ParkerLewis
04-26-2009, 04:33 PM
Hi,
here's a list I'm toying around. the original "goal" was to use as much of the "Shadowmage Infiltrator-like" creatures with the hope of generating so much CA that the victory would ensue.
I'll start with my "previous" list (sideboard is completely alpha, and only 11 cards are listed for now), to get a sense from where the deck comes from.
Previous list :
// Lands
1 Scrubland
4 [ON] Flooded Strand
4 [ON] Polluted Delta
3 [R] Tundra
3 [R] Underground Sea
1 [US] Island (1)
1 [ON] Plains (2)
1 [EUL] Swamp (3)
// Creatures
4 [JU] Wonder
4 [TSP] Looter il-Kor
4 [10E] Merfolk Looter
3 [RAV] Dark Confidant
4 [TSB] Shadowmage Infiltrator
2 [SHM] Augury Adept
3 [EVE] Cold-Eyed Selkie
// Spells
4 [DS] AEther Vial
1 [LRW] Hoofprints of the Stag
4 [5E] Island Sanctuary
3 [LRW] Thoughtseize
4 [AP] Vindicate
2 [BOK] Umezawa's Jitte
// Sideboard
SB: 4 [TE] Chill
SB: 4 [UL] Engineered Plague
SB: 3 [PS] Orim's Chant
The goal of the deck is to quickly find the way to draw enough cards to still be active under an Island Sanctuary (which isn't that hard to do, actually).
A few explanations on card choices :
Looter engine :
The early 2cc looters (Looter il-Kor & Merfolk Looter) are [U]essential to the deck's strategy.
- First, they ensure that you'll be able to quickly dig into your deck for whatever you may need as early as possible, which is critical against fast decks. This also makes it possible to run such a low land count (18 lands, even though the Vials also help).
- Second, they provide that many discard outlets for Wonder, another key card in the deck because it's simply the easiest way to grant the non evading looters, well, evasion (Augury Adept and Cold-Eyed Selkie).
These eight ensure that you have something to do in the early game and help you to not get too far behind before dropping an actual drawer + Island Sanctuary on the board.
Actual drawers (Confidant, Shadowmage, Augury Adept, Cold-Eyed Selkie).
Those are the actual drawing engine. Confidant is only a 3of because of the relatively high ccs in the deck (compared to the "competitive" decks in which it is more commonly used). Shadowmage is a 4of because of the high toughness (he's the only one that can't be killed by a simple fanatic or the like) and the built-in evasion. The next slots are divided between Augury Adept and Cold-Eye Selkie, but I'm considering cutting the Adepts (more on that later).
Anyway, having that many drawers is also important. First, remember they're all very weak and die easily. Second, even though only one is necessary to continue being active under Island Sacntuary, you'll always be wanting to find a spare one very quickly in case the first one were to be destroyed. Hence, the high numbers.
4x Wonder : these make sure your creatures will always come through. With all the early lootering and discarding at the same time, getting one in the yard really is no problem.
It originally advantageously replaced cards like Griffin Guide and the like in my initial testing lists because it was the only feasible way to be sure all attacks, and thus draws, would come through no matter what, and that for a very minor cost (zero mana, and practically no card since they were simply discarded to the early looter's effect).
The con of this card is that it actually benefits only a few cards in the current list : Augury Adept and Cold-Eyed Selkie, as they're the only ones that are not guaranteed (or almost guaranteed) to go through by themselves (Confidant Merfolk Looter don't attack so they don't need to). Still, even CES already has a bit of built-in evasion, so the global quality of Wonder's effect is not that attractive anymore.
A possible way to go would be to simply get rid of the Adepts & Wonder and go
AA -2
Wonder -4
CES +1
Confidant +1
Mask of Riddles +4
If you don't know it, Mask of Riddles is a new Alara Reborn card that reads :
Mask of Riddles
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature has fear.
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card.
Equip 2
That's actually what I think will quickly happen to the deck, as Mask of Riddles solves all of GG problems : it's an equipment thus reusable, and also worth equipping on other creatures than CES for the second effect.
Finally, SoFI could also take that job. I mean, apart from sui black, "pro red pro blu islandwalk" ought to be enough evasion against anything, no ? In this case, it would probably also replace Jitte. It's one more mana than both previous equipments, but it might be the correct tradeoff for being able to play both cards' roles.
