The Cure (Kavu Predator / False Cure)

[DrJones]

The Cure

(Images taken from Starcity Games. Please buy your singles there!)

Latest Update: March, 04. 2010

What's The Cure?

The Cure is an aggro/combo deck that makes uses of several entwined combos to bring gigantic monsters to the table really fast and win long before the opponent has time to stabilize. The most important of these cards being Kavu Predator, False Cure and Berserk. Any of these cards alone are strong enough to spell doom for the opponent, but any two of those will likely give you the game on the spot. The very low mana requirements of this deck plus the extreme redundancy of its combo parts allows for a blazingly fast and consistent clock (in the turn 2-4 range) that outraces most aggro, while its aggro core and unconventional structure makes it impervious to most forms of traditional combo hate.

The deck also features built-in protection against lifegain, enchantments, land destruction and some removal spells like edicts or snuff out. False Cure is specially cruel against Tendrils, turning the win condition against its caster. The creatures also have protection from Burn because of all the free pump spells and abilities the deck packs, which make them near unkillable by red decks. Because the deck has so many ways to go off, it also has partial built-in protection against silver bullets like cabal therapy, extirpate, chalice of the void, and meddling mage.

The Cure (Legacy G/b)
Author: Carlos Hoyos (DrJones)
Version: 1.4

Lands (13)
4 Bayou
1 Forest
4 Windswept Heath
4 Verdant Catacombs

Creatures (24)
4 Elvish Spirit Guide

4 Wild Mongrel
3 Dark Confidant
4 Kavu Predator
4 Skyshroud Cutter
3 Quirion Ranger
2 Tarmogoyf

Spells (23)
4 Lotus Petal

4 False Cure
3 Berserk
4 Invigorate
4 Reverent Silence
4 Chalice of the Void

Sideboard (15)
4 Compost
3 Tempting Wurm
3 Thoughtseize
3 Krosan Grip
2 Choke

Previous Version:

Lands (13)
4 [ON] Wooded Foothills
4 [U] Bayou
1 [TSP] Forest (1)
4 [ON] Windswept Heath

Creatures (24)
4 [AL] Elvish Spirit Guide

4 [PLC] Kavu Predator
4 [OD] Wild Mongrel
3 [RAV] Dark Confidant
2 [ARB] Putrid Leech

4 [NE] Skyshroud Cutter
3 [VI] Quirion Ranger

Spells (24)
4 [TE] Lotus Petal

4 [ON] False Cure
4 [U] Berserk
4 [MM] Invigorate
3 [NE] Reverent Silence
3 [LRW] Thoughtseize
2 [TSP] Might of Old Krosa

Sideboard
SB: 3 [MR] Chalice of the Void
SB: 4 [UD] Compost
SB: 3 [10E] Pithing Needle
SB: 2 [SHM] Gleeful Sabotage
SB: 3 [TE] Choke

FAQ

1. I) Why would I want to play this deck?
   
   If you like big creatures, this deck has the biggest ones. Stupidly big at that, really. The damage dealt is enough to kill two or even three players, so even if they block your creatures by, let's say, Progenitus or two Dreadnaughts, you still have enough punch to kill the opponent. On turn THREE. Another reason is if you enjoy playing combo but you don't like losing against daze/force of will/chalice/leyline; the deck is not as fast as pure combo decks, but is not as easy to hate either, plus the opponent will likely have the wrong sideboard to begin with! The deck packs its OWN combo hate, too.
   You also might want to play this deck if you liked Berserk Stompy, because both decks are pretty simmilar.
2. II) How fast/reliable is this deck?
   
   Very fast, out of 500 goldfishes, and assuming that you play your deck optimally (which might require practice) here are the statistics:
   
   Going first:
   Average Winning Turn: 3.6.
   % 2nd turn kills: 7.5%
   % 3rd turn kills: 32.5%
   % 4th turn kills: 55%
   % 5th or worse: 5%
   Mulligans required: 0 (70%) 1 (20%) or 2 (10%)
   
   Going second:
   Average Winning Turn: 3.045
   % 2nd turn kills: 18.5%
   % 3rd turn kills: 60%
   % 4th turn kills: 20%
   % 5th or worse: 1.5%
   Mulligans required: 0 (80%) 1 (15%) or 2 (5%)
   
   Going second makes the deck noticeably more stable and faster. It also enables some 2nd turn kills that can't be done when going first. Note, however, that sometimes it gives the opponent one turn more to live because he starts. It also means you have one extra threat and he has one card less for defense. I have the feeling that this deck is stronger when going second, which is weird for an aggro deck. Testing about this remains unconclusive.
3. III) Does this deck lose to Force of Will/Duress/Swords to Plowshares?
   
