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Thread: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

  1. #201
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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    I really enjoy creeping in this thread and I recognize a lot of the players here from my local meta, that recently has become very M.O.S.T crowded ;)

    I've been looking a lot at the posted decklists and wanted to try and put together a spicy version that is probably not as competetive as the ones posted but one that looks like a lot of fun. I gladly hear feedback, thoughts or things related to this version as I am still trying to put it together!

    4 Birds of Paradise
    1 Dryad Arbor
    3 Fauna Shaman
    1 Quirion Ranger
    1 Scryb Ranger
    1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
    1 Dream Stalker
    1 Ramunap Excavator
    1 Scavenging Ooze
    1 Glen Elendra Archmage
    4 Baleful Strix
    4 Vengevine
    1 Hollow One
    2 Leovold, Emissary of Trest
    1 Huntmaster of the Fells
    1 Meren of Clan Nel Toth


    1 Sylvan Library
    3 Green Sun’s Zenith
    1 Eldritch Evolution
    4 Brainstorm
    1 Abrupt Decay
    1 Kolaghan’s Command
    1 Assassin’s Trophy
    1 Intuition
    2 Dack Fayden


    2 Tropical Island
    1 Taiga
    1 Bayou
    1 Underground Sea
    1 Forest
    1 Island
    1 Swamp
    4 Misty Rainforest
    2 Verdant Catacombs
    2 Polluted Delta
    1 Volrath’s Stronghold

    Sideboard:
    1 Minister of Pain
    1 Toxic Deluge
    2 Flusterstorm
    2 Thoughtseize
    1 Reclamation Sage
    1 Surgical Extraction
    2 Faerie Macabre
    1 Vendilion Clique
    1 Abrupt Decay
    1 Assassin’s Trophy
    1 Null Rod
    1 Kolaghan’s Command

    Happy holidays everybody and I hope you all have a good start on the new year!

  2. #202
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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    Happy holidays and Christmas, ChristoferV and all! Nice to have you here, sweet interesting take on the deck too! I was considering adding Vengevine to a version yesterday and it may be a very good route to go, takes some consideration of whether it is worth it, taking up a lot of space in the deck (as a 4 of, but a single copy can be a useful addition too), but I can imagine that it's a good strategy vs control decks. I'll add some comments here, it's an odd version so it's hard to comment on all and testing will tell anyway.. But here's a start.

    With zero Vials I think you may want to maximize your GSZ's, usually GSZ's are cut back on because they have a tension with Vials due to the anti-synergy between them. GSZ offers ramp, mana fixing, utility, removal, card advantage and lock pieces. I think you probably want 4. Not least because the list seems a bit light on mana sources (due to no Vials).

    No Mothers and no Vials mean that your Fauna Shamans will be very exposed to removal. However, you play 4 Strixes and 4 Vengevines so it seems to me you'll be able to draw into threats, not relying on Fauna to find them. It's an interesting approach.

    Squee, Goblin Nabob doesn't add much over Meren, it's still a good card and you can try it but I'd consider it a flexible spot. It does synergize with the Dacks and the Vengevines so maybe it's worth it next to Meren.

    What I always wanted to try though is a Goblins package using Goblin Welder and Krenko, maybe Grenzo, Dungeon Warden too. Welder seems ok with the Stridges and Hollow One, you could go crazy and add a Wurmcoil or some big artifact for Welder shenanigans enabled and tutored for by Fauna Shaman. Probably not worth it, especially not without a way to protect Fauna Shaman here though. Still wanted to mention it, Scryb Ranger + Krenko might be crazy good.

    The removal suite might benefit from a tutorable piece of removal, I'd consider adding a Reclamation Sage to the maindeck (it's currently in the sideboard, maybe that's enough though). You have 2 Dack though and he can take care of artifacts, but being GSZ-able is a great advantage.

    Kolaghan's looks great, a shame you don't have Vial to vial in the creature you bring back at instant speed but.. Can't have it all I guess. One thing to consider is how you interact with fast threats like Glistener Elf and Goblin Lackey. I leave that an open question, but another card I wanted to suggest that is almost an answer is Granger Guildmage. You can GSZ for him and then mow down a lot with the help of the Rangers vs DnT, Elves, Goblins, Infect etc. Seems like he may be worth a slot.

