andrewpate
02-14-2009, 04:43 PM
Looking through the MUC lists on deckcheck.net, I have been unable to find anybody using Glen Elendra Archmage. I am curious about the reasons for this, especially given that the card does see occasional play in Faerie Stompy and Faeries from what I have seen. Tommy Kolowith had success with a Draw, Go style deck in Vintage using the card as the primary maindeck kill condition. As I do not have much experience with MUC in Legacy, however, I thought I would ask about it here.
Quite a few Legacy MUC builds run Sower of Temptation in the maindeck, and nearly all others have it in the sideboard. This shows that a disruptive 2/2 flyer for 4 mana is certainly playable, and in fact the Archmage is actually very marginally easier to cast if you have Academy Ruins or any off-color basics. And while Sower of Temptation's effect is certainly stronger in a format with such prevalence of Tarmogoyf, Phyrexian Dreadnought, etc., the ability to counter two spells with a single card is difficult to ignore. For example, when making Fact or Fiction piles, the fact that one of the counterspells being separated works twice is a great skill-tester that can punish inexperienced opponents.
As a sideboard option, consider this: a current maindeck build geared toward anti-aggro with 3 Sower of Temptation and 2 big dogs (Morphling, Teferi, Rainbow Efreet, Oona, etc.) for kill conditions, with Engineered Explosives, Relic of Progenitus, and Vedalken Shackles. Current builds designed in this way often run some combination of Negate, Stifle, and Chalice of the Void in the sideboard for the combo matchup. What about running 3 Glen Elendra Archmage and 3 Chalice of the Void instead, boarding out Sowers and Shackles? This keeps the kill conditions equal, since taking out Sowers for Stifles or some such is not really possible with just two other options left in the deck. It's also another outlet for card advantage, which is great against a deck that only needs to resolve one spell in order to win and that, like MUC, thrives on one-for-one trades in the first couple of turns.
Has anyone tested the card, either in the maindeck or in the side? I would be interested to know how it has worked out.
Quite a few Legacy MUC builds run Sower of Temptation in the maindeck, and nearly all others have it in the sideboard. This shows that a disruptive 2/2 flyer for 4 mana is certainly playable, and in fact the Archmage is actually very marginally easier to cast if you have Academy Ruins or any off-color basics. And while Sower of Temptation's effect is certainly stronger in a format with such prevalence of Tarmogoyf, Phyrexian Dreadnought, etc., the ability to counter two spells with a single card is difficult to ignore. For example, when making Fact or Fiction piles, the fact that one of the counterspells being separated works twice is a great skill-tester that can punish inexperienced opponents.
As a sideboard option, consider this: a current maindeck build geared toward anti-aggro with 3 Sower of Temptation and 2 big dogs (Morphling, Teferi, Rainbow Efreet, Oona, etc.) for kill conditions, with Engineered Explosives, Relic of Progenitus, and Vedalken Shackles. Current builds designed in this way often run some combination of Negate, Stifle, and Chalice of the Void in the sideboard for the combo matchup. What about running 3 Glen Elendra Archmage and 3 Chalice of the Void instead, boarding out Sowers and Shackles? This keeps the kill conditions equal, since taking out Sowers for Stifles or some such is not really possible with just two other options left in the deck. It's also another outlet for card advantage, which is great against a deck that only needs to resolve one spell in order to win and that, like MUC, thrives on one-for-one trades in the first couple of turns.
Has anyone tested the card, either in the maindeck or in the side? I would be interested to know how it has worked out.