Sylvan Plug (or whatever splashed Green stompy)

[Lejay]

I'd still love a way to filter dead cards in dead match-ups like e.g. Choke vs. non-blue decks, but I still haven't found a card that doesn't suck (like the green Spellshapers).

There are only two possibilities.
Cut choke.
Count on sylvan libraryx4.

Hopefully if you choose to play this deck in your metagame it is because you won't face many non blue decks. Also that's just for one game as sideboard is versatile enough to play good cards post sb.

[Deviruchi]

I like the idea of adding 1 Knight of the Reliquary. I have huge problem beating S&T => Emrakul from U-Omniscience players and a Knight increases drastically chances to get a Karakas. I'm using your older list so for testing I will replace Signet. Can't imagine reducing Baloths.

[apple713]

I gave a NO list with the new modifications a spin, but by further cutting creatures, you run out of targets to sacrifice. So you're right, that left me unimpressed.

I'd still love a way to filter dead cards in dead match-ups like e.g. Choke vs. non-blue decks, but I still haven't found a card that doesn't suck (like the green Spellshapers).

you should have more than enough creatures to sacrifice to natural order. Make sure you make good use of fetching for dryad arbors, and GSZ for them as well. If you ran knight of the reliquary that can tutor up a dryad arbor too.

scroll rack to filter dead cards.

if you are interested in a NO build consider checking this thread. Its basically dropped the aggro strategy for a dedicated combo strategy.

[Barook]

scroll rack to filter dead cards.

Scroll Rack certainly is an interesting card since it does exactly what I was looking for - turning dead cards into additional gas. Sounds at least good in theory and might be worth it if we run enough shuffle effects.

Edit: After thinking about it, the package sounds rather intriguing (without being concerned about slots for now):

8th fetchland, 3 Library /2 Rack split (or 4/1, depending on how it turns out), 1 Life from the Loam

More fetchlands means more shuffle effects, food for DRS (for better or worse) and KotR and stuff to pick up with Loam.

While I'm concerned that Loam can dredge away key cards, it can also be used in conjunction with Rack to get rid of unwanted chaff. You can also use Loam to refill your hand to draw extra cards with Rack and dredge them right back into the GY with Loam the next time you draw.

Sadly, Loam has no real synergy with Library since you still draw 2 cards that you have to put back, but it can't be helped.

[Memories of the Time]

Very interested on Scroll Rack/lftl engine, always loved this engine. The main problem is: other non creature slots. Something like:

3 Ancient Tomb
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Forest
4 Bayou
1 Dryad Arbor
2 Wasteland
2 Savannah
3 Windswept Heath
1 Karakas
1 Dust Bowl

2 Mox Diamond

1 Scroll Rack
1 Life from the Loam
3 Sylvan Library

4 Chalice of the Void
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Trinisphere
4 Choke
4 Green Sun's Zenith

2 Courser of Kruphix
1 Thragtusk
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Deathrite Shaman
2 Siege Rhino
1 Titania, Protector of Argoth
1 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Scavenging Ooze

[apple713]

Very interested on Scroll Rack/lftl engine, always loved this engine. The main problem is: other non creature slots. Something like:

3 Ancient Tomb
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Forest
4 Bayou
1 Dryad Arbor
2 Wasteland
2 Savannah
3 Windswept Heath
1 Karakas
1 Dust Bowl

2 Mox Diamond

1 Scroll Rack
1 Life from the Loam
3 Sylvan Library

4 Chalice of the Void
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Trinisphere
4 Choke
4 Green Sun's Zenith

2 Courser of Kruphix
1 Thragtusk
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Deathrite Shaman
2 Siege Rhino
1 Titania, Protector of Argoth
1 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Scavenging Ooze

be careful when you try to use loam and scroll rack. the interaction is slow and advantage is incremental. The deck is not built to play as control and although there is synergy between the two cards really it should only be focused on when you are out of other plays.

[H]

I'd still love a way to filter dead cards in dead match-ups like e.g. Choke vs. non-blue decks, but I still haven't found a card that doesn't suck (like the green Spellshapers).

The Black Spellshapers are generally better (but still pretty bad) like Notorious Assassin or Urborg Syphon-Mage.