Support :
4x Island Sanctuary. Essential, uncuttable, you simply need them. Even with all the going through your deck going on making them easy to find, they're still a 4of. You simply want to have the option to cast one asap to be safe.
4x Aether Vial. They have the same role here as in any deck using them. They make it possible for you to drop as much of those critters as you may need asap. They give the deck the possibility to act faster and not simply fall behind in the first turns by helping you get your engine going on faster.
I also considered Chrome Mox in this slot, but eventually rejected it. I know the card disadvantage is not that much of an issue in this deck, but you have to keep in mind that you want these cards to come down turn 1 or 2. At this point, there's usually no card you'd really be willing to spare (this conclusion came through testing a lot with Chrome Moxes). Vial simply ended up the better fit.
Thoughtseize and Vindicate : your protection and removal suite. I know the protection side is a bit light. Even with 4 Thoughtseize, I'd feel that way. I'd very much like to be able to fit an additional 4x FoW in the list. On the other hand, Vindicate is simply perfect in its removal role. Still, i could see cutting one if slots were needed for adding the FoWs as they'd also help fill that role.
Jitte : random usefulness. Acts as a finisher, as removal, as a nice boost for CES to draw tons of cards. One again, proved a very good finisher in my games, especially for the very low mana investment.
Hoofprints : finisher. Very good at its job. Still, a bit slow. I'm not very sure what to think. It has the potential to be game breaking if left alone for a little bit of time, but that's the problem right there. I'm concerned it might be too late when it gets active.
All of that being said, the deck plays pretty smoothly, mainly thanks to the early 2cc looters which really, really help the flow of things.
Now, here's the current list, which basically takes on the changes discussed earlier.
Current list :
Augury Adept -2
Wonder -4
Umezawa's Jitte -2
Hoofprints of the Stag -1
Vindicate -1
Force of Will +4
Sword of Fire and Ice +4
CES +1
Underground Sea +1
Resulting in :
// Lands
1 [U] Scrubland
4 [ON] Flooded Strand
4 [ON] Polluted Delta
3 [R] Tundra
4 [R] Underground Sea
1 [US] Island (1)
1 [ON] Plains (2)
1 [EUL] Swamp (3)
// Creatures
4 [TSP] Looter il-Kor
4 [10E] Merfolk Looter
3 [RAV] Dark Confidant
4 [TSB] Shadowmage Infiltrator
4 [EVE] Cold-Eyed Selkie
// Spells
4 [AL] Force of Will
4 [DS] AEther Vial
4 [5E] Island Sanctuary
3 [LRW] Thoughtseize
3 [AP] Vindicate
4 [DS] Sword of Fire and Ice
// Sideboard
SB: 4 [TE] Chill
SB: 4 [UL] Engineered Plague
SB: 3 [PS] Orim's Chant
Which would really help notably the combo matchup which was previously quite difficult with only 3 Thoughtseize as disruption, at least pre-board.
Other than that, and maybe surprisingly, you could see that the deck does not fare that bad, even against competitive decks, which is why I finally decided to put it here (please try it and decide for yourself).
Another different take on the deck could make it go 4c to incorporate green for Loresacle Coatl which would fit the deck perfectly. Going even more extreme would be to get rid of white completely, but i'm not sure the deck would survive. Without Island Sanctuary (unless a similar effect exists in UGB, but i seriously doubt that), the whole "over the top" drawing critters package looses a lot of its interest. In this case, the deck would probably slowly become almost UGB thresh, by getting rid of SI and CES, adding Lorescale and Goyf, and then the countertop engine (because at that point, you have the slots, so why not doing it).
Not Quite UGB Thresh :
// Lands
2 [ON] Flooded Strand
4 [ON] Polluted Delta
1 [US] Island (1)
2 [ON] Wooded Foothills
1 [US] Forest (4)
3 [U] Tropical Island
3 [B] Underground Sea
1 [EUL] Swamp (3)
// Creatures
4 [TSP] Looter il-Kor
2 [10E] Merfolk Looter
4 [RAV] Dark Confidant
2 [OD] Psychatog
4 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [ARB] Lorescale Coatl
// Spells
4 [DS] AEther Vial
4 [AL] Force of Will
3 [CS] Counterbalance
4 [CHK] Sensei's Divining Top
4 [NE] Daze
4 [IA] Brainstorm
Thoughts ?
here's a list I'm toying around. the original "goal" was to use as much of the "Shadowmage Infiltrator-like" creatures with the hope of generating so much CA that the victory would ensue.
