[CaNG - WINNER!] MossNought

[iOWN]

MossNought

I. History

My first attempt at brainstorming for CaNG was along these lines: What "good new deck"? The format is old, and the cardpool rarely changes. Lorwyn is empty and all of it's cards have been discovered. But what about Phyrexian Dreadnought? A 12/12 Trampler is hard to deal with, and surely has some larger place in the format.

So I began working on a Greater Good deck, which aimed to chain Dreadnoughts into fast mana, Berserk, and Fling. After I fiddled with the list, it contained 8 Spirit Guides, Lotus Petals, Berserks, Flings, Kamigawa Dragons, Reanimate, and Mosswort Bridge. Mosswort Bridge opened a potential turn 2 win.

Turn 1, Mosswort. Turn 2, Dreadnought, Spirit Guide, activate my trap card, Greater Good, commence combo-age.

Another synergy within this shell was using Mosswort Bridge to "Hide" a Kokusho or Yosei. You could then cast Dreadnought, freecast the Dragon, and sacrifice them both, which gave a nice big effect (particularly Yosei).

However, when I showed the deck to my friend, we noted that it was somewhat inconsistent and poorly protected. The combo took too many slots, and the few Discard spells I ran didn't win the Threshold match in the least. Around this time, it hit us. Rather than using the Bridge combo to sacrifice Yosei, we could win the game! Two words: Protean Hulk.


II. The List

Mana
4 Mosswort Bridge
2 Island
4 Tropical Island
4 Underground Sea
3 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand

Meat
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Protean Hulk

Combo
1 Dracoplasm
1 Volrath's Shapeshifter
1 Flame-Kin Zealot

Protection
4 Force of Will
4 Daze
4 Stifle

Other
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
3 Lim-Dul's Vault
2 Pernicious Deed


Side
3 Counterbalance
3 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Hydroblast
3 Pithing Needle
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Academy Ruins

*double-take*

Wha-- is that Flash?! I knew it seemed familiar!

Actually, no it's not. Hulk Flash is a combo that recquires the resolution of a 2cc Blue Instant to win the game. MossNought is a two-and-a-half card combo that recquires 1G mana, plus a comes-into-play-tapped land.

The distinction has been made.


III. Strategy

a. The Hulk Win

1. Play Mosswort Bridge, and remove Protean Hulk with the Hideaway ability. For this to work, Protean Hulk must be one of the top four cards in your library, and not in your hand. Mosswort Bridge is tapped, meaning you cannot do anything else until next turn.

How to accomplish: Mosswort Bridge + Protean Hulk is the most tedious, yet safest, part of the combo to set up. Mosswort Bridge does not have a direct tutor, but can be obtained through Brainstorm or Lim-Dul's Vault (LDV). Through LDV, it is quite possible to get both Mosswort Bridge and Protean Hulk, enabling this part of your combo by the next turn. You can also find Protean Hulk via Worldly Tutor, and Mosswort Bridge on the same turn. If Hulk happens to be in your hand, you can use Brainstorm to put it back.

What to watch for: Mosswort Bridge is vulnerable until your next turn. If you are playing against a deck with Wasteland, protection in the form of Stifle or Pithing Needle may be necessary.

2. Cast Phyrexian Dreadnought. Once it resolves, activate Mosswort Bridge without passing priority, and play Protean Hulk for free. Sacrifice both Hulk and Dreadnought to Dreadnought's CiP ability.

What to watch for: Countermagic can play a large part here, because if they want to counter something, it will either be Dreadnought or Hulk. Once you play Hulk, they can Swords to Plowshares either Hulk or Dreadnought. Phyrexian Dreadnought can also be killed in response to the Bridge activation, which will effectively stop you from comboing, so prepare for artifact hate and Swords to Plowshares.

3. Win.

How to accomplish: Upon the resolution of Protean Hulk's leaves-play trigger, search for Dreadnought, Dreadnought, Dreadnought, and Volrath's Shapeshifter. Sacrifice one Dreadnought and Shapeshifter (Hulk) to another Dreadnought. Search for Dracoplasm and Flame-kin Zealot. As Dracoplasm comes into play, sacrifice either one or two Dreadnoughts, and proceed to swing for 25+. If you only have two Dreadnoughts, instead find Tarmogoyf and Flamekin Zealot off of the second Hulk trigger. (First route results in either a 25/25 Flyer, or a 13/13 Trample and a 13/13 Flyer. Second route results in a 13/13 Trample, a big 'Goyf, and a 3/3.)