The closest to playable Green one would probably be Stampede Driver, which also happens to be bad.

[Lejay]

I still think dawnstrider is a good sideboard card even if I don't play it at the moment.

Has anyone played the deck this week-end ? I will regret my investment on the deck and posting about it if no one has the balls to play it. It's not even a ballsy thing since the deck is pretty good and it went well for me.

Also you are guaranteed to be featured at some point if you are in top tables. :D

[Michael Keller]

I still think dawnstrider is a good sideboard card even if I don't play it at the moment.

Has anyone played the deck this week-end ? I will regret my investment on the deck and posting about it if no one has the balls to play it. It's not even a ballsy thing since the deck is pretty good and it went well for me.

Also you are guaranteed to be featured at some point if you are in top tables. :D

I've gone full-steam ahead with this archetype. Granted, I play a different variation, but this is my deck of choice going forward and I'll be piloting it in as many big events as I can in the future.

[FoolofaTook]

Scroll Rack is probably better in a white shell that has several ways to put extra cards in hand reliably and a bunch of ways to shuffle the library during and after doing that. If you can find ways for a green shell to do that then Scroll rack will fold in well.

[infiniteJ]

It's not green but has anyone tried pack rat? It operated well with the lock pieces and can filter out redundant draws and dead chokes.

[Barook]

It's not green but has anyone tried pack rat? It operated well with the lock pieces and can filter out redundant draws and dead chokes.

Pack Rats are an interesting idea since they can spiral out of control rather quickly. I'm not sure if they fit into the deck, though, especially since they're best run alongside Mutavault. I kinda miss an aggressive low-cost threat that can take advantage of locking out the opponent. Think Tarmogoyf, but something that the deck can actually support.

[Lejay]

Pack Rats has good points. But the way games generally proceed, you first play prison elements, acceleration, or cards that will give you an advantage over the course of the game (sylvan/courser or even knight). After that you want something with high immediate impact (Baloth/Titania) to cope with the board when you are behind whereas pack rats is more of a grindy card. And as you underlined being green is a pretty good quality in the deck.
Given how I have trouble putting everything I want in the deck due to the prison elements in great numbers I doubt it will make it.

[apple713]

The Black Spellshapers are generally better (but still pretty bad) like Notorious Assassin or Urborg Syphon-Mage.

The closest to playable Green one would probably be Stampede Driver, which also happens to be bad.

syphon mage is just an overcosted deathrite shaman

Scroll Rack is probably better in a white shell that has several ways to put extra cards in hand reliably and a bunch of ways to shuffle the library during and after doing that. If you can find ways for a green shell to do that then Scroll rack will fold in well.

yeah i have been testing scroll rack in another deck very similar to this but with dark depths and natural order. I haven't found scroll rack to really be good because it doesn't net you any cards. its similar to mirri's guile vs sylvan library. although library doesn't net you any cards you have the option to. scroll rack and mirri's are fixed and scroll rack particularly blows on an empty hand.

[Michael Keller]

I like the idea of adding 1 Knight of the Reliquary. I have huge problem beating S&T => Emrakul from U-Omniscience players and a Knight increases drastically chances to get a Karakas. I'm using your older list so for testing I will replace Signet. Can't imagine reducing Baloths.

Not sure how this is a problem. The deck runs Chalice and Trinisphere as shutdown elements, and Omnitell generally only runs a singleton Emrakul anyhow. The deck durdles to setup its win, but our lock pieces should be good enough to silence them.

In that instance, it would seem like Tsunami or Choke would be the more powerful option under a Trinisphere if you're worried about OmniTell.

[MGB]

I've gone full-steam ahead with this archetype. Granted, I play a different variation, but this is my deck of choice going forward and I'll be piloting it in as many big events as I can in the future.

Are you going to be at the SCG Open in Oaks, PA coming up in Jan 11?

[Michael Keller]

Are you going to be at the SCG Open in Oaks, PA coming up in Jan 11?

I will be there. I'm going with a full-on "fuck it" mentality. Star City Opens have never been good to me, aside from a few Top 16s.

[Ricflairwoo]

I still think dawnstrider is a good sideboard card even if I don't play it at the moment.