I'll start with my "previous" list (sideboard is completely alpha, and only 11 cards are listed for now), to get a sense from where the deck comes from.
Previous list :
// Lands
1 Scrubland
4 [ON] Flooded Strand
4 [ON] Polluted Delta
3 [R] Tundra
3 [R] Underground Sea
1 [US] Island (1)
1 [ON] Plains (2)
1 [EUL] Swamp (3)
// Creatures
4 [JU] Wonder
4 [TSP] Looter il-Kor
4 [10E] Merfolk Looter
3 [RAV] Dark Confidant
4 [TSB] Shadowmage Infiltrator
2 [SHM] Augury Adept
3 [EVE] Cold-Eyed Selkie
// Spells
4 [DS] AEther Vial
1 [LRW] Hoofprints of the Stag
4 [5E] Island Sanctuary
3 [LRW] Thoughtseize
4 [AP] Vindicate
2 [BOK] Umezawa's Jitte
// Sideboard
SB: 4 [TE] Chill
SB: 4 [UL] Engineered Plague
SB: 3 [PS] Orim's Chant
The goal of the deck is to quickly find the way to draw enough cards to still be active under an Island Sanctuary (which isn't that hard to do, actually).
A few explanations on card choices :
Looter engine :
The early 2cc looters (Looter il-Kor & Merfolk Looter) are [U]essential to the deck's strategy.
- First, they ensure that you'll be able to quickly dig into your deck for whatever you may need as early as possible, which is critical against fast decks. This also makes it possible to run such a low land count (18 lands, even though the Vials also help).
- Second, they provide that many discard outlets for Wonder, another key card in the deck because it's simply the easiest way to grant the non evading looters, well, evasion (Augury Adept and Cold-Eyed Selkie).
These eight ensure that you have something to do in the early game and help you to not get too far behind before dropping an actual drawer + Island Sanctuary on the board.
Actual drawers (Confidant, Shadowmage, Augury Adept, Cold-Eyed Selkie).
Those are the actual drawing engine. Confidant is only a 3of because of the relatively high ccs in the deck (compared to the "competitive" decks in which it is more commonly used). Shadowmage is a 4of because of the high toughness (he's the only one that can't be killed by a simple fanatic or the like) and the built-in evasion. The next slots are divided between Augury Adept and Cold-Eye Selkie, but I'm considering cutting the Adepts (more on that later).
Anyway, having that many drawers is also important. First, remember they're all very weak and die easily. Second, even though only one is necessary to continue being active under Island Sacntuary, you'll always be wanting to find a spare one very quickly in case the first one were to be destroyed. Hence, the high numbers.
4x Wonder : these make sure your creatures will always come through. With all the early lootering and discarding at the same time, getting one in the yard really is no problem.
It originally advantageously replaced cards like Griffin Guide and the like in my initial testing lists because it was the only feasible way to be sure all attacks, and thus draws, would come through no matter what, and that for a very minor cost (zero mana, and practically no card since they were simply discarded to the early looter's effect).
The con of this card is that it actually benefits only a few cards in the current list : Augury Adept and Cold-Eyed Selkie, as they're the only ones that are not guaranteed (or almost guaranteed) to go through by themselves (Confidant Merfolk Looter don't attack so they don't need to). Still, even CES already has a bit of built-in evasion, so the global quality of Wonder's effect is not that attractive anymore.
A possible way to go would be to simply get rid of the Adepts & Wonder and go
AA -2
Wonder -4
CES +1
Confidant +1
Mask of Riddles +4
If you don't know it, Mask of Riddles is a new Alara Reborn card that reads :
Mask of Riddles
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature has fear.
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card.
Equip 2
That's actually what I think will quickly happen to the deck, as Mask of Riddles solves all of GG problems : it's an equipment thus reusable, and also worth equipping on other creatures than CES for the second effect.
Finally, SoFI could also take that job. I mean, apart from sui black, "pro red pro blu islandwalk" ought to be enough evasion against anything, no ? In this case, it would probably also replace Jitte. It's one more mana than both previous equipments, but it might be the correct tradeoff for being able to play both cards' roles.
