[Deck] B/W/x Team Hatebears

[Waya]

The premise:

Hatebears, noun: 2 mana, 2/2 creatures with some form of control ability

These are good fast cards that can seriously annoy the other player. The idea is to dominate the game using several "hatebears" as beaters and control cards.

Color Choice:

B/W/u: Access to FoW, Counter-top, and Meddling Mage

B/W/g: Access to Tarmogoyf, Qasali Pridemage, Gaddock Teeg

This is a tough call. I think it is really metagame dependant. For this post, I'll focus on the green variant. Feel free to discuss the blue variant within the thread.

Cards to be included:

Tidehollow Sculler - hatebear

Umezawa's Jitte - All around good card. Makes your hatebears more fearsome.

Ethersworn Canonist - Puts a real hurting on combo decks. hatebear

Tarmogoyf - Costs as much as a hatebear but beats much harder.

Gaddock Teeg - Hatebear stops FoW and other high cost cards. He's legendary, so don't play too many.

Dark Confidant - A deck full of low CC cards? He's definately a lovebear.

Qasali Pride Mage - Exalted, Artifact (read: "Chalice") and Enchantment Hatebear.

The Good:

This deck can slow down or stop almost any other deck type. period.

The Bad:

A lot of it depends on getting the right hatebear at the right time. It also depends on keeping your hatebears in play. Without blue, this becomes more difficult.

The Ugly:

Chalice for 2...go get a snack.

Sample Deck List:

Land: 20
3 Windswept Heath
3 Polluted Delta
2 Bayou
2 Scrubland
2 Savannah
3 Wasteland
2 Swamp
2 Plains
2 Forest


Artifacts: 4
2 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Pithing Needle

Critters: 20
4 Dark Confidant
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Gaddock Teeg
3 Qasali Pridemage
3 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Tidehollow Sculler

Spells: 16
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Thoughtseize
4 Vindicate
4 Maelstrom Pulse


Where to go from here:
Testing, Testing, and more Testing. I haven't tried this deck out seriously yet (if I had, it'd be in a different forum). I also am wondering if I've missed any very obvious hatebears.

Suggestions? Comments?

[Maveric78f]

FoW does not belong to a splash.

About the deck itself, the curve is awful, wasteland seems more a handicap for you than a weapon and needle seems completely useless.

What is the goal of the deck? Lose to counterbalance, EE, Deed, firespout, volcanic fallout, pyroclasm, massacre, infest?

[davidboan]

Sweet list. I love hate bears! If You ran Aether Vial You could probably squeeze some Meddling Mages in there too.

[Waya]

FoW does not belong to a splash.

About the deck itself, the curve is awful, wasteland seems more a handicap for you than a weapon and needle seems completely useless.

Yes, the mana curve is bad. I'm not sure how to fix it and keep the design/theme of the deck going. Wasteland probably will be going out. As for needle, It's actually far from useless. See below.

What is the goal of the deck? Lose to counterbalance, EE, Deed, firespout, volcanic fallout, pyroclasm, massacre, infest?

Gaddock Teeg: Massacre, EE, Chalice

Qasali Pridemage: CB/Top, EE, Deed

Pithing Needle: EE, Deed

The real problems come from the spells. These could be taken care of with thoughtseize or sculler.

The real problem is getting these cards at the right time and into play.

I've also thought about some way to bump up all the creatures power/toughness to be immune to spells like pyroclasm.

Like I mentioned in "the bad". I have something to deal with just about everything, but getting it at the right time may be problematic.

This is where blue may come in with Trinket mage (and if I switched to blue I'd probably be B/U/w, splash white, not blue) for needles.

I haven't made this deck yet, and don't plan on it unless I work a lot of the kinks out. It's just an idea right now.

[Frozen_Fire]

I like the list, but seems similar to the Haterator since it shares many creatures. However, I think that maybe Trinisphere is better than Canonist and you are a bit weak to pyroclasm and red spells. Probably you need more equips than just 2 jittes.

Greetings,
Frozen_Fire :)

[Esper3k]

I've been fiddling around with this deck idea in my mind for awhile too! (I've never been able to get it to work on paper).

Here are some ideas I've had with it as well:

- Aether Vial (as Davidboan suggested). Ramp it up to 2 and you're pretty much set! Also protects against Countermagic, which is important against Counterbalance or Chalice @ 2.

- Other bears: Vexing Shusher is another hatebear against countermagic. True Believer is pretty decent too against combo & discard.

[Anusien]

So the premise of the deck is losing to Pyroclasm?