Has anyone played the deck this week-end ? I will regret my investment on the deck and posting about it if no one has the balls to play it. It's not even a ballsy thing since the deck is pretty good and it went well for me.

Also you are guaranteed to be featured at some point if you are in top tables. :D

I'm bringing it to SCG Portland. Hopefully I will have better luck than I did at GP New Jersey. I was going to write a tournament report on my experiences at GP NJ, but I think they can be summed up in one statement. This is not a draw bracket deck. If you draw in R1 with this deck ask your opponent to concede to you...if they do not, concede to them and move on. Contrary to popular belief the draw bracket is NOT the miracles bracket. It's the slow play bracket, and with how long it can take to win you need to be as far way from it as possible. I mostly play on magic online and with the chess clock it's not a problem..you only have POP/FlameRift draws on mtgo.

I 3-1'ed and 4-0'ed the last two 8pm pst dailies with Lejay's new mox diamond list and I have to say I think it's the best version of the deck yet. The ability to play chalice/trini/choke/green sun for 2 on turn 1 is awesome. I played the KOTR in the main deck at the GP and I was very impressed by the card. Being able to tutor for Karakas/Wasteland/Tower is a great ability to have access to, and a lot of the time it's able to block goyf/batterskull/etc. Pridemage has also been sweet. Having a 2 mana GSZ target is important, and it also gives us the fringe benefit of being able to disguise ourselves as a maverick deck.(why I play heath over misty) I've had this come up multiple times, and I'll tell you the look on the opponents face when you play the choke/trini/chalice is great. I didn't miss having the 4 baloths and I played against U/R delver multiple times. The ability to lock them out on 1's on turn 1 far out weighs the life gain imho.

2 Courser of Kruphix
1 Deathrite Shaman
2 Obstinate Baloth
4 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Trinisphere
4 Sylvan Library
3 Ancient Tomb
2 Bayou
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Choke
4 Forest
1 Swamp
3 Wasteland
2 Dryad Arbor
1 Titania, Protector of Argoth
2 Savannah
3 Windswept Heath
2 Rolling Spoil
1 Knight of the Reliquary
2 Mox Diamond
1 Qasali Pridemage

1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Karakas
1 Kalonian Hydra
2 Massacre
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Giant Solifuge
2 Faerie Macabre
1 Spike Weaver
1 Tower of the Magistrate
1 Wasteland
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Stingerfling Spider

lastly I'll leave you a reminder on why you alway bring in Stingerfling Spider against miracles.

[H]

Haha, that is a friend of mine. Definitely mentioning that when I see him at FNM.

[Lejay]

I'm bringing it to SCG Portland. Hopefully I will have better luck than I did at GP New Jersey. I was going to write a tournament report on my experiences at GP NJ, but I think they can be summed up in one statement. This is not a draw bracket deck. If you draw in R1 with this deck ask your opponent to concede to you...if they do not, concede to them and move on. Contrary to popular belief the draw bracket is NOT the miracles bracket. It's the slow play bracket, and with how long it can take to win you need to be as far way from it as possible. I mostly play on magic online and with the chess clock it's not a problem..you only have POP/FlameRift draws on mtgo.

(EDIT : In the context you presented of a big GP this would be true for all decks I think)

You should have pointed out that you only lost one match in 14 rounds at the GP week-end. To sum it up for readers :
Trial for byes : 4-1
Main event 0-0-3 (against very slow players with two rounds in which you were one turn short of winning)
3-0 at a win a box
3-0 at another win a box

About the decklist I replaced faerie macabres with ravenous traps recently because storm and dredge are much more prevalent online than reanimator. Adjust accordingly to what you expect in your metagame.
I am trying to play with the dawnstrider instead of the sb wasteland but I think we want that slot to be a land and maybe even a green mana producing land.
I am testing 8th fetch instead of a forest since mox diamonds help limiting the quantity of non basic lands you have in play for price of progress and also limits the damage from fetchlands by discarding them. So far so good but will need to test more (play with a different fetchland to measure the impact if you want to test).
I am still unsure about 2nd courser or 3rd baloth.

About the spider/angel confrontation : yep that happened to me as well.