Haterator

[Bluemagex2517]

This evolved out of mono green chalice aggro, but it's neither mono green nor plays chalice anymore so I decided not to post it there. It more accurately resembles a legacy version of Mike Flore's Haterator.

Lands
4 Forest
4 Wasteland
1 Dryad Arbor
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Windswept Heath
3 Savannah
1 Misty Rainforest

Creatures
4 Qasali Pridemage
2 Cold-Eyed Selkie
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Progenitus
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
2 Ohran Viper

Spells
1 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Garruk Wildspeaker
2 Sword of Fire and Ice
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Natural Order
4 Trinisphere

Sideboard
SB: 3 Jotun Grunt
SB: 3 Mindbreak Trap
SB: 1 Ravenous Trap
SB: 1 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 2 Ghostly Prison
SB: 1 Relic of Progenitus
SB: 2 Ohran Viper
SB: 2 Worship

This weekend I took this deck with a 2 card difference in the main to Jupiter games, I dropped fairly early, and then failed to win a semi's in a side event. I did however win the matches this deck is design to win: Zoo, Counterblance, and Merfolk. After the tourney I cut 2 Cold-eyed Selkies from the main for 2 Ohran Vipers. I'm still very unsure of that slot. I also decided to add worship to the board to help against merfolk, which is certainly the worst match-up of the big three.

The deck plays very similarly to mono green chalice aggro. The added security of qasali and swords help to make the deck more consistent. Chalice can no longer be used because of swords, but trinisphere might just be better. Trinisphere acts as a foil to counters against control decks, and slows aggressive decks down long enough for your more expensive threats to take over the game. Cold-eyed selkie plus exalted is a potent card drawing engine. Garruk creates card advantage, and is especially potent under trinisphere. Elvish spirit guide helps speed the deck up, foil daze, and can pick up equipment to get the job done.Tarmogoyf is Tarmogoyf. Ancient tomb powers out Trini, natural order, or Garruk.

As I said this deck is designed to beat the three most popular strategies in legacy Zoo, Counterbalance, and merfolk. This is a worthy accomplishment, however legacy is too diverse a format to bank on always playing those decks. This deck is abysmal against any land based control deck i.e. 38 Lands, Landstill, and white stax. It also has trouble beating Bgw decks that run a ton of creature removal and enough edict effects to not worry about Progenitus. The match-up with aggro loam is about 50-50. Goblins is a great MU, but good luck running into it. Storm Combo decks and Dredge are all dependent on how much sideboard space your willing to give them.

So, what I'm trying to do is help this deck gain better match-ups across the board without losing it's potency against the big three. I think this strategy has a lot of potential, but needs refining.

[DrJones]

Not running Chalice of the Void because you play 4x swords is just wrong. It's like not playing swords because you run trinisphere.

[Maveric78f]

Not running Chalice of the Void because you play 4x swords is just wrong. It's like not playing swords because you run trinisphere.

Like playing Garruk over Elspeth?

[Bluemagex2517]

Disregarding the two posts above... I've been working on this deck a lot and taking it to tournaments. I was 40 something at the SSG's Richmond 5k and 17th place at the most recent Jupiter Games. While I haven't busted into prizes, I have been steadily improving the deck. Here is the latest build:

Lands
4 [TE] Ancient Tomb
1 [FUT] Dryad Arbor
4 [OV] Forest
1 [ZEN] Misty Rainforest
3 [R] Savannah
4 [REW] Wasteland
4 [ON] Windswept Heath

Creatures
4 [AL] Elvish Spirit Guide
4 [CFX] Noble Hierarch
4 [CS] Ohran Viper
1 [CFX] Progenitus
2 [ARB] Qasali Pridemage
2 [WWK] Stoneforge Mystic
4 [FUT] Tarmogoyf

Spells
3 [M10] Garruk Wildspeaker
4 [PT] Natural Order
2 [DS] Sword of Fire and Ice
4 [B] Swords to Plowshares
4 [DS] Trinisphere
1 [BOK] Umezawa's Jitte

Sideboard
3 [SHM] Faerie Macabre
4 [CHK] Ghostly Prison
1 [UNH] Plains
1 [ALA] Relic of Progenitus
1 [TSP] Tormod's Crypt
4 [LWN] Thorn of Amethyst
1 [SOA] Ethersworn Cannonist


The most significant factor is the printing of Stoneforge Mystic, which helps the merfolk match-up and is nearly as potent against counterblance decks as qasali pridemage. Ohran Viper is decidedly just plan better than cold eye selkie. The board contains a single plains that comes in against merfolk, in all other MU's it pretty terrible as the deck is low enough on green sources. I've toyed with the idea of a sword of light and shadow over the second sword of fire and ice, but getting two going against merfolk is better than protection from swords and path. It comes down to merfolk being a much worse MU than any major deck that runs swords (Ug merfolk is more popular in my area than Uw). The side has been overhauled to reflect the rise of reanimator. Thorns are a turn 1 play that slow down combo. Ghostly Prison has been pretty good against aggressive decks that might overwhelm before this deck can natural order or out midrange them.