    Consider if you want Plague Mare over Minister of Pain. Izzet Staticaster is great when you're in red, but it has some overlap so.. You first want something that answers TNN, but after that a Staticaster may be worth it. Just something to consider.

    Dream Stalker seems a bit out of place, what is he for? Strix no 5? Ah, maybe a single card that can trigger Vengevines in the graveyard. Looks like a flexible slot.

    I think you could consider playing a Gaddock in the sideboard for the storm matchup even without white mana from lands.

    Skipping on Vial and white's hatebears really is quite a loss for the deck, I have tried something along those lines before, actually going for Kolaghan's and Stridges and maybe a Welder, but I quickly went back. Vengevines work equally well in a gwub version so I think that merits an attempt. Anyway, red offers Scab-Clan Berserker in the vein of hatebears and he would fit well with the Vengevines I imagine, something else to consider..

    Oh yeah, Ramunap Excavator looks a bit weak here, not much synergy going on. That could probably be replaced. I imagine he won't have a big impact on many games, but I said your list seemed low on mana sources, and high on cmc's actually, so I guess that motivates keeping him in.

    And Huntmaster has been too weak to see play in Nic Fit decks for the past couple of years, he used to be great, not sure if he has enough impact to stay in your list. You have enough targets for removal that I can see him staying around, and Meren bringing him back is great value, but maybe you should try to add a few cards that help vs popular strategies such as those based on Show and Tell or Storm decks (I'm going to need to have a second look) rather than playing yet another card that's good in grindy matchups. The lifegain does add something useful to the deck though.

    With all that said, I think there's a fair chance that a value based version such as this works better in the meta overall, since it is bound to have a better Grixis Control matchup, while still having some kind of tutorable hatebear strategy for the unfair matchups. I think you'd be better off with a white version, but it'll be interesting to see.


    @Boogaloo: well you're motivating your card choices so nothing wrong with trying that. Good luck with it!


    On another topic I'm back to tweaking the Aluren version from back in February - March, we'll see how that goes.
    Last edited by pettdan; 12-27-2018 at 08:48 AM.

  3. #203

    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    Another Mengucci video about our favorite deck and the 5-0 list https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=RL21PRZMyUg
    I'm a little bit envious to have reached just a bounch of 4-1 with my list now ahahah

  4. #204
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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    @pettdan

    Great feedback! I’m going to take the deck for a couple of spins and see what needs to improve!
    I have already cut the Squee and I am considering cutting the Dreamstalker (which was mainly there for the Vengevines)

    The Ramunap Excavator is mainly there to help with the mana but also to help create some cool Intuition Packages, like:
    Volrath’s Stronghold + Ramunap Excavator + Meren
    I have an unhealthy relationship to certain cards that might not be optimal but I will keep you posted with my results for the deck!

    I’m willing to test Huntmaster at my LGS but am aware of it’s decline!
    Izzet staticaster should join the party of course!

  5. #205

    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    I liked Mengucci's list but it seemed like during the matches the deck could have really benefited from a bounce effect. I would add Man-o-War. If he had access to that it would have saved him a few times either bouncing opponents creatures (e.g. Marit Large) or bouncing things like Knight of Autumn, Eternal Witness, Vendilion Clique, Meddling Mage, or Merieke for value. Another way to accomplish the latter would be a clone effect. Phantasmal image is kind of shitty with MoM so maybe Phyrexian Metamorph. The one extra CMC is probably worth being able to protect it.

    I also might want to try to find room for Fulminator Mage in the 75 (maybe in place of Garruk - not sure what purpose that card serves) although I suppose Magus of the Moon might be a better answer.

    I would consider cutting Tradewind Rider (too slow - if you can actually set this up it means you probably already won) and Atraxa (doesn't advance the game-plan) from the main deck. Also, unless I'm missing something, feels like Staticaster and Pontiff fill the same role except Pontiff can also answer TNN so I would cut Staticaster.