   
   The short answer is no, but a combination of those cards can slow the deck just enough for the opponent to have time to cast spells that really can give this deck a problem. Merfolks, for example, run Force, but many testers consider this deck a bye because it has to face too many creatures that get too big too soon, and swords alone is insufficient to stop the swarm. Heavy discard decks can be a problem pre-board, but after siding in the Chalices and Compost they become easy.
   
   Note that unlike other combo decks, every single copy of the trio can do a considerable amount of damage if unanswered, so you can't simply ignore one card and try to stop the others. Also, the life gaining effects are uncounterable and can affect several cards at once. For example, having two kavus on play: in this situation, even if the opponent casts swords on one after playing invigorate, that doesn't make it a true 2-for-1 because the other Kavu also gets bigger.
4. IV) Questions related with specific card choices:
   
   Why Dark Confidant? Dark Confidant might look like an awkward deck choice at first, with so many 3cc and 4cc spells. However, there are three very important reasons to play him. The first one is because drawing cards is good. No, seriously, look back at the statistics and see the enormous difference that a single extra card makes in this deck. The second reason is because this deck is so fast that if he sticks around the game will end really soon, so at most you will take about 8 damage in very unlucky situations, which is equal to nothing because trying to race this deck is suicidal. The third reason is that Dark Confidant is a beater, and the more you can have the better. Many testers play up to 4, while slower builds should explore other options or add Sensei's Divining Top to their lists.
   
   Why Mongrel? Mongrel seems another awkward choice because there aren't any other cards in the deck that can abuse it. There are many reasons to play him, though. The main one is that he can grow very big very soon, making him perfect for Berserk. Some 2nd turn kills can only be made thanks to Mongrel. Another reason is that he gives another use to cards that otherwise would sit dead in your hand like extra lands, unplayable cards due to chalice or trinisphere, cards you don't need in that matchup, etc. As a plus, he avoids some semi-popular hate usually aimed at Tarmogoyf, such as Hibernation, Perish, Mind Harness or Snuff Out. He can also take a Tarmogoyf in combat if really needed, but where he really shines is against counterbalance/trinisphere decks that make most of your hand useless. It has some sinergy with Tarmogoyf and Quirion Ranger.
   
   Why no/so few Tarmogoyfs? In earlier versions I didn't play any copies of Tarmogoyf. My reasoning was that he is not very good in the early game as he takes a bit of time before growing up, which in turn makes him a bad target for Berserk if you want to kill fast. Besides that, Tarmogoyf cannot race an early opposing Tarmogoyf, something Wild Mongrel and Putrid Leech have no problem doing. While all of the above is true, the most up to date decklist includes two copies of Tarmogoyf to fix a vulnerability in the mid-late game, as I discovered that Mongrel, Putrid and Kavu were pretty bad topdecks if you have no cards in hand and are low at life.
   
   Your manabase seems fragile and risky! Feel free to change it to your tastes, but keep the number in the 12-14 range as long as you play Quirion Ranger.
5. V) What's the most damage you did in one turn?
   
   Even though this deck commonly deals +30 combat damage, the most damage I managed to do was 70 trampling damage on my second turn against a goblin player that told me to gently <censored> before disconnecting.
   
   If you mean "most damage in turn one", that would be 16 damage (leaving in play 2 skyshroud cutter to finish the job the next turn).
6. VI) How do I know if I'm playing this deck correctly?
   
   Suboptimal plays make you slower, which affects your perception about several cards in the deck. You'll notice you are playing the deck right when Dark Confidant becomes amazing and Tarmogoyf becomes horrible.
7. VII) Can you post a 'budget' version?
   
