[Deck] Death and Taxes

[redtwister]

RW D&T and WW were listed separately, so there were actually 2 RW and 2 WW decks in day 2. There was also an almost WW build in the top 8 of the classic.

How are you boarding vs. 4C Pile?

I have seen some people siding out Revokers/StPs to bring in 2/2 Council's J and Cataclysm and maybe a RiP.

Here is the build I am testing, I don't know if it is quite where I want it to be.
Creatures
2 Mirran Crusader
4 Mother of Runes
4 Flickerwisp
2 Recruiter of the Guard
2 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1(or 2) Vryn Wingmare
2(or 1) Spirit of the Labyrinth

Lands
4 Rishadan Port
6 Plains
3 Karakas
4 Wasteland
7 Snow-Covered Plains

Spells
1 Batterskull
4 Aether Vial
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawa's Jitte

Sideboard
2 Cataclysm
2 Council's Judgment
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Path to Exile
1 Rest in Peace
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Containment Priest

I kind of also want to go to 2 Mindbreak Trap.

Also, Shalai nickname ought to be Shakira because "Hips Don't Lie", she's a "She Wolf" and "Loca" and when I cast her, I wanna go "Waka Waka".

[Medea_]

How are you boarding vs. 4C Pile?

I have seen some people siding out Revokers/StPs to bring in 2/2 Council's J and Cataclysm and maybe a RiP.

Sounds about right. I also board in the extra Recruiter and a Crusader if I'm running them.

[redtwister]

For your Wg deck sstream post-Baltimore, you should really check out Bahra's Wg and do DnT. Only green is 1 Yisan, 1 Qasali, 1 Teeg (second day, he added 1 KotR) and some sideboard (1 Qasali, 2 Choke, 1 Sylvan Library). I think he went 5-0 and 4-1 with it. Then again, it might just be Bahra.

[colo]

I'm also tinkering with a (little heavier) G splash for a miser Gaddock Teeg, two Qasali Pridemage, and two Scavenging Ooze (dropping Cavern of Souls). I think the latter could be an interesting choice, growing well past 2 toughness with a little extra investment (while being rercuitable), and stifling Deathrite Shaman activations for G.

[compacta_d]

Medea, do you have an updated list wtih Shalai? ThrabenU not updated yet (or just update it?).

Unfortunately I have not been able to catch your twitch stream recently. I'd love to see it in action. Maybe Thursday...I mean Wednesday night.

Are you just dropping the Serras for the "4" drop slot?

[Medea_]

Medea, do you have an updated list wtih Shalai? ThrabenU not updated yet (or just update it?).

Unfortunately I have not been able to catch your twitch stream recently. I'd love to see it in action. Maybe Thursday...I mean Wednesday night.

Are you just dropping the Serras for the "4" drop slot?

I believe this is accurate, and, yes, the generic beaters became wingmares and Shalai.

4 Aether Vial
1 Batterskull
4 Flickerwisp
3 Karakas
4 Mother of Runes
2 Phyrexian Revoker
7 Plains
2 Recruiter of the Guard
4 Rishadan Port
2 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
6 Snow-Covered Plains
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Vryn Wingmare
4 Wasteland
Sideboard
2 Cataclysm
2 Council's Judgment
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
3 Path to Exile
1 Recruiter of the Guard
2 Rest in Peace
2 Surgical Extraction

[redtwister]

Here is my final list for Baltimore (maindeck gonna beat the snot out of 4C Pile, sideboard is heavily anti-combo, overall quite happy with the list, completely forsaking Cataclysm/Gideon.) Several weeks of (not nearly as much MTG as Bahra and Medea_) many games, especially quite a bit of Grixis Delver and 4C Pile of crap, plus the mirror, Storm, and random other stuff, has me high on this build. Yes, I could go 24 lands/3 Mirran Crusader, but I want #4. Also, despite some of the advantages of color splash, WW is very resistant to mana denial and Shakira is sooo good in WW. I just have also been very unhappy with how soft a deck full of x/1s are.