    Also think it would be a mistake not to have at least one Thalia in the list. Although it could be argued this deck is more about locking out certain cards completely rather than taxing.

  6. #206

    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider



    At cc3, it would have been awesome. At cc4 is probably underwhelming, even in this deck when Haste is an incredible keywords for our creatures and we can rely on +2 cards for the second ability.

  7. #207
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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    A bit too expensive, yes, but even at 3 I think Domri Rade might be better anyway, he offers board control rather than ramp which may be better, and card draw while plussing.

    Here's another almost playable card:



    Play mother, Fauna Shaman, Merieke or whatever with haste, also lets you use Glen Elendra infinitely with the bonus that your opponent can't counter anything you play.

    The really playable card is this though:



    Maindeckable answer to Show and Tell, planeswalkers and a swarm of goblins, blocks well, pitches to FoW and even taps for Patron Wizard. Takes care of Jitte too, Chalice, an Eldrazi or two. Marit Lage. Edit: it does compete with Palace Jailer though.

    I'm curious about this one, seems a bit weak in general but jamming out 4/4's vs Grixis C or Miracles using Vial seems pretty ok. Can be bounced with Wirewood Symbiote and brainstormed back to library if you don't need the board presence (well that may be excessive [edit: nvm, they don't need to be bounced as they come to the hand to begin with]).



    Oh yeah, on the topic of bouncing with Symbiote:

    Last edited by pettdan; 01-07-2019 at 05:02 PM.

  8. #208

    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    @Rhythm is the cc3 Domri i was talking about: give less things (no use if board is empty, no closer, no card advantage) but the difference in the casting cost is huge for us.
    I think Rhythm could be awesome and i'll probably try to build a bit around it with a single Finks too, for example. That card could resolve many problems for us.

    I also love Deputy, helping us moving from Black splash to Red splash maybe cutting Trophy, and yep the new Snake could be awesome in a build with Symbiote (i don't like Guardian, btw)

  9. #209
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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    Played a tuned version yesterday evening at a local game store after goldfishing a bit against tiered decks. This is legit hard to play. I have next to no experience piloting such a fair deck to be honest and the puzzle aspect of it all made me sleeve it up.

    So I went 0-4 and learned as much as I could out of the 4 rounds. I came (really) unprepared but still had fun so it's a good sign I'd say. If you know me at all, you can tell I enjoy playing tier 3 decks as long as they are rogue enough to win some rounds and still have fun in the process. Yesterday's experience was about me re-discovering that combat maths are actually a thing in Legacy and that Legacy interaction doesn't necessarily mean naming correct with Cabal Therapy or playing into a Daze on purpose. Yesterday I had to:

    - Count combat damage after/before two triggers from my Orzhov Pontiff while taking into account 2 Umezawa's Jitte on board and my opponent block options
    - Think about my opponent's outs as I tutor for both Meddling Mage and Sanctum Prelate
    - Bait out their removal suite with soft hatebears in order to benefit as much as possible from the actual hatebears for the matchup
    - Remember my Leovold triggers

    Very fun deck to watch in action and play alike. I felt less clunky than anticipated and the only really bad matchups that I can think of are Belcher and UR Delver with 8 bolts.

    Lands 15
    1 Bayou
    1 Forest
    1 Karakas
    3 Misty Rainforest
    1 Savannah
    1 Scrubland
    2 Tropical Island
    1 Tundra
    4 Windswept Heath

    Creatures 31
    1 Baleful Strix
    3 Birds of Paradise
    1 Dryad Arbor
    4 Fauna Shaman
    1 Gaddock Teeg
    1 Glen Elendra Archmage
    2 Leovold, Emissary of Trest
    1 Meren of Clan Nel Toth
    3 Mother of Runes
    3 Noble Hierarch
    1 Orzhov Pontiff
    1 Peacekeeper
    1 Qasali Pridemage
    1 Quirion Ranger
    1 Renegade Rallier
    1 Sanctum Prelate
    1 Scavenging Ooze
    1 Scryb Ranger
    1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
    1 True-Name Nemesis
    1 Vendilion Clique

    Other Spells 14
    4 Aether Vial
    2 Assassin's Trophy
    3 Brainstorm
    3 Green Sun's Zenith
    1 Sylvan Library
    1 Umezawa's Jitte