What to watch for: Swords to Plowshares isn't relevant here for multiple reasons. One, they probably used it earlier on in the combo to prevent the Hulk trigger from going off. Two, you have multiple creatures, and they can only remove one. This part of the combo is vulnerable to graveyard hate. Leyline of the Void stops Protean Hulk from going to the 'yard, and as a result nothing happens. If they play Extirpate removing Phyrexian Dreadnought, fetch triple 'Goyf, or 'Goyf and Shapeshifter (which is a 6/6). If they remove Hulk after you put the Dreadnoughts and Shapeshifter into play, sacrifice one Dreadnought to the other, leaving you with a Dreadnought and a Shapeshifter (Dreadnought).

b. Stifle-Nought

1. Play Phyrexian Dreadnought, then Stifle his CiP ability.

2. Protect it with countermagic, and try to win with a 12/12 beater.

c. More MossNought

1. If you are put in a situation where you cannot remove Protean Hulk with Mosswort Bridge, look for one of these cards instead:

• Phyrexian Dreadnought
• Dracoplasm
• Stifle
• Volrath's Shapeshifter

2. Play Phyrexian Dreadnought, and play the hidden removed card. Either sacrifice one Dreadnought to the other, Stifle the CiP ability, sacrifice it to Dracoplasm, or let it die. Any of these will result in a 12/12.

d. 'Goyf Beatdown!

1. Play 'Goyf, and proceed to lay down the beats. Ponder, Fetchlands, and Brainstorm easily pump 'Goyf to a 3/4, Phyrexian Dreadnought makes him a 5/6, and he can grow even larger if aided by countermagic.

IV. Reasoning for Card Inclusion or Exclusion

a. Notable Inclusions

Lim-Dul's Vault: Maybe you've noticed, but Lim-Dul's Vault is quite slow in this deck. In Flash, it could set up your entire combo by the third turn. In MossNought, it will delay you at least two extra turns before the combo is ready. This mostly has to do with Mosswort Bridge: For maximum speed (assuming no Brainstorm), you must draw Mosswort Bridge the following turn. If you then play it, you can remove Hulk, but the other three cards have to go on the bottom of your library, in which case there is no Dreadnought. Lim-Dul's Vault appears to be fantastic at first glance, but is only good in situations where you are trying to play defensively or passively.

Pernicious Deed: MossNought originally had no maindeck answers to a resolved Meddling Mage, Chalice, and so on, and so I figured it had to change. In chronological order, I have played Massacre and Engineered Explosives. Recently both have been outmatched by Pernicious Deed. Deed gets rid of any and all problem permanents, and is even good as a control piece outside of the combo. It also flips for 3cc to Counterbalance, which can counter Krosan Grip.

Stifle: One of the most important cards in the deck. Stifle both enables the Stifle-Nought combo, and gives protection from Wasteland. Additionally, Stifle's not half bad against Storm.

Ponder: Thanks to Breathweapon and Jaynel for suggesting and trying this card out. Ponder is an additional shuffle effect, is a sorcery to pump Tarmogoyf, sets up the top of your library for Bridge, and provides card selection only bested by Vault and Brainstorm.

The Entire Sideboard: Thanks to David Gearhart, the sideboard now transforms into Countertop Stifle-Nought.

Pithing Needle: A sideboard necessity. Needle covers blaring weaknesses such as Wasteland and Rishadan Port.

Sensei's Divining Top, Counterbalance: Countertop is amazing against Threshold. Deep6er said it best; when decks board in combo hate, you board in Countertop which creates dead cards for them, and virtual card advantage for you. These cards do not necessarily have to be part of a transformation. For example, I like to board in Sensei's Top against black-based aggro because it prevents my hand from being torn apart. Countertop can even come in as a supplement to the combo.

