[Deck] Iggy Pop

[Bane of the Living]

Nassim Ketita - Iggy Pop
GP Philadelphia


3 Island
2 Swamp
4 Underground Sea
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta

3 Tendrils of Agony
2 Chromatic Sphere
1 Chain of Vapor
4 Ill-Gotten Gains
4 Impulse
3 Telling Time
4 Dark Ritual
4 Intuition
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Lotus Petal
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Brainstorm
4 Mystical Tutor

SB
3 Defense Grid
2 Duress
3 Echoing Truth
3 Pithing Needle
4 Engineered Plague


Nassim Ketita, from London, Ontario, had played the deck to a 9-1-1 record after 11 rounds. He'd just picked it up instead of playing Solidarity, he did amazing with it. Was it the meta?

Obviously I bring this up because this deck has had very little action here on The Source. Alot of people mention it but no ones talking about it. Is it that underground. Nausea's had alot more notice here rightfully so. But the Tendrils deck thats putting up numbers is no where to be seen.

This deck just got two huge additions in the past 3 sets.

Leyline of the Void
This card is auto trump to the most played deck in the format. Sorry Thresh I win game one.. It also lets IGG work only in our favor. After it discards our opponents hand of course.

No more opponents returning Force to hand during your combo. No more reanimator tricks, no survival toolbox bs, no more flashbacked anythings, maindeck graveyard hate. HOly ShIT! That scares me!

Infernal Tutor
Do I need to start? This card is ridonculous in here. Im pretty sure it could safely replace Telling Time or Impulse.

Discussion?

[MasterBlaster]

Infernal Tutor
Do I need to start? This card is redonculous in here. Im pretty sure it could safely replace Intuition.

I don't think that Infernal Tutor should replace Intuition. I was under the impression that Intuition was very important as it fills up your graveyard with what you need for Ill-Gotten Gains to go infinite.

[emidln]

I don't think that Infernal Tutor should replace Intuition. I was under the impression that Intuition was very important as it fills up your graveyard with what you need for Ill-Gotten Gains to go infinite.

Intuition doesn't go. You replace the Intuition slots with Infernal Tutor. Also, change from to Echoing Truth. You do this (so Chalice @ 0, 1 doesn't spell GG) to support MD Leyline of the Void for a heavy disruption element against Threshold and any other deck where you start the game with Leyline and play IGG (and proceed to win). Other changes are losing the Telling Time and Chromatic Spheres for an additional Tendrils of Agony and 4 Leyline of the Void.

These changes bring you up to speed with the latest suggested incarnation of the deck when Dissension becomes legal. Check TMD's Iggy Pop thread for more info.

The 4 Underground Sea is a misprint, it should have been 2 Underground Sea and that's all you need.

The updated decklist that is recommended by the deck's creator on TMD:

Iggy Pop

4 Tendrils of Agony
4 Ill-Gotten Gains
4 Intuition
4 Infernal Tutor
4 Mystical Tutor
4 Brainstorm
4 Dark Ritual
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Lotus Petal
4 Leyline of the Void
1 Echoing Truth
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
3 Island
2 Swamp
2 Underground Sea

[AnwarA101]

Michael Bomholt's primer which was published by StarCityGames is a very good introduction to the deck. When I started playing the deck I read over his primer and then went through many gold-fishing sessions. The primer is located at -

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/new...cle/10989.html

It obviously doesn't include the newer cards like Leyline of the Void or Infernal Tutor, but its just as relevant today as a starting point for learning the deck.

As a side note, I stopped playing the deck because it was difficult to beat Solidarity and Gro (both are always in my meta).

[Bane of the Living]

Leyline is surely a back breaker for Thresh decks. Its nice to have a hate card maindeck against the most played deck in the format. Even when not playing against Thresh, turning IGG into..

2BB
You and your opponent discard your hand.
You return 3 cards from your graveyard to your hand.
Remove IGG from the game.

Wow.

More testing has shown turn 2 IT for my second Cabal Ritual or Dark Ritual or LED makes the next turn a tko. It sets you up for alot of explosivness.

[MonkeY]

Does anyone have a list of goldfishes? This deck is consistantly fast and I would like to see the number of turn 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 kills.

On a sidenote, I think this deck is inherintly better than Nausea because it ony has to rely on a 2 color mana base.

EDIT: Link to TMD discussion here

[AnwarA101]

Leyline is surely a back breaker for Thresh decks. Its nice to have a hate card maindeck against the most played deck in the format. Even when not playing against Thresh, turning IGG into..