    Sideboard 15
    1 Containment Priest
    1 Ethersworn Canonist
    3 Faerie Macabre
    1 Gilded Drake
    1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
    1 Knight of Autumn
    1 Meddling Mage
    1 Orzhov Pontiff
    1 Palace Jailer
    1 Phyrexian Revoker
    2 Sanctum Prelate
    1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

    Storm 0-2

    G1 I am presented a good 6 starter that has Aether Vial, GSZ, GSZ, dual, fetch and Noble Hierarch. I see a Bayou so it's not an usual start for my opponent who is usually on Miracles or Storm lately. I drop the Vial on the play while a T2 Gaddock Teeg surely would have won me the game.

    G2 I have access to a T2 Sanctum Prelate followed with some Fauna Shaman action to tutor for Meddling Mage. Sanctum Prelate is on 4 which in my brain blocks Massacre as well (obviously he doesn't play that since it's green ANT). Two turns later comes the Meddling Mage who for some reason names Abrupt Decay... He wins a couple turns later with fast mana and Echoing Truth into a small Ad Nauseam to find the Tendrils of Agony. Very poorly played out, a Sanctum Prelate on 1 and 2 for instance would have been much better, or even Leovold.

    +1 Ethersworn Canonist
    +1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
    +1 Meddling Mage
    +1 Phyrexian Revoker
    +2 Sanctum Prelate
    +1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
    -1 Baleful Strix
    -1 Meren of Clan Nel Toth
    -1 Peacekeeper
    -1 Renegade Rallier
    -1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
    -1 True-Name Nemesis
    -1 Umezawa's Jitte

    Post 1-2

    He naturally drew his singleton Jitte the 2 games I lost. That and Walking Ballista make for a horrible matchup to play from behind when you eat All is Dust after over-extending. He properly baited the Assassin's Trophy out with Ractchet Bomb and Phyrexian Revoker before slamming down Jitte and Walking Ballista.

    +1 Gilded Drake
    +1 Knight of Autumn
    +1 Meddling Mage
    +1 Palace Jailer
    +1 Phyrexian Revoker
    +1 Sanctum Prelate
    -1 Leovold, Emissary of Trest
    -3 Mother of Runes
    -1 Scavenging Ooze
    -1 Brainstorm

    Slow Depths 1-2

    G1 he sees 1 green source (that he had to Crop Rotation away for Urborg) out of 25-something cards, my board was meanwhile growing so big and hateful that decided to concede.

    G2 is close. I can delay the flying 20/20 princess long enough with a mixture of Peacekeeper, Sanctum Prelate and Mother of Runes on protecc duty for my blocker. He casts Crop Rotation and in response I activate Fauna Shaman having an Aether Vial on 2. Now for some reason I thought Meddling Mage was the hate to get since I had an extra turn to get Gilded Drake next. Turns out I did not have that extra turn and he just fetched Sejiri Steppe...

    G3 is close again, but I still lose to Sejiri Steppe again with no Fauna Shaman to fiddle with...

    +1 Gilded Drake
    +1 Meddling Mage
    +1 Orzhov Pontiff
    +1 Palace Jailer
    +1 Sanctum Prelate
    -1 Gaddock Teeg

    -2 Leovold, Emissary of Trest
    -1 Renegade Rallier
    -1 Brainstorm

    Death and Taxes 0-1

    If we were playing at any amount of serious REL we would have got each at least 4 warnings/slaps this game. She playing Swords to Plowshares under her own Sanctum Prelate on 1, forgetting she has a Karakas buried under her massive board of Plains when I'm enjoying the company of Meren. I forgetting my Leovold triggers 3 turns in a row (yes, three) as she proceeds to tap 2 of my lands at the upkeep... The biggest mistake though must have been to cast Assassin's Trophy targetting her Aether Vial instead of the Phyrexian Revoker naming Fauna Shaman...

    Still managed to recover from there and stabilize the board thanks to Peacekeeper (and her own Sanctum Prelate on 1, which she had to Flickerwisp at some point to exile Peacekeeper). Game ended with me top-decking lands at the wrong moment.
    Last edited by AngryBacon; 01-09-2019 at 03:36 PM.