Hydroblast: With Blood Moon effects seeing more play in both Threshold and Dragon Stompy, this deck needs some kind of answer. Blood Moon blocks all black and green mana sources so it cannot be Deeded. However, Hydroblast can destroy it and be cast with an Island.

Academy Ruins/Engineered Explosives: Recurring threats = resiliency. I was debating whether to play this or Volrath's Stronghold, and decided to run Ruins, because we have more access to blue mana than black. Stronghold can recur 'Goyfs, but Ruins recurs EE and Pithing Needle. EE can be blown up a turn earlier and played under a Blood Moon.

b. Notable Exclusions

Worldly Tutor: A very versatile tutor in this combo. It places Hulk in the exact place that he needs to be, and can fetch you a Phyrexian Dreadnought which is the central card in this deck. However, I recently found Ponder as a suitable replacement for this. Worldly Tutor is still a fine addition: it is a matter of preference.

Living Wish: Living Wish can fetch Phyrexian Dreadnought and Mosswort Bridge, in trade-off for the ability to set up Hulk. It is possible to run this along with Worldly Tutor (replacing LDV), but I didn't like the lowered blue card count. By lowering the Bridge/Dreadnought count, it also decreases the number of turn 2 or 3 kills. A wishboard could get interesting with the inclusion of Academy Ruins, but again, in the deck's current state I do not see Wish fitting well.

Massacre: In early testing, I thought Massacre was the best choice of board removal, as I predicted Threshold/w and Fish to be problem match-ups. As it turns out, they aren't so bad, and Engineered Explosives is simply a better card.

Cabal Therapy: Cabal Therapy is another viable piece of protection, that I don't consider necessary for a few reasons. One is that MossNought doesn't run enough creatures to see Therapy's real power. If you can stick a 'Goyf or Dreadnought, sacrificing it is the equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot and pissing on it to increase the pain. Secondly, in order to get the full effect out of your first few turns, it is better to keep your mana open for set-up. I find Daze much better at this because it never sets you back and will never go to waste.

Other explanations may come later after inquiry or if the decklist changes.

V. Match-ups and Testing

All match-ups are tested in 20 games, meaning 10 preboard, 10 postboard, half on the play, and half on the draw. All preboard hands were kept as if playing against an unknown deck.

a. Rgb Goblins

1. Preboard (6-4)

• On the Play (3-2)
• On the Draw (3-2)

Goods: MossNought is a bit faster than goblins, averaging turns 3-4, and packing countermagic too. A fast Stifle-Nought can be a gamewinner, and outside of that you don't need to battle them for the combat step. Tarmogoyf is greater than any of their creatures, and sometimes one can even win games on the back of a large 'Goyf.

Bads: Wasteland and Port are MossNought's worst enemy. Having a low land count and relying on a nonbasic, tapped land means that Wasteland and Port are fast, uncounterable disruption.

General: I would say that this match reminds me of Solidarity vs. Goblins. You sit for a few turns, trying to regulate Goblins while setting up. Goblins is simply racing a clock. Any strategy can be used here, really, it's just a question of "is it safe?" Playing a nonbasic before Mosswort may draw out a Wasteland, which is important if you don't have Stifle. Without Grips, they cannot do anything against a Dreadnought, and 'Goyf is excellent in this match-up as well. Goblins is a tempo deck and can win as such, but with proper regulation of their enablers, their mana-denial is not as effective. Goblins should be in your favor.

2. Postboard (still testing)

b. UGw Threshold with Countertop

1. Preboard (6-4)

• On the Play (3-2)
• On the Draw (3-2)

Goods: Threshold gives you a lot of time to set up. Yet, the best time to try to win is when they are still forming their hand and board position. There aren't really any concrete pros to this match, but with the amount of protection this deck packs, Threshold is actually slightly favorable.

Bads: They've also got a lot of countermagic, which obviously presents so kind of problem. Swords to Plowshares gives them a bit of edge on disruption.

General: Playing vs. Threshold was interesting. The winner was usually decided by whoever played their countermagic more intelligently (aside from drawing the nuts). The games I lost were long and drawn out, where Threshold was able to establish heavy control and card advantage. Some games were won through Hulk combo, and a good number also through Stifle-Nought, though those were typically closer. Lim-Dul's Vault shines in against Threshold, and in cases was more effective when resolved than Thresh's cantrip base. A resolved Meddling Mage is ridiculously hard to play around, and a resolved Counterbalance less so.