[Forbiddian]

It seems a bit silly that this deck exists in Legacy.

You can pretty much metagame any deck to beat three opposing matchups, the problem is that even the three most common decks make up only 30-40% of the metagame and the question becomes: What do you do against the rest of them?

It seems like it has a chance against most decks, but it seems to try to beat maybe 4-5 matchups and then completely gives up on most of the rest of the field, not even addressing them. Inclusions like SoFI over SoLS just because it's better against Merfolk make me really wonder how well this would do against the wider metagame.

[majikal]

Kitchen Finks are some good in here, and synergize really well with NO. I would play them instead of ESG.

[rocketrae21]

I think GW Pile here needs to have that plains mainboard. Its so necessary to have a basic white source main. I also think you should look into an Elspeth. Now I know you are "low" on white mana which is why I say, Plains and Elspeth. Also, do you need the two Swords of Fire/Ice? I would think that 1/1 would work with Jitte.

Note: I call it GW Pile because he is my teammate and well I call all my decks Color Pile.

I run UGW Pile. Not bant (even though I may refer to it as bant for easier talk)

[Scrabble]

It seems a bit silly that this deck exists in Legacy.

You can pretty much metagame any deck to beat three opposing matchups, the problem is that even the three most common decks make up only 30-40% of the metagame and the question becomes: What do you do against the rest of them?

It seems like it has a chance against most decks, but it seems to try to beat maybe 4-5 matchups and then completely gives up on most of the rest of the field, not even addressing them. Inclusions like SoFI over SoLS just because it's better against Merfolk make me really wonder how well this would do against the wider metagame.

Seems to me the recent results prove it's not a one trick pony.

Metagame.dec does not only run into 3 decks on the way to 17th place.

[Oiolosse]

I agree on the SoFI being reduced to 1 slot. If anything you want more than one Jitte. Many decks play it and yours is likely to be removed and contrarily you will want a copy to be "destroy target Jitte" and still have another MD.

Also, what do you do when Prog is in hand? You have no way to brainstorm it into your library and no way to discard it.

[Bluemagex2517]

I agree on the SoFI being reduced to 1 slot. If anything you want more than one Jitte. Many decks play it and yours is likely to be removed and contrarily you will want a copy to be "destroy target Jitte" and still have another MD.

Also, what do you do when Prog is in hand? You have no way to brainstorm it into your library and no way to discard it.

Well, getting progen in hand sucks, but you have options. Option a is to win without it. Option b is to draw a ton of cards with Ohran viper and sword of fire and ice so you can discard it. It's a problem, but not big enough of one to include scroll rack or some such.

[Bluemagex2517]

I think GW Pile here needs to have that plains mainboard. Its so necessary to have a basic white source main. I also think you should look into an Elspeth. Now I know you are "low" on white mana which is why I say, Plains and Elspeth. Also, do you need the two Swords of Fire/Ice? I would think that 1/1 would work with Jitte.

Note: I call it GW Pile because he is my teammate and well I call all my decks Color Pile.

I run UGW Pile. Not bant (even though I may refer to it as bant for easier talk)

The plains may be correct. 2 SoFI is probably wrong, it's a hold over from before stoneforge. I don't thik Elspeth is right. Not just because of the white problem. The deck doesn't really have a stalemate problem. Elspeth is great for decks that play cards like Rhox War monk, which +3/3 and flying is amazing. These decks run into stale board problems. I don't, and I don't generally race. Instead, I overwhelm the board. 1/1's are useful, but why not add another Garruk then, 3/3 are better. True they are basically legendary... I just don't think Elspeth is worth the slot.

[Bluemagex2517]

I think GW Pile here needs to have that plains mainboard. Its so necessary to have a basic white source main. I also think you should look into an Elspeth. Now I know you are "low" on white mana which is why I say, Plains and Elspeth. Also, do you need the two Swords of Fire/Ice? I would think that 1/1 would work with Jitte.

Note: I call it GW Pile because he is my teammate and well I call all my decks Color Pile.

I run UGW Pile. Not bant (even though I may refer to it as bant for easier talk)

The plains may be correct. 2 SoFI is probably wrong, it's a hold over from before stoneforge. I don't thik Elspeth is right. Not just because of the white problem. The deck doesn't really have a stalemate problem. Elspeth is great for decks that play cards like Rhox War monk, which +3/3 and flying is amazing. These decks run into stale board problems. I don't, and I don't generally race. Instead, I overwhelm the board. 1/1's are useful, but why not add another Garruk then, 3/3 are better. True they are basically legendary... I just don't think Elspeth is worth the slot.