  10. #210
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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    Thanks a lot for the report, AngryBacon! I really enjoy reading sbout others' experiences.. I'll just write some quick comments now. It seems like most matchups were winnable, but well some amount of luck is always needed and being new to the deck and archetype and even just attacking with creatures surely doesn't help. ;)

    I think Cloudpost is a tough matchup, unless you have a fast combo win or some mana denial (Fulminator Mage could help here, coupled with Meren, or Magus of the Moon). Meddling Mage on Walking Ballista may help too.

    If opponent goes t1 Bayou I'd probably open with Vial too, not much to do about that. I think, otoh.. Against an unknown opponent in a competitive environment, maybe this very aspect merits consideration. An early ramp spell allows for faster interaction with SnT, Storm and Reanimator decks.. Like, Vial still lets you interact at instant speed which can be great, depending on what's in your hand and deck; if there's a Gilded Drake in the deck, the value of having an active Aether Vial goes way up vs SnT, Reanimator and Turbo Depths.

    I think DnT and probably Turbo Depths, not convinced there, are pretty good and somewhat favorable matchups.

    I think discard and cheap counterspells are good to have in the sb, they might have helped with early interaction vs both Storm and Turbo Depths. If you can just buy a few turns you can usually establish control.

    Ah yeah, one more thing, it's hard for me too to know what number to choose with Prelate. I used to name 2 to shut off tutors vs Storm, but then sometimes they go off through it which feels bad. If you name 4, then at least the opponent has to find an answer. And you can get Mother to help with that, protecting Prelate. A vial can tick up to work around bounce spells, but if you don't have it you don't have it.

  11. #211
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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    Quote Originally Posted by pettdan View Post
    A vial can tick up to work around bounce spells, but if you don't have it you don't have it.
    That reminds me, I did have an active Aether Vial that I forgot to tick up to 3... So I would still have the game against his Echoing Truth line if I hadn't forgot the upkeep trigger. Yesterday felt like I was playing intoxicated, unsure what to blame other than my own unpreparedness :D

  12. #212
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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    So I tried the Vengevine build at my LGS this wednesday and had a lot of fun! The deck can be improved by miles and I will continuing by looking at small improvements as I keep brewing. One problem is having a good finish, any suggestions?

    Here is my current list:

    Creatures:28
    1 Dryad Arbor
    4 Birds of Paradise
    1 Quirion Ranger
    4 Baleful Strix
    4 Fauna Shaman
    1 Lotleth Troll
    1 Scavenging Ooze
    1 Scryb Ranger
    2 Leovold, Emissary of Trest
    1 Ramunap Excavator
    1 Reclamation Sage
    1 Glen Elendra Archmage
    1 Huntmaster of the Fells
    1 Meren of Clan Nel Toth
    3 Vengevine
    1 Hollow One

    Spells:15
    4 Brainstorm
    4 Green Sun's Zenith
    1 Abrupt Decay
    1 Assassin's Trophy
    1 Sylvan Library
    2 Dack Fayden
    1 Intuition
    1 Kolaghan's Command

    Lands:17
    2 Bayou
    1 Forest
    4 Misty Rainforest
    2 Polluted Delta
    1 Taiga
    2 Tropical Island
    1 Underground Sea
    2 Verdant Catacombs
    1 Volcanic Island
    1 Volrath's Stronghold

    Sideboard:15
    1 Gaddock Teeg
    1 Faerie Macabre
    1 Izzet Staticaster
    1 Magus of the Moon
    1 Minister of Pain
    2 Flusterstorm
    1 Red Elemental Blast
    2 Surgical Extraction
    2 Thoughtseize
    1 Abrupt Decay
    1 Kolaghan's Command
    1 Liliana, the Last Hope

    Match 1 vs UW Blade:
    0-2
    I failed to find my good cards in the matchup and died both games against equipment. Both matches would have ended very differently if I would have seen a Dack Fayden, Kolaghan’s Command or Decay.