Sideboard tested tonight without the fatties, focused on beating combo, and used Surgical with great joy against 4C. They need a surprising mount of things against us and taking away all of a couple of their critical cards in the match felt very, very strong. I won 1 game on a turn where I Recruiter for Mirran (no Cavern, they were tapped), untap, they have mana up, Surgical FoW leaving them the option to FoW it or let it resolve, took their Forces, resolved Crusader, won game.

Look forward to seeing some of you there. I'll be the old guy bothering Medea_ :)

Creatures 26
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Mirran Crusader
4 Mother of Runes
4 Flickerwisp
2 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Recruiter of the Guard
2 Shalai, Voice of Plenty

Lands 23
5 Snow-Covered Plains
5 Plains
4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
3 Karakas
2 Cavern of souls

Spells 11
1 Batterskull
4 Aether Vial
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawa's Jitte

Sideboard
2 Council's Judgment
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Path to Exile
2 Mindbreak Trap
2 Rest in Peace
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Holy Light

[WashableWater1]

Here is my final list for Baltimore (maindeck gonna beat the snot out of 4C Pile, sideboard is heavily anti-combo, overall quite happy with the list, completely forsaking Cataclysm/Gideon.) Several weeks of (not nearly as much MTG as Bahra and Medea_) many games, especially quite a bit of Grixis Delver and 4C Pile of crap, plus the mirror, Storm, and random other stuff, has me high on this build. Yes, I could go 24 lands/3 Mirran Crusader, but I want #4. Also, despite some of the advantages of color splash, WW is very resistant to mana denial and Shakira is sooo good in WW. I just have also been very unhappy with how soft a deck full of x/1s are.

Sideboard tested tonight without the fatties, focused on beating combo, and used Surgical with great joy against 4C. They need a surprising mount of things against us and taking away all of a couple of their critical cards in the match felt very, very strong. I won 1 game on a turn where I Recruiter for Mirran (no Cavern, they were tapped), untap, they have mana up, Surgical FoW leaving them the option to FoW it or let it resolve, took their Forces, resolved Crusader, won game.

Look forward to seeing some of you there. I'll be the old guy bothering Medea_ :)

Creatures 26
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Mirran Crusader
4 Mother of Runes
4 Flickerwisp
2 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Recruiter of the Guard
2 Shalai, Voice of Plenty

Lands 23
5 Snow-Covered Plains
5 Plains
4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
3 Karakas
2 Cavern of souls

Spells 11
1 Batterskull
4 Aether Vial
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawa's Jitte

Sideboard
2 Council's Judgment
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Path to Exile
2 Mindbreak Trap
2 Rest in Peace
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Holy Light

If its Baltimore shouldn't you prepare more for Lands than Czech Pile? Im still under the impression that Pile is more of a magic online deck, I havent seen it much more than any other random deck in paper.

[redtwister]

If its Baltimore shouldn't you prepare more for Lands than Czech Pile? Im still under the impression that Pile is more of a magic online deck, I havent seen it much more than any other random deck in paper.

In general, this is "Lands land", that is true. However, I feel pretty good about the list in general, and despite it's East Cost popularity, Lands is VERY expensive on paper, so it will still be a small percentage overall. I also know a lot of pro players here playing 4C and Miracles, so I have to go with that information as well. I think that Shakira also improves the match by blanking Punishing Fire, so I don't feel bad main.

I could be very wrong, however. Hopefully not.

[bakofried]

Ran Medea's Shalai list at a local tonight with few changes (all due to card availability). Beat UW Blade 1-0-1, Grixis Delver 2-0, Bant-ish Blade 2-1, and got an unintentional draw against RW Painter. Deck felt super smooth, and I'm definitely looking forward to more testing.

[filln]

Also, Shalai nickname ought to be Shakira because "Hips Don't Lie", she's a "She Wolf" and "Loca" and when I cast her, I wanna go "Waka Waka".

I think that Shakira also improves the match by blanking Punishing Fire, so I don't feel bad main.