   Ok. For a semi-budget version, you just need to buy 2 berserks (the ones From the Vault: Exiled are relatively cheap) and play up to 2 Rite of consumption. Play duress or cabal therapy instead of Thoughtseize. You can also replace 3 fetchlands with 2 land grant and a swamp. Chalice of the Void can be replaced by 2-3 Vines of Vastwood, and you can add Might of old krosa to make the deck speedier.
   A true budget deck with no Berserk might want to use 4 land grants and 3 ankh of mishra; it also might need to splash white for swords and qasali pridemage, and require at least 2 revised bayou. Murmuring Bosk is an option but can't replace them. Note that a slower builds will have to devote slots to answer cards that the faster build can mostly ignore, such as Sower of temptation.

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Strategy review

The Cure follows the Blitzkrieg strategy with focus in Speed. The goal lies in building a lot of pressure very early so that the opponent has to spend his or her turns in defense mode instead of developing his game. Usually, this means that your first threat will get destroyed or countered (otherwise, the game will end really soon), but the deck packs so many that you are almost guaranteed to get one in play sooner than later. Because most of the threats cost 2, the deck can play Chalice of the Void set at one to greatly undermine the opponent's ability to respond, while barely affecting you. A first turn CotV is devastating against decks that rely on Ponder/Brainstorm/Sensei's Divining Top to find the lands they need. The inclusion of 8 mana accelerators lets you to "virtually skip" your first turn and begin the game directly in your second.
While speed is a major component of this deck's strategy, you don't have to hurry if you feel the opponent has a trick in his sleeve. The safe play would be starting with Confidant, aiming for a 3-4 turn kill, as is the most likely card to resolve. Another option is to drop mongrel or leech so that they "clear" the path for your Kavu Predator. However, Kavu Predator followed with a gain life card is by far the strongest early play and might be worth the risk. If you can wait a turn before playing the life gaining cards you might be rewarded with a topdecked kavu or false cure, so don't be impatient.
If you have a Quirion, try to keep the number of lands in play low, so that you can feed mongrels if needed and your opponent has to guess if you are mana-screwed or not. Don't force this rule if you have a kill in hand that requires 3 mana. Try to attack with Quirion and Dark Confidant as much as you can, the opponent probably will not risk to lose blockers to pump spells and trades favour you.
Learn to read your opponent's mind: look for clues in their behavior that reveal if they hold a force or swords and act accordingly. With little practice, it's very easy to cast berserk without getting 3-for-1. Don't worry about making sacrifices: your low land count means that you'll keep drawing stuff while they draw lands, and you pack more threats than they pack answers. Just keep the pressure!

Tips and Tricks to play the deck, and some 2nd turn kills.

Card by card explanation:

• Fetchlands: The deck needs first turn to cast Kavu, and second turn for False Cure, and lands have to be forest, so you need ways to find Bayou. Also, they thin your deck of lands to keep drawing the good stuff. Don't activate them if you don't need them because it protects you from Wasteland.
• Lotus Petal/Spirit Guide: Needed for first turn mongrel/kavu, to cast Berserks and Mights of Old Krosa, avoid daze, pay for trinisphere, and attack if needed.
• Chalice of the Void: Set at 0 slows down combo and lock decks, and set at 1 shuts down most removal and a lot of utility cards your opponents might be playing (specially control and combo decks). While the last one configuration also shuts down Berserk, you usually won't need it if you get one of these in play (in the other cases, just play Berserk first).
• False Cure: Turns your cards into burn. Combo wins. Double Cure does thrice the damage. Allows to win through circles of protection and glacial chasm among other things. Foil against Tendrils and life-gaining effects. Also can be played as pseudo-discard against blue decks, as they will be forced to counter it or risk losing on the spot.
• Kavu Predator/Mongrel: The Cure's main beaters. Play at least 11 big beaters.
• Quirion Ranger: Generates mana by replaying the lands you return to your hand. Protects from LD (wasteland,armageddon) and tap effects(stasis,fire/ice), untaps your beaters to stop tarmogoyfs, target for early pump spells, and feeds lands to mongrel.
• Dark Confidant: Beater and draw engine. The opponent will likely not block it because it makes you lose a lot of life in the long run, so turn him sideways a lot!
• Reverent Silence: Works against counterbalance, moats, humillity, treads of disloyalty, propaganda solitary confinement, survival, and some more. The deck only needs 3 to work, just in case you need to make space for some card in your sideboard.
• Skyshroud Cutter: Eats diabolic edicts and innocent blood, avoids counterbalance. In some rare cases you will want to play him first turn for double berserk kills. In two-head giant has thrice the effect.
• Tempting Wurm: Cheap monster that works at its best against decks that empty their hand soon (affinity) or play few permanents (Canadian Threshold, Ad Nauseam Tendrils, Burn). Good in topdeck mode when hands are empty, and the second one you cast is drawback-free.