    Match 2 vs Reanimator MOST:
    2-1
    Game one my opponent miss land drops and is close on making a comeback due to me not finding the right creatures but eventually the lack of lands are too much for my opponent.
    Game two he reanimates the crap out of me with Griselbrands and Elesh Norns. I get to Intuition for 2 surgicals and 1 Macabre but it’s not enough!
    Game three we are a bit low on time but after a couple of heavy hitting Minister of Pain and eventually a calculated Vengevine turn with Intuition I manage to get there before time makes it a draw!

    Match 3 vs BUG opposition:
    1-1-1
    Game one my deck did what I wanted. I got my early Leovold, Fauna to put Vengevines in the bin and eventually too much pressure for my opponent to handle.
    Game two is a grind fest but eventually my opponent makes a Titania and five 5/3s, taps down almost all of my team with Opposition and get exactsies before lethal attack the turn after. He does this turn 2 after time is called so it’a a draw.

    Match 4 vs Zombardment.
    1-2
    Game one I get destroyed by a very fast hand. He got everything going and did so while also killing my board with a Bombardment in play.
    Game two I stabilize with a big Lotleth troll and eventually a Huntmaster joins the battle to put the nail in the coffin. I got to surgical my opponents good threats and resolve an early Sylvan Library, that really won me the match!
    Game three was terrible and I failed to find black mana after two brainstorms. Died with 4 black cards in hand!

    1-2-1

    I have a few ideas of improving the deck in mind. Before the tournament I was aming on playing Shaman of the Great Hunt rather than Huntmaster of the Fells but opted for the GSZ target!
    What do you all think?

  13. #213
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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    Thanks for the report, ChristoferV! I'm a bit surprised you need more finishers, since you have the Vengevines. Saskia is a pretty good finisher, one of few dedicated finishers I've seen in a while. TNN another. I like Shaman a lot, but it really benefits from Aether Vial, both in finding it (Fauna more easily online with Vials), getting it to resolve and having mana up to draw cards. Do try, it's a very fun card that does a lot.

    It seems like you can never have too much Jitte interaction, for sure. Depending on how popular Jitte is, and in Sthlm it's always around..

    Need I say it will be very interesting to see what you come up with here..

  14. #214

    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    Great to have Stockholms finest brewers in the same thread.

  15. #215
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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    Indeed, JackaBo, maybe you'll join too soon? Anyway, we should also mention Paris, Bern[edit: nope, unknown city in Switzerland] and Italy (not sure where Memories is from actually) and other places that are involved, though there has been a large density of Stockholm MOST players lately..

  16. #216
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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    I found a link on reddit to a web archive of the Dojo where I used to hang in the 90's so I had a look and found a few decks that are basically MOST predecessors [edit: slight overstatement] from back then. I think I played some 5c Tradewind stuff back in Standard then but still trying to remember any details. It seems like a MOST should have been a pretty good Extended deck in the late 90's.. I'll keep looking and add something to deck history in the primer later.

    I'm thinking more of you will enjoy reading these so I thought I'd judt share the links here now.

    Extended reports:

    Edit: this is a sliver version, I've been thinking to draft a legacy list to see if it's a useful approach.
    http://web.archive.org/web/200010110....980830cma.txt

    Edit: winter orb-version
    http://web.archive.org/web/200010072....980330cma.txt


    --mostly Standard reports.

    Edit: survival-recurring:
    http://web.archive.org/web/200010071....981210smi.txt

    Edit: survival-recurring
    http://web.archive.org/web/200010161....981201jbi.txt

    http://web.archive.org/web/200010141....981107gro.txt

    http://web.archive.org/web/200009301....981215mra.txt

    http://web.archive.org/web/200010241....980804jst.txt

    http://web.archive.org/web/200010040....980412ash.txt

    http://web.archive.org/web/200010191....980201jcr.txt

    http://web.archive.org/web/200010070....980125kbu.txt

    http://web.archive.org/web/200004130....971201jto.txt

    Edit: thanks DireLemming! I'm glad you appreciate it!
    Last edited by pettdan; 01-28-2019 at 06:16 AM.

  17. #217
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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    Damn, those are some spicy brews. If nothing else material for Premodern.