2BB
You and your opponent discard your hand.
You return 3 cards from your graveyard to your hand.
Remove IGG from the game.

Wow.

More testing has shown turn 2 IT for my second Cabal Ritual or Dark Ritual or LED makes the next turn a tko. It sets you up for alot of explosivness.

I have tested Leyline of the Void though I was running it out of the board. I do think it makes sense in the main deck. I was considering the same move before I stopped playing the deck. While a first turn Leyline is very good against Threshold it doesn't get around the fact that your spells can still be countered. Every Ill-Gotten Gains can still be countered and often you won't have enough spells that they need to counter. They won't counter your acceleration, but will counter or Ill-Gotten Gains or even Intuition to prevent you from continuing the combo. I'm still seeing this deck have trouble with Threshold. Is this incorrect? Has anyone tested the deck recently against Threshold to make this incorrect because of Leyline of the Void.

[syssc9]

@AnwarA101 - The simple answer to your question is that I do not have any Infernal Tutors. Frankly, I am having trouble seeing how they could help this deck in any substantive way. Win more? This is, of course, sans testing. I agree completely with ruckus - Intuition is #1!

[Nightmare]

@AnwarA101 - The simple answer to your question is that I do not have any Infernal Tutors. Frankly, I am having trouble seeing how they could help this deck in any substantive way. Win more? This is, of course, sans testing. I agree completely with ruckus - Intuition is #1!

Intuition is also blue, and costs 3. It's worth noting that going Cabal Ritual, LED, Infernal Tutor(crack) for IGG, IGG for Cabal+LED+Tutor leaves you with exactly the same mana you started with. This means its free to do that. FREE. Intuition can't say that.

@ FoW and Duress - I'm not kidding myself, I know. However, with Infernal Tutor, you don't need the extra draw/search! I'm running 4 intuition, 4 Tutor, and 4 Brainstorm. That's all I've needed, although I admit I may change it to 3 Intuition/1 Mystical. Infernal Tutor is that good. Adding Duress does slow the deck down by a turn or so. However I feel it's worth it to add this bit of disruption so you can guarantee the ability to go off at your leisure. There's a lot to be said for turn 0 Leyline, turn 1 Duress, turn 2 IGG returning Ritual, X, X, and then having all the time in the world to build up the perfect hand.

@ Chrome Mox - I only run 4 fetches, 5 basics (3 Swamp, Black is so much more important than blue now) and 2 Useas. This hasn't really been an issue, but I can see it being a problem vs. Gro. I'll be testing the matchup a lot more soon.

[emidln]

Intuition is also blue, and costs 3. It's worth noting that going Cabal Ritual, LED, Infernal Tutor(crack) for IGG, IGG for Cabal+LED+Tutor leaves you with exactly the same mana you started with. This means its free to do that. FREE. Intuition can't say that.

@ FoW and Duress - I'm not kidding myself, I know. However, with Infernal Tutor, you don't need the extra draw/search! I'm running 4 intuition, 4 Tutor, and 4 Brainstorm. That's all I've needed, although I admit I may change it to 3 Intuition/1 Mystical. Infernal Tutor is that good. Adding Duress does slow the deck down by a turn or so. However I feel it's worth it to add this bit of disruption so you can guarantee the ability to go off at your leisure. There's a lot to be said for turn 0 Leyline, turn 1 Duress, turn 2 IGG returning Ritual, X, X, and then having all the time in the world to build up the perfect hand.

@ Chrome Mox - I only run 4 fetches, 5 basics (3 Swamp, Black is so much more important than blue now) and 2 Useas. This hasn't really been an issue, but I can see it being a problem vs. Gro. I'll be testing the matchup a lot more soon.

Getting your mana source dazed does seem like a slight issue. Doesn't chrome mox also hurt more against B/W Confidant where you rarely have extra cards in hand to pitch?

[Nightmare]

Getting your mana source dazed does seem like a slight issue. Doesn't chrome mox also hurt more against B/W Confidant where you rarely have extra cards in hand to pitch?

Vs. Daze: Lead with the land, and it won't get Dazed. Vs. B/W Confidant: At worst, +1 Storm. At best, an un-sinkholeable Swamp. This is a matchup where Duress shines.

Also: I don't know about sideboards, I haven't really looked at lists, but you should all have 4x Defense Grid in yours. AMAZING.

[FallenOmnipotent]

I appolagize for my ignorance but I was wondering if someone could sumerize the deck's weaker match-ups? I looked through a couple of pages, but not all of them.

