[Deck] U/G Infect

[Sparkii]

I started out great at a small tourny yesterday with some fun games. Here are some highlights:

Loam Lands:
I faced loam lands. G1 is insanely close and drags out. He has Dark depths, stage, maze of ith, port and tabernacle. I have 2 elves, 2 inkmoths, 1 forest. He keeps tapping my forest, and i have to pay for the elves with the inkmoths and never drew lands. I sit with vines. some point I draw waste, play it, and wait. He ports it EOT his turn and i waste his maze, he makes a 20/20. I attack with a elf with noble trigger, and he blocks (i am at 19 life from a fetch, and need to survice a turn) luckily he blocks, and the token is reduced to a 18/18. He takes his turn and attackes me to 1. and loams for depths and another stage.....
My turn I have top pray he doesnt make a new token to block with, i draw blighted agent too late. I vines before combat avoiding his recurring mazes, and invigorate for a lot, but he makes a new Marit Lage. sad face.

G2 I play pendelhaven, elf, he goes maze. I vines with kicker and hit for 6 with pendelhaven. He goes something, go. I draw croprot -> sacs pendelhaven (no lands now, but a single Noble in play), i find waste and takes out his Maze, and berserks a pendelhaven'ed elf for 10.

G3 he t1's molten vortex.. auch. he established loam lock and kills dual nobles :( Never recover. GG

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Great games, but i have a question - how do you side against lands? Vines is obviously great - and i keep thinking i should have 2 needles in the board. Poxy, you love needles? You are happy with them?
Do you keep forces in, for the fast kill and to stop loam, etc?
,
Thanks!

As I'm still usually a lands player... A few things. Tabernacle is your trigger, so you pay the upkeep first with whatever lands you want, then they'll usually port you.

As for board. Needles are good, as is surgical or Rest in Peace.

[poxy14]

how do you side against lands? Vines is obviously great - and i keep thinking i should have 2 needles in the board. Poxy, you love needles? You are happy with them?
Do you keep forces in, for the fast kill and to stop loam, etc?,Thanks!

I always love having 2 needles whether im playing RUG or infect, as both of these decks have problems with opposing wastelands, equipments, pwalker activations, sdtops... Needles are very important in this deck, having only blighted and inkmoth as our evaders. The meta of today shows more wastelands via grixis, bug variants, lands, dnts that's why I want not one copy but 2 of these.

vs lands here's what ive been sideboarding..

+ 2 needles (mazes, wastelands, thespian stage, ddepth)
+ 1 RIP
+ 1 surgical
+ 1 relic progenitus
+ 2 kgrips

- 3 dazes
- 1 become immense
- 1 pierce
- 1 probe
- 1 fow

[Cartesian]

Needle is so swingy. Sometimes it wins the game on the spot because it shuts down something important in play, and sometimes it is does absolutely nothing. Drawing it and playing it preemptively when there is no target in play feels underwhelming, but I agree that the card is somewhat necessary against Wasteland. I think Needle is best against nonblue decks because they can't easily avoid drawing or shuffle away the named card.

[Hopo]

You shouldn't board needle in without a specific target in mind. You should never feel underwhelmed when resolving one. Wasteland (in loam decks), Thespian Stage and Eldrazi Displacer are issues that you need needle for. Jitte, Top and Lavamancer are doable without it (Especially with Null Rod) but needle helps a lot.

[Bichon_Blitz]

A lot of lands list run Molten Vortex (it looks better than punishing fire for lands players), that's usually what I'll name unless i have a quick hand with inkmoth and need to name waste.

Just hope that holds them off long enough til you draw your grave hate (rest in peace is what I use and I love it, set it and forget it) or they get their decays. Not sure if they board out their decays, they have to be so used to people bringing in needle and other hate against them they probably keep them in.

[Hopo]

Of course they keep decays in. It is one of the better cards against infect in general killing 2/3 of infect's threat arsenal through countermagic.

[Jesture]

What's the general consensus on Null Rod here? I understand it's reasonably strong in the storm matchup, but I can't think of many matchups where Needle isn't just as good or flat out better.

[ThiefSlayer]

I think null rod is really good against storm, but I think it's the only thing relevant null rod is better than needle. Needle can shut down many things beside artifacts, and the fact that it's protection against wasteland makes it better than null rod IMO. Thinking this way, I think I'll go 2-0 on needle x null rod, instead of the 1-1 split I've been using so far.

[shocked439]

What's the general consensus on Null Rod here? I understand it's reasonably strong in the storm matchup, but I can't think of many matchups where Needle isn't just as good or flat out better.

I always choose needle over null rod

[Hopo]

I side Null Rod more against Miracles as it's CC is more counterbalance-proof and it hoses EE as well if they still play it. Also stuff like d&t is vulnerable to Rod because it shuts down vial and all equipment. Against storm Rod is obviously excellent but besides those there are not many decks that care about Null Rod. Like everything in sideboarding this depends on what you expect to face. I play 2-2 split partly because I feel a bit soft to storm.