    Great find!

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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    For those interested, a link to Phil Gallagher's stream of MOST yesterday is in the primer section for online coverage. I quite enjoyed watching it, but of course he's quite new to the deck and like all lists the 75 can be discussed. Edit: there was some reflection on the version he played at the end of the stream, I think these points were fairly clear from a first glance at the list (of course he can't know this based on this being a first attempt); playing a 5c list with 14 lands, also 3 meddling mages, a clique and no tundra, seems like it can be troublesome. Well, it can also work but it's probably not the way to do it.

    Edit: thanks DireLemming! Glad you appreciate it! I wrote thanks in the post above but I guess few people read backwards so here it is again.

    Another edit: the primer hit max message length today, now I see why people reserve several messages early in a primer. :) I may start removing excessive stuff.
    Last edited by pettdan; 01-29-2019 at 05:58 PM.

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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    Played a 4 rounds event yesterday with Vickas' list (Most Breakfast?), lightly updated.


    // Lands 15
    1 Bayou
    1 Forest
    1 Karakas
    3 Misty Rainforest
    1 Savannah
    1 Scrubland
    2 Tropical Island
    1 Tundra
    4 Windswept Heath

    // Creatures 35
    3 Birds of Paradise
    1 Dryad Arbor
    1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
    4 Fauna Shaman
    1 Glen Elendra Archmage
    2 Griselbrand
    1 Loyal Retainers
    1 Meren of Clan Nel Toth
    1 Minion of Leshrac
    4 Mother of Runes
    1 Necrotic Ooze
    3 Noble Hierarch
    1 Phage the Untouchable
    1 Qasali Pridemage
    2 Quirion Ranger
    1 Sanctum Prelate
    1 Scavenging Ooze
    1 Scryb Ranger
    1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
    2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
    2 Volrath's Shapeshifter

    // Other Spells 10
    4 Aether Vial
    4 Brainstorm
    2 Green Sun's Zenith

    // Sideboard 15
    2 Abrupt Decay
    1 Containment Priest
    3 Faerie Macabre
    1 Gaddock Teeg
    1 Gilded Drake
    1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
    1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
    1 Knight of Autumn
    1 Merieke Ri Berit
    1 Peacekeeper
    1 Sanctum Prelate
    1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben


    With this version I didn't feel the lack of CA that I did with the more traditional version. This version can just win on the spot off the correct top-deck when all hope is lost.

    It's really fun to mess with opponent decision tree when you just reveal a Shapeshifter off Aether Vial end of turn. Or when you see their eyes widen in horror as they realize that my Necrotic Ooze will make me draw 7 since they discarded their Griselbrand.
    The land count is still the correct one, I had 2 floods yesterday against what I believed to be an easy matchup, 4c Humans but no mana death. Small sample anyway.

    The actual strength of this deck is being able to force so much effort on disrupting the Fauna Shaman from opponent. Similarly, in Grixis Painter, they will Bolt and Force every Painter they see, but will be blank against the Goblin Welder that comes right after. Yesterday was like that all along. They would focus all their interaction on the Fauna Shaman and be dead as I GSZ for a 4th one, or naturally draw Meren/Nooze/Scooze (who just gets big, really).

    Lost to 4c Human and Miracles (2 very very close games) and won against Nic Fit and Bant Blade.
    That Bant player really had it all, going to time even, small crowd gathered and witnessed Dryad Arbor vialed in, double activation of Minion of Leshrac in the same turn, followed by a draw 7, and attack with a green-protected Phage for the win.

    The sideboard needs work (realized too late that Containment Prist doesn't only mess with GSZ and Aether Vial, but also Meren, Glen and Loyal Retainer.
    Here is what I was thinking about before the even but didn't make the cut:

    2 Carpet of Flowers
    1 Sanctum Prelate (3rd)
    1 Orzhov Pontiff
    1 Big Game Hunter
    1 Necrotic Ooze (2nd)
    1 Leovold, Emissary of Trest
    Last edited by AngryBacon; 01-31-2019 at 06:52 AM.

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    Re: M.O.S.T. - Merieke, Opposition, (Survival), Tradewind Rider

    Great report, AngryBacon, thanks for sharing!

