvan library
1 ancient grudge
1 destructive revelry
1 sulfuric vortex
1 pithing needle
1 surgical extraction
1 vendilion clique
1 sulfur elemental
Quick report:
Round 1 - RUG Mirror (2-0)
G1 - I drop a delver he kills it. He drops a delver I kill it. We trade mongooses. I stifle his fetches. Eventually I find a delver, flip it, and start clocking him. He drops a tarmogoyf and the races me. I eventually finish him off with the delver and 2 bolts.
G2 - I turn 1 mongoose and start bashing. He eventually deploys a mongoose. We trade. I counter his tarmogoyf and resolve my own and go to town.
A rather odd 2 games. We both ended with 3-5 lands in play both games. No crazy stack involving stifling fetchland shenanigans.
Round 2 - Omnitell (2-0)
G1 - Thought he was on something else until the turn 1 probe. Figured he must be on Storm since that's what he played last time. Turns out he's on Omnitell after seeing him fetch a bunch of islands. He cantrips a ton. I land early delver. He tries to go off and I force.
G2 - I land turn 3 delver. He cantrips a ton and DTT twice. With 2 turns left facing lethal delver he show and tells and I force. I'm left with a surgical as my only card in hand and he has three cards and 1 life. I passed. On his draw step I surgical the show and tell in the yard and he reveals the kill in his hand of show and tell, omniscience, cunning wish, and force of will that he drew for the turn. Got lucky there.
Round 3 - Deadguy Ale (2-1)
G1 - He keeps plowing my delvers and eventually stoneforge's equipment and lingering souls me out of the game.
G2 - He had a scrubland which I immediately wasteland. He was operating on only a chrome mox imprinting lingering souls and I kept the mana denial plan going.
G3 - I drop delvers and goyfs and he plows them. Eventually I find a mongoose but he finds a liliana. I cantrip into another mongoose to replace the edicted one. He tried to toxic deluge for 3 but I pierce it. I attack liliana to kill it. I rip another mongoose so my board is double mongooses, a trop and volc and a lightning bolt in hand and he's at 5. He rips a lingering souls and makes 4 tokens. I rip lightning bolt, bash in with both mongooses and he triple blocks one and chumps the other. He draws something irrelevant and I flash him the 2 bolts in my hand.
Round 4 - Grixis Control (ID)
Since we're a lock for top 8, we decided to draw.
Round 5 - Elves (2-0)
I ask if he wants to play or draw and chooses to play because he wants a high standing. We are both locked at this point.
G1 - He plays only a few elves a turn which I easily manage with removal and stifle his fetches and drop delvers and goyfs to finish the job. I finished game 1 with double flipped delvers and 2 threshed mongooses vs. a board of 3 lands and a visionary.
G2 - He builds up a board with lots of elves and I hold up force and blue card saving for natural order. I manage to find a rough and rough his board and start racing with my creatures. He reestablishes board presence but I again rough his board again and burn him out.
After the swiss, I'm in first. Excellent position for RUG to be on the play.
Quarterfinals - Merfolk maindecking chalice (2-1)
G1 - I turn 2 delver and he forces which I daze. Next turn he chalices at one. Resolves. Bad times. I flip delver and start racing but he assembles a critical mass of fishes with lords for the win.
G2 - He tries to resolve turn 2 chalice which I daze. I flip delver and drops goyf and assemble a hand of 2 pyroblast, 2 lightning bolts, a forked bolt.
G3 - He manages to resolve a chalice but that's after I have a mongoose and delver and I start racing. I cast one mana spells and he remembers all chalice triggers as I was building threshold. I rip a goyf and cast it. My guys were just too big too soon.
Semifinals - Elves (2-0)
Same elves opponent in the swiss.
G1 - Typical RUG gameplan. Overwhelmed him with flipped delver with a handful of counters and removal.
G2 - Forced his natural order. Roughed his board away. Submerged twice on a dryad arbor timewalking him and mongoose and goyf go to town.
Finals - Decided to chop. Was thinking about playing since I'm on the play but he's on Punishing Jund and it seems like his creatures will outclass mine.
Notes
Mulligan only once whole tournament.
Used every single sideboard card.
Some lucky breaks and great draws off cantrips.
Dodged all miracle players (about 4 of them)
Roughing away 4 creatures followed by submerging a dryad arbor twice is brutal
Very confident and happy with the 75.
congrats on your finish. the 8 bolt version of RUG is definitely good if you are expecting a lot of fair decks, though ive never run the configuration myself. do you feel like you're giving up a lot in the combo match ups, though?
Thanks. I definitely feel like I'm giving up some percentage points to combo. But, since my meta really isn't combo heavy, I'd rather stick to this configuration. Also if anything, I would dedicate more SB slots to combo than to reconfigure my maindeck since I'm pretty certain combo would be fringe. The only combo decks were 1 Omnitell, 1 Sneak & Show, 1 Elves (kinda).
I've played the 8 bolt version and you give up some percentages against combo, but not much. Show and tell you can still crush and if you're running something like 4 chain lightnings and 2 pierce then you're actually not missing much what a few probes or snares? The only combo that gets significantly worse is ANT (and the less common reanimator) since snare is very important in this match up. Post board you want a bit better counter suite for the combo match up and I found a singleton Price to be very good if you expect shardless and/or deathblade. It's also not that bad against miracles either since goose can become a threat faster.
Here is a deck tech on RUG with Seattle Player James Jonhson - It is very through, over an hour. Tips for playing each card in the deck, Full sideboard breakdown, alternatives flex spot cards and info on almost every match up.
https://youtu.be/sZHjpHO797c
Great video and intro to the deck. Thanks for sharing! Anyway we could get it linked to in the primer?
Ask Obama for a Magic: The Gathering subsidy while being dressed in pajamas.
Today I learned that Vapor Snag can target Grafdigger's Cage :3
Last edited by echofish; 06-05-2015 at 02:23 PM.
haha well besides that obvious flub. It still has 99% of good information
Ask Obama for a Magic: The Gathering subsidy while being dressed in pajamas.
Is it crazy to replace the Tarmogoyfs with Young Pyromancers and using the flex slots for 4 Gitaxian Probes? If that is crazy, why?
Topdecking Young is bad. Topdecking Goyf is good.
I am playing around with this build atm, though.
4 Delver
4 Hooting Mandrills
4 Swiftspear
4 Gitaxian Probe
2 Spell Pierce
Canadian threshold is about making tempo plays to disrupt your opponent while you beat them down. Its a very reactive deck. Not about spamming a bunch of spells to generate value from young p.
Yup...if you wanna play that way, play grixis or Bug
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