Support :
4x Island Sanctuary. Essential, uncuttable, you simply need them. Even with all the going through your deck going on making them easy to find, they're still a 4of. You simply want to have the option to cast one asap to be safe.
4x Aether Vial. They have the same role here as in any deck using them. They make it possible for you to drop as much of those critters as you may need asap. They give the deck the possibility to act faster and not simply fall behind in the first turns by helping you get your engine going on faster.
I also considered Chrome Mox in this slot, but eventually rejected it. I know the card disadvantage is not that much of an issue in this deck, but you have to keep in mind that you want these cards to come down turn 1 or 2. At this point, there's usually no card you'd really be willing to spare (this conclusion came through testing a lot with Chrome Moxes). Vial simply ended up the better fit.
Thoughtseize and Vindicate : your protection and removal suite. I know the protection side is a bit light. Even with 4 Thoughtseize, I'd feel that way. I'd very much like to be able to fit an additional 4x FoW in the list. On the other hand, Vindicate is simply perfect in its removal role. Still, i could see cutting one if slots were needed for adding the FoWs as they'd also help fill that role.
Jitte : random usefulness. Acts as a finisher, as removal, as a nice boost for CES to draw tons of cards. One again, proved a very good finisher in my games, especially for the very low mana investment.
Hoofprints : finisher. Very good at its job. Still, a bit slow. I'm not very sure what to think. It has the potential to be game breaking if left alone for a little bit of time, but that's the problem right there. I'm concerned it might be too late when it gets active.
All of that being said, the deck plays pretty smoothly, mainly thanks to the early 2cc looters which really, really help the flow of things.
Now, here's the current list, which basically takes on the changes discussed earlier.
Current list :
Augury Adept -2
Wonder -4
Umezawa's Jitte -2
Hoofprints of the Stag -1
Vindicate -1
Force of Will +4
Sword of Fire and Ice +4
CES +1
Underground Sea +1
Resulting in :
// Lands
1 [U] Scrubland
4 [ON] Flooded Strand
4 [ON] Polluted Delta
3 [R] Tundra
4 [R] Underground Sea
1 [US] Island (1)
1 [ON] Plains (2)
1 [EUL] Swamp (3)
// Creatures
4 [TSP] Looter il-Kor
4 [10E] Merfolk Looter
3 [RAV] Dark Confidant
4 [TSB] Shadowmage Infiltrator
4 [EVE] Cold-Eyed Selkie
// Spells
4 [AL] Force of Will
4 [DS] AEther Vial
4 [5E] Island Sanctuary
3 [LRW] Thoughtseize
3 [AP] Vindicate
4 [DS] Sword of Fire and Ice
// Sideboard
SB: 4 [TE] Chill
SB: 4 [UL] Engineered Plague
SB: 3 [PS] Orim's Chant
Which would really help notably the combo matchup which was previously quite difficult with only 3 Thoughtseize as disruption, at least pre-board.
Other than that, and maybe surprisingly, you could see that the deck does not fare that bad, even against competitive decks, which is why I finally decided to put it here (please try it and decide for yourself).
Another different take on the deck could make it go 4c to incorporate green for Loresacle Coatl which would fit the deck perfectly. Going even more extreme would be to get rid of white completely, but i'm not sure the deck would survive. Without Island Sanctuary (unless a similar effect exists in UGB, but i seriously doubt that), the whole "over the top" drawing critters package looses a lot of its interest. In this case, the deck would probably slowly become almost UGB thresh, by getting rid of SI and CES, adding Lorescale and Goyf, and then the countertop engine (because at that point, you have the slots, so why not doing it).
Not Quite UGB Thresh :
// Lands
2 [ON] Flooded Strand
4 [ON] Polluted Delta
1 [US] Island (1)
2 [ON] Wooded Foothills
1 [US] Forest (4)
3 [U] Tropical Island
3 [B] Underground Sea
1 [EUL] Swamp (3)
// Creatures
4 [TSP] Looter il-Kor
2 [10E] Merfolk Looter
4 [RAV] Dark Confidant
2 [OD] Psychatog
4 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [ARB] Lorescale Coatl
// Spells
4 [DS] AEther Vial
4 [AL] Force of Will
3 [CS] Counterbalance
4 [CHK] Sensei's Divining Top
4 [NE] Daze
4 [IA] Brainstorm
Thoughts ?