    Here is a short note on some strategies I would like to revisit or test, I thought I'd write them down quickly, maybe someone has ideas or suggestions:

    - Goblins. Lots of haste beaters with unique bullet type of effects is sweet. Cratermaker answering Emrakul is pretty nice too, I could see a 1/1 split with Qasali. It takes out Delver too, a Qasali that also takes out Delver and Emrakul is... Fantastic. But not green of course. Ah yeah, Goblin Welder adds another dimension to the list by itself, but finding which artifacts work with it is usually the challenge. Maybe something that could be podded into or weldered, with a good ETB effect... Like Wurmcoil, but 6 cmc is too hard to pod into, or..

    - Pod. With the new pod-creature, Vannifar, you can reasonably expect to pod every now and then. Which creatures benefit from this? The deck-building cost of adding a Vannifar is minimal. And it gives you another way to tutor for cards you need, semi-ramping one mana too. I like it with Scarab God. I've played it a bit before, with Vannifar it's better. Actually any 5-drop gets better with Vannifar. Like Shriekmaw, who is great with Meren and takes out Emrakul (well, not at instant speed like I first thought) and great vs Eldrazi. Still doesn't deal with opposing Gurmag or TNN so it's not great, but a consideration. I don't know, this topic requires a long thought and a separate post, but there is clear potential. It may even be fruitful to add a copy of actual Birthing Pod, depending on what one comes up with. But it is not necessary. Separate discussion.

    - Aluren, like I've said. Great synergy with all of the deck, instant speed win vs agressive decks or especially control decks, and you get to play card advantage creatures.

    - A build focusing on Hallowed Spiritkeeper, which I've suggested before, which singlehandedly causes trouble vs Grixis Control, how can they expect to win through it, with Strixes I suppose. A single copy of Spiritkeeper in your deck coupled with Meren is a token producing factory by itself. Very low deck-building cost, and this synergy or strategy can be further built upon with Disciple of Bolas (again, nothing new here). Also great synergy with Cataclysm, which I'm still theoretically high on. This deck handles Cataclysm like no other, or so I like to think. Might even go 3 maindeck Spiritkeepers and 2 Cataclysms... Well, it will probably not improve the deck, but it's another interesting attempt.

    - I, too, want to try Volrath's Shapeshifter with Minion of Leshrac. And Shapeshifter has synergy with a lot of the deck, I've always liked Necrotic Ooze Better though. Yes, that's actually what I should play next to Minion unless going all crazy/Vikas/AngryBacon [edit: this is a compliment].

    - Deputy of Detention is going to be great, I imagine. And it opens up for a more blue-focused version with Patron Wizard, adding wizards makes it more relevant and I'm eager to try it again. Patron Wizards wins games single-handedly. But... I don't know, we'll see. I was thinking of going more blue-white, using karakas and Clique, maybe Venser too. They are all Wizards and great with Clique and Karakas. Clique and Venser gives you combo interaction, coupled with Vial and Karakas this turns into soft locks. While Deputy takes care of permanents on the ground. This list could of course skip the MOST shell, but it can also easily be put into MOST for a more flexible version.

    - I've been thinking of trying some good protection creature, like Phyrexian Crusader or Paladin en-Vec. Not sure which one, but if you can have protection vs most removal spells from Grixis Control and Miracles, and also relevant vs other decks like DnT and Grixis Delver, that seems like a potentially good move. Well, TNN already does that I guess. But I'm thinking of alternatives. Maybe some other creature can do it better, resistance to -1/-1 effects, not costing [edit: double] blue, some other advantage I don't know.. Of course, Mirran Crusader has double strike, but protection from green is not very relevant right now. Edit: There is Vengevine too, coming back after sweepers and ignoring Hymn.

    - Trying a list with 4 Sanctum Prelates. This is relevant in so many matchups, that's why I started on 2 maindecked copies 6 months ago. Chalice decks play 4 Chalices, this card is Chalice for us.. Well, I don't know, it's just another thing to consider testing.
    Last edited by pettdan; 01-31-2019 at 09:39 AM.

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