Other cards to consider:

• Land Grant: Worse than fetchlands against counters, trinisphere and discard, but better against stifle, root maze and moon effects. Pumps Goyf, and better than fetchlands if you play Ankh of Mishra.
• Rite of Consumption: Cheap black berserk replacement that WotC seem to have designed specifically for this deck, as seen in the subtle drawback they included. Testing says that you don't want to play more than two.
• Ankh of Mishra: I heard fetchlands aren't so hot when they cost 5 life. Second replacement for berserk in ultra-cheap builds because a single one played soon can do a whole lot of damage. Worth playing against landstill, zoo, loam decks, and in some cases against ANT, because 5-7 damage so early in the game can cause Ad Nauseam to fizzle.
• Wasteland: As long as you don't take out quirions nor lands. Some testers use this instead of discard or pump. I took them out only because sometimes they are useless and I can't afford that.
• Nostalgic Dreams: Good as a two-of in decks that can't run Dark Confidant.
• Swords to Plowshares: The main reason to splash white in this deck, but creatures shouldn't be a concern for you if you are playing this right.
• Maelstrom Pulse: Instead of Thoughtseize/Duress/Gleeful Sabotage.
• Hidden Gibbons: Pumps goyf, good 1st turn drop, reverent silence doesn't destroy it. Can replace discard or leeches.
• Null Rod: Shut downs equipment, moxes, LED, charbelcher, scepters, vials, sensei's divining tops, and other dangerous cards.
• Putrid Leech: Strong in the early game, can be used if you get short of beaters or don't want to play Mongrel.
• Vines of Vastwood/Might of Old Krosa: Playing at least 2 copies of any of these will accelerate up to 0.7 turns.

Cards better to avoid: Concordant Crossroads, Root Maze, Vexing Shusher, Carpet of Flowers, Regrowth, Forgotten Lore, Birds of Paradise, Chrome Mox, Rain of Gore.

Matchups and Sideboard planning:

Be cautious when making changes to the current decklist, because if it works at all is due to Black Magic, and seemingly innocuous changes can devastate its perfomance (something I discovered the hard way). I'm assuming both opponent's deck and mine are standard builds, because otherwise results may vary.

Also, siding cards in is an NP Problem because there's no actual room to make changes. Here's a quick list of cards that you shouldn't take ever from the main deck:

• Lands: Even though just one land doesn't slow the deck too much, it doubles the mulliganing required.
• Quirion Ranger: Not even one, doubles mulligans and the deck will be slowed by half a turn.
• ESG/Lotus: I took just one out, then got 20 straight games without them in the opening hand, slowing the deck by a full turn. Has to be something with the MWS shuffler, so beware!
• more than two beaters: If you take too many, you can end without targets for berserk (actually you need one more, but there's no room)
• any life-gaining card: Slows the deck a lot because you don't reach critical mass.

Empirical results show that 61 cards work as good or even better than 60. My explanation is that reducing the chances of drawing any set (life gain, combo piece, land, beater, pump) by 1/61 is much better than lessening the chances of drawing one specific part by 1/8 or 1/12. 62 cards was not as succesful in playtesting, though. Some suggestions for a 61th card decklist include: 4th Berserk, 4th Dark Confidant, 2 Sensei's Divining Top (taking out one chalice or reverent silence), 2 Vines/Might of Old Krosa (taking out 1 chalice of the void).

Specific matchups and sideboard explanations

Enjoy!

Succesful Decklists:
1. Stompy False Cure by Thomas (3rd Place 18 Oct 2009)