2. Postboard (still testing)

c. RG Belcher (1-land)

1. Preboard (7-3)

• On the Play (4-1)
• On the Draw (3-2)

Goods: Permission is the number one bane of Belcher. Stifle, Daze, and Force were all fantastic here. Empty the Warrens is harder to play around, but gives a couple extra turns, meaning if they choose to combo through Warrens, there is still time to combo off or stick a Dreadnought.

Bads: Sometimes, Belcher simply plays its role, and can win the game without blinking. (It's that fast.)

General: The list we tested with plays 4 MD Pyroblasts, as well as 4 SB Xantid Swarms and 3 SB REBs. I hope that choosing this match-up to test is not considered as monkeying with the match-up percentages; any other combo deck was likely to bring play mistakes. I assume Belcher is one of the better combo match-ups for this deck, as it doesn't have much protection. As far as playing the match goes, reserving permission for large mana spells and win conditions was the way to go. When Belcher combos off, I carefully watch the mana/cards in hand to narrow down his win options, making it easier to predict whether a EtW or Belcher is coming. Pyroblast helped them a little, but I was almost always able to answer it.

2. Postboard (still testing)

d. Red Death

1. Preboard (6-4)

• On the Play (4-1)
• On the Draw (2-3)

Goods: 'Goyf is usually quite large, and also bigger than most of their creatures. Red Death can't really deal with Phyrexian Dreadnought (outside of Snuff Out).

Bads: Wasteland and Sinkhole wreck the landbase and keep Mosswort Bridge out of play. Hymn and Thoughtseize rape your hand. Red Death has a clear advantage here, outside of being weak to Dreadnought.

General: The results surprised me, but I think this match-up isn't favorable (contradicting the numbers). Early game is hard to control, and an early combination of Thoughtseize + Hymn/Sinkhole can wreck your resources. Playing first gives you the ability to Brainstorm in response to discard, Daze early plays, and play business after their first turn. I usually whipped out countermagic against any resource-threatening cards, and let creature threats resolve. Stifle-Nought is amazing in this match-up, prominently because it is tough to set up the combo here. I realize now that it was folly to not test against Eva Green, which has more answers to Stifle-Nought and a better creature base (sans Magus). I am positive that Eva Green is a worse match-up.

2. Postboard (still testing)

e. Dragon Stompy

1. Preboard (5-5)

• On the Play (3-2)
• On the Draw (2-3)

Goods: Dragon Stompy has little way to access killing Dreadnought. The combo is not bad here, but usually I found it too slow to set up when early plays include Trinisphere and Chalice.

Bads: Blood Moon, Magus of the Moon, Chalice, Trinisphere. Need I say more? They've got a fast clock and plenty to slow you down. First turn and second turn it was common to see those drops. Moon effects are hard to play around (no way to kill it, only preboard option is Stifle-Nought), Chalice at 1 stops much of the deck, and Trinisphere makes the combo cost 7 mana. Needless to say, any of them will slow you down. I outright lost to a Blood Moon + Chalice @ 1.

General: Daze is incredible here. I Dazed a countless number of spells in this match-up. Dragon Stompy can run out of fuel quickly, so playing defensively in the early game is important. Pernicious Deed is also good, but unless in play when a Moon effects hit, cannot destroy Blood Moon or Magus. However, it is significant in clearing threats, 3sphere, and Chalice. This match-up is slightly unfavorable, because the chance of them drawing a nutty hand completely outweighs your chances of countering it.

2. Postboard (still testing)

VI. Afterthought

MossNought has the ability to consistently win by turns 3-4, and occasionally 5, which impressed me for such a counter-heavy deck. Although there are many ways to hate it, the deck has high resiliency and multiple routes to win.

Thanks to Wobbles the Goose, the Hulk kill has become much more stable and compact. Other options include the Kiki-Jiki/Karmic Guide kill and the Disciple of the Vault kill. The former has low resilience, and the latter has high resiliency but creates an excess of dead cards.