[AnwarA101]

@AnwarA101 - The simple answer to your question is that I do not have any Infernal Tutors. Frankly, I am having trouble seeing how they could help this deck in any substantive way. Win more? This is, of course, sans testing. I agree completely with ruckus - Intuition is #1!

I have yet to test Infernal Tutor, but it seems like everything this deck would want in a 2 mana tutor. I played the deck before Dissenssion and I haven't tried it lately. I was debating Leyline of the Void in the main, but it seems like that debate has been settled.

@Mr.Nightmare - You basically cut Mystical Tutor for Duress? I can see how that would help your control matchup, though it would still hurt the aggro matchup, wouldn't it? Maybe you are right and Infernal Tutor is that good that the deck can still beat aggro comfortably and thus Duress is there to help against Control. But what if you don't get Leyline of the Void in the early game, Duress still seems horrible in this case.

[Nightmare]

The thing with Leyline is, you have to get it early against control. It's worth going to 5 (which is effectively 4) to get it out there uncounterable. It swings the game that much. Even if it costs you game 1, game 2 and 3 you have Defense Grid, which is an unbelievable house against them, and I bring in Bob as well, which helps get those threats out there, as well as decreasing the critical mass I need to win, often to the point of not even needing IGG. In the early game (post board), Duress doesn't so much lead into an IGG, as much as a Bob or a Defense Grid. Once Grid comes online, it may as well be Leyline. Control will be hard for this deck to fight, but Duress is the opposite of bad for that matchup.

[bigredmeanie]

I've been wanting to add a 2 mana land to the mix. There are a lot of colorless requirememts in the spells you cast, and tapping a City of Traitors or an Ancient Tomb for a C Ritual than casting IT just seems so good to me. It also helps to cast Leylines when you don't want to mull into them.

[Parcher]

I've been wanting to add a 2 mana land to the mix. There are a lot of colorless requirememts in the spells you cast, and tapping a City of Traitors or an Ancient Tomb for a C Ritual than casting IT just seems so good to me. It also helps to cast Leylines when you don't want to mull into them.

I thought the same until I tried it. The issue becomes: This deck has highly strict color requirements to be developed in a short time. The reason it tries to run on basics alone is that Wasteland is a Time Walk against this deck. Losing a colored mana slot, while maintaining the same vulnerablilites has not proven worth it. Especially since the combo only will let you abuse the mana boost once or twice.

[Llama_Bill]

What is the usual build for IGGy Pop now adays? I want to get into Legacy and this deck seemed like a good one but there are too many builds to pick from and I want to make a good start.

Thanks for your time.
Bill.

[Angel of Despair]

What is the usual build for IGGy Pop now adays? I want to get into Legacy and this deck seemed like a good one but there are too many builds to pick from and I want to make a good start.

Thanks for your time.
Bill.

Look one post above yours. Reading the thread is also a good way to get into Legacy. It says that it Top 8ed. Give that one a try.
AoD

[FallenOmnipotent]

Here's one of the Top 8 lists:
Here's the guy's report: http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=29611.0

//Land
1 Tropical Island
2 Island
2 Swamp
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
2 Underground Sea
1 Cabal Pit
//Fast mana
4 Lotus Petal
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Dark Ritual
4 Lion's Eye Diamond

//Combo
4 Ill-Gotten Gains
3 Tendrils of Agony

//Disruption
4 Leyline of the Void
1 Echoing Truth

//Search
4 Mystical Tutor
4 Brainstorm
4 Intuition
4 Infernal Tutor

//Sideboard
4 Xantid swarm
3 In the Eye of Chaos
3 Massacre (this thing was amazing, it was a free wrath in 5 of my 9 matches)
2 Gaea's Blessing
2 Chain of vapor
1 Echoing truth
I noticed the list a few posts above is 61 cards... just saying...

PS. Quick newb question. How is it that this deck does so well? The primer on SCG says Threshold is one of it's worst match-ups. Thresh isn't a rare deck in the meta-game... So did the deck change to be good vs. it or something?

[Benie Bederios]

For Solidarity ***** is also a very though matchup. But it also does well. With enough practice this deck can win against *****. Also the primer was written before Leyline and Infernal Tutorcame out, and those card( especially Leyline) have made this deck capable of killing *****.

This deck can adept to different situations. This is the way how it wins against *****. Sometimes you have an insane draw and just kill the opponent T1. Sometimes the games against ***** will take alot of turns and you have to play multiple small Tendrils' over multiple turns.

In short. The deck is capable of winning against *****, but it must be piloted by a good player, and you must have a bit of luck too.

Yeah I know the deck runs 61 cards, but I never played that version, it's just the list that topped 8.