Let's not have another Frank situation here.

[Moctzal]

Let's not have another Frank situation here.

Thalia Castle then?

[redtwister]

Let's not have another Frank situation here.

Ha, fair enough.

[iatee]

What if we called her Thalia 2.0 to make things less confusing?

[joxmar]

I've been calling her the Shalai Lama

[bakofried]

I've been calling her the Shalai Lama

I can dig it.

I made a whole heap of misplays last night, but Shalai was a house. Stole a game versus the Bant-ish list and Painter off her back.

Because of card availability (OCD really), I ran 1 Cavern and 1 Canopy in place of two plains, and sorely regretted it. Every time I drew one I wished it was a plains.

When do you board in Cataclysm?

[Marungo]

In general I believe the “Lands is everywhere in Baltimore” is overstated. Yes it’s more prevelabt than elsewhere but not to the extent it’s made out to seem. Instead of playing it once you play it twice, it’s not as big as it seems. In other news, I will be at the open playing standard unfortunately. This is what happens when you only hang out with legacy players. Although I was on a team the finished 14th in Philly with the same strategy, so maybe it’ll work out again.

Best of luck to all DNT players. Hope to see you there!

[compacta_d]

Ah. I still don't like wingmares.

I'll try to catch the stream tonight to see if my mind changes.

mirran and serra have been great for me. Just got black splash for Pontiff and want to try that out.

after i may try to squeeze in the shalai's for next week. Glad everyone seems to agree they work out.

curving wingmare into shalai seems great. But so does Prelate (in my head).

[redtwister]

In general I believe the “Lands is everywhere in Baltimore” is overstated. Yes it’s more prevelabt than elsewhere but not to the extent it’s made out to seem. Instead of playing it once you play it twice, it’s not as big as it seems. In other news, I will be at the open playing standard unfortunately. This is what happens when you only hang out with legacy players. Although I was on a team the finished 14th in Philly with the same strategy, so maybe it’ll work out again.

Best of luck to all DNT players. Hope to see you there!

"Lands is everywhere in Baltimore" means there will probably be ~5 players on Lands, instead of 1-2 you would get outside of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions (as a Team Trio event, you only see about 1/3 of the actual number of Legacy players, since 2/3 are Modern and Standard.) 2-3x as many of a small number is still a small number. However, the skill level of those few players is generally very, very high.

Lands is also less prevalent in paper than online, so seeing it at 4% of the meta is very misleading. Thanks to The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale and it's $3k price tag!!!! On paper, ~$5k for the whole deck, but only ~600 tix on Cardhoarder.

[WashableWater1]

I can dig it.

I made a whole heap of misplays last night, but Shalai was a house. Stole a game versus the Bant-ish list and Painter off her back.

Because of card availability (OCD really), I ran 1 Cavern and 1 Canopy in place of two plains, and sorely regretted it. Every time I drew one I wished it was a plains.

When do you board in Cataclysm?

The way I play it, Cataclsym is something that I take in against anyone that generates a lot of permanents or has a high mana curve. The main targets are Miracles, Czech Pile, and Stoneblade, where they are looking to cheat on lands and play 3-4 drops, so cutting them off a pile of mana can be absolutely devastating. I've had games where Czech Pile has to sacrifice all of their green or red producing lands, so that's a potential upside. These decks are able to cantrip back into the game, but now they're spending turns rebuilding rather than finishing the game.

Outside of those decks, the three decks that I've mainly brought in Cataclysm against are Elves, Lands, Nic Fit Goblins, Eldrazi and Post. Of these, its best against Post, Nic Fit, Lands and Goblins, as they (outside of vial draws) require a lot of lands to function, so setting them back to one land can either devastate them or allow you time to crawl back into games where you've fallen behind. Its less exciting against Eldrazi, but it does have the potential to wrath them and reduce them to one land. Against Elves its the only card in our arsenal that can recover from a massive glimpse turn, or get you any type of meaningful card advantage.