[Mystical_Jackass]

There's a new creature bear from alara reborn.. pay 1 sacrafice it, destroy target artifact or enchantment. I think that's gg sideboard at least, if not running a few main against countertops, trinispheres and chalices do get through.

confidants great, wish you had even faster card draw but I agree I think vial is a great way to get around counters and chalices. If you vial your gaddok or meddling mages into play that'd protect you from the crazy disruption people play. If only you had extract, you could see their library each game :P Wandering eye ftw lol

[Esper3k]

So the premise of the deck is losing to Pyroclasm?

Probably need Absolute Law, etc. in the board :)

[Mystical_Jackass]

I didn't really think it was a serious point... I mean.. just didn't look like he gave it much thought

first off, look at the colors people use. You're just assuming everyone just runs red, and those that do all sideboard pyroclasm. I'm one of the few people who does use it a lot, but from what I've seen in all the countertop, dredge, storm, lands, gedon stax, etc. there's really a small number who even would.

So basically you're saying that in game 2 & 3, you're gonna just drop dead to pyroclasm. I disagree, 'cause look.. you have thoughtseize, tidehollow, AND meddling mage which all can deal with that very well.

[Dark_Cynic87]

You are already running green. If finding the right bear at the right time is a problem, why not use the Green Tutor to find the bears?

[badjuju]

You are already running green. If finding the right bear at the right time is a problem, why not use the Green Tutor to find the bears?

If you're doing that, is this deck better than Survival?
Right now it's like: "let's run a bunch of silver bullets and hope they hit." :/

[Dark_Cynic87]

If you're doing that, is this deck better than Survival?
Right now it's like: "let's run a bunch of silver bullets and hope they hit." :/

Or this. (http://www.anycraze.com/showcard.asp?id=ONUU110F&pp=search_bar)


Pce, DC.

[Mystical_Jackass]

You are already running green. If finding the right bear at the right time is a problem, why not use the Green Tutor to find the bears?

heck no, it'll ruin your card draw. I'd personally rather work brainstorm with fetchlands than do that in a million years, you dont fall a turn back that way.

I personally think this deck could work really well in the hands of an experienced player. You know the decks, you have thoughtseize, its like an aggro/control combined into one because the creatures act as both so you have to be very calculating. Its a good start, but it'd really have to be tested to see what does and doesn't cut it.

I don't really like the maelstrum pulse. You got swords & vindicate, seems good enough. Besides just getting lil 2/2 nubs out and jitte, it seems like some sorta alternative win condiction is missing.. I dunno, like a patriarch's bidding kinda spell.. we'll see


I've also thought about some way to bump up all the creatures power/toughness to be immune to spells like pyroclasm.

I thought knight of new alara'd be cool, but that doesn't solve the problem >.< If only all creatures gained the bonus ;p vial him in and equip him with jitte with counters?

[Dark_Cynic87]

So instead of tutoring for the creature you need when you need it, you would rather just have to topdeck like a pro to get it.

It doesn't screw up your draw, and it doesn't put you a turn behind. It gets you what you need, when you need it. This seems like a fairly straight forward idea.

Besides, it's not like you have a whole lot to do on your first turn given you have only a 40-44% chance of having a Thoughtseize in your opening hand depending on who goes first. Might as well find the critter you want to drop turn 2 if you don't have your non-creature disruption available.

SilverBearBullets.dec

Pce,

--DC

[Drizzy]

This is actually pretty similiar to the deck idea I posted little while ago:

http://mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13662

I'm running 4x Eladamri's Call as tutors. I also use vials, which helps since I can use my mana for tutors and spells while dropping my bears in middle of action free and with instant speed and uncounterable.

I actually thought running Tidehollow Sculler too. That would solve my problem about hand disruption, since I have none at the moment. I haven't just figured out what I should cut.

Running Wastelands without Vials feels kinda unpractical too. Your bears are pretty heavy from coloured mana, so if you get waste in opening hand and one of your lands get stifled / destroyed, you have some serious problems. Just give a thought about running vials, they are really awesome.

[Nydaeli]

You could run Burrenton Forge-Tender as an answer to Pyroclasm. Or you could just run bigger creatures like Doran and ignore it.

[Dark_Cynic87]

You could run Burrenton Forge-Tender as an answer to Pyroclasm. Or you could just run bigger creatures like Doran and ignore it.

Like how he's ignoring what the deck is actually based on, for instance.

Vial is a definite must, I'm beginning to believe. Cavern Harpy could be used to save your bears via Aether Vial. Bounce back Meddling Mage if they try to kill it, or bounce back Bob if the pain gets too heavy. I don't think this will fly, but I figured I'd drop the idea. It's got evasion too, so it might not be too bad, saves itself from combat trix at the price of a life, which means you can chump block goyf all day long and only lose one life a turn. It could have applications in the list if you wanted to try it.

Pce,

--DC