[Sidneyious]

After buying a friend's collection I have most of this deck.

Not sure I want to, kinda want another deck but not sure this is the agro deck for me.

[Jesture]

After buying a friend's collection I have most of this deck.

Not sure I want to, kinda want another deck but not sure this is the agro deck for me.

So... do you want us to convince you to play Infect? Because it sounds like you don't want to play Infect. Which is fine, but it's kind of an odd thing to post in the Infect forum.

[Sparkii]

After buying a friend's collection I have most of this deck.

Not sure I want to, kinda want another deck but not sure this is the agro deck for me.

Its not even really an aggro deck. Have you tested it? Playtest it and see how you like it.

[ThiefSlayer]

I have class at 7pm, I'm not sure if I should take a bath before and get in late, or if I should take a shower later. I'd really like to just do it before so I can sleep early for tomorrow's morning class.

[Jesture]

I have class at 7pm, I'm not sure if I should take a bath before and get in late, or if I should take a shower later. I'd really like to just do it before so I can sleep early for tomorrow's morning class.

You should be able to resolve a fast Wash Out with the 4 Noble Hierarchs. Generally speaking, I think your best line is to go for the bath but as always it depends on the matchup.

[Bichon_Blitz]

After buying a friend's collection I have most of this deck.

Not sure I want to, kinda want another deck but not sure this is the agro deck for me.

It is probably one of the better "aggro" decks in the format. Some matches you're aggro, some matches you're combo, and some you're control (with a fast clock). If you're looking for an aggro deck like mono red in standard or something play burn or a more aggressive UR Delver list with price of progress.

But it makes no difference to me whether you build and play the deck or not.

[Neffy]

So I've been playing infect for some years now, and I can feel that im gradually improving.
There were a larger tournament this weekend with a diverse meta, in which I started out fine, but had some troubles later on.

My MUs were (usual list, 2 ponder, 3 probe, 3 vines, 19 lands):

2-0 12 post - great mu. they are too slow.
2-0 bug delver - play tight. inkmoth is a chief
1-2 death and taxes - got him fast on game 1, g2 he goes to 8 poison. I have Blighted, but he wastes my last land so i cant play my noble and attack for 2. Never draw creatures in g3..
2-0 lands - he mulligans, and croprots for maze of ith. I vines a Blighted before combat and berserks. G2 is almost the same.
2-0 dredge - he fizzles and i kill him with 3 invigorates and become immense. G2 i force a t1 LED and kills him right after.
0-2 infect - Even spellskite from the board wasnt enough. I know that i boarded wrong. Also missed a killed by attacking with too few creatures. doh.
0-2 high tide - supposedly this should be a good match up? Mull to 5 and lose. G2 I get him to 8 after he counters 2 of 3 invigorates. then kill me.

Great matches - all very exiting.
I know now that I need to test the mirror even more.
How do you sideboard here? I tried using Tom Ross' advice from the ultimate guide, but it didnt help much it seems.
My board was:
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Crop Rotation
1 Dismember
1 Flusterstorm
1 Force of Will
1 Hydroblast
1 Karakas
2 Krosan Grip
1 Naturalize
1 Pithing Needle
1 Spellskite
2 Submerge
1 Surgical Extraction

I take in 2 submerge, 2 krosan, 1 fluster, 1 dismember. Shoud have considered croprot too. What do you side out in such matches? Vines are insane, invigorate not so much? Thank you!

[Jesture]

I take in 2 submerge, 2 krosan, 1 fluster, 1 dismember. Shoud have considered croprot too. What do you side out in such matches? Vines are insane, invigorate not so much? Thank you!

I don't advocate playing the card except for in very specific metas. But if you're running Spellskite in the board, isn't the mirror the exact matchup you want it for?

[Sidneyious]

Its not even really an aggro deck. Have you tested it? Playtest it and see how you like it.

So... do you want us to convince you to play Infect? Because it sounds like you don't want to play Infect. Which is fine, but it's kind of an odd thing to post in the Infect forum.

I have played a modern version for a bit and I do like the deck but I'm not sure if it's capable.

Seems very easy to hate out, so yes convince me.

[Zombie]

I have played a modern version for a bit and I do like the deck but I'm not sure if it's capable.

Seems very easy to hate out, so yes convince me.

Infect isn't that easy to hate out - it's basically RUG with manlands instead of wastelands and the constant threat of pressing the "oops I won" button on an opponent. It is not a balls to the walls combo deck except in matches where they can't contest your kill. It's more a Delver deck that can't disrupt quite as hard but takes advantage of opportunities better and has a better ability to force bad trades. The explosiveness means it's one of the few decks in Constructed magic where the mindgames and proactively good, inventive play matters more than the usual play sharp just don't make mistakes routine.