States 2010

[dontbiteitholmes]

Okay, it's official. For the first time since Time Spiral (the set) came out I'm excited about standard again. So who's going to states? What are you going to play or what would you play if you did go? What do you expect to see and what do you think is good but won't show up? I don't expect decklists just a general decktype.

I'm going to play UB control, but it's a homebrew list and very control heavy. I'm a little weak to the more common UB I've seen which is slightly more aggro because my Doom Blades are dead, but I don't expect to see much of it. I've got really good game vs. UW control which I expect to see a lot of because it's a good deck that has been tier before rotation, but I don't think it's as good as everyone thinks, maybe tier 1.5 or 2. I think UB control is much stronger overall and has better removal options now that Path is out. I expect to see lots of UW Control, mono-G Eldrazi (with Summoning Trap), GR Valakut/Titan, Elves, Vamps, Mono-Red, and Fauna Shaman+Vengevine aggro in multiple flavors. Of those I expect 2-3 Elves to top 8 if enough people play it and mono-G Ramp if it's not hated enough, there will probably be several homebrews (hopefully mine :P), and the rest will be tier 1.5 decks that made it on playskill or luck.

I think the 3 strongest known decks right now are GR Ramp, G-Ramp, and Elves though I think after this weekend mono-G will prove superior to GR Ramp. I actually think elves is a tier 1 deck at least until the format adjusts. I've had to sideboard heavily for it. Never thought I would see the day when Elves was a tier 1 deck in standard but we might be there, I think it wrecks UW, Ramp, and most other aggro decks unless they get a strong start. The new elf Legend is savage, I would scoop them all up now since I think they are headed for doubling in value after this weekend. I also think over time UW control will fall to UB.

[Nidd]

If the format turns out to be Titan decks VS Titan decks, I'm gonna cry.

[dontbiteitholmes]

Not likely. If Elves doesn't have enough gas to roll Ramp W always has 4x Arbiters SB as an option and black has Memoricide which is crippling vs mono-G name Trap then Titan vs RG name Titan and they lose.

[Pastorofmuppets]

Are you using Wurmcoil Engine in your UB control? Because that's a damn good finisher.
Also, don't be surprised if people start playing Boros at the lower tables. I'd suggest at least 4 Vendetta or something in the board to combat it.

[rockout]

If you are going to states just make sure you can beat GR valakut ramp. It's apparently so format warping that people are complaining to have primeval titan banned. A 6 drop creature banned? Good god!

[HAVE HEART]

If the format turns out to be Titan decks VS Titan decks, I'm gonna cry.

Obviously that is what the format is going to be. Five colored Titans + the colorless Wurmcoil Engine are pretty much all better than Baneslayer Angel

[Nidd]

If you are going to states just make sure you can beat GR valakut ramp. It's apparently so format warping that people are complaining to have primeval titan banned. A 6 drop creature banned? Good god!
You mean, a 6 drop creature that can get you anything you need once it hits play.
From Tectonic Edge to Mystifying Maze and Manlands along the lines of Raging Ravine, it gets you whatever you need.
Not to mention it's obviously bonkers with Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle.

Yes, that card is formatwarping. It's all about context, you know?

[dontbiteitholmes]

Are you using Wurmcoil Engine in your UB control? Because that's a damn good finisher.
Also, don't be surprised if people start playing Boros at the lower tables. I'd suggest at least 4 Vendetta or something in the board to combat it.

I'm actually not, I chose to go another route being the flying/evasion/shroud of Sphinx. Wormcoil is certainly good, and perhaps I'm making a mistake, but I run so much removal that a 4 turn clock works out pretty well. Either that or they get Jaced to death. Yeah I haven't seen any Boros yet but nothing would shock me at this point. 3x Memoricide in the SB for Prime Titans and about 10x cards that never get sided out that dig, hopefully that will do. Against Aggro, OMG, lets just say after SB I have 6 instant speed removal, 3 Ratchets, 3 Consume the Meeks, and plenty of counters. I'm excited for tomarrow, wish me luck.

[Mark Sun]

Got handed a deck tonight. I'll see people in Columbus bright and early.

[xTrainx]

The difference between UB Control and UW Control is that UW has Day of Judgement.

You need to find some sort of sweeper effect, or play 3-4 Jace's Ingenuity along with a hell of a lot more removal.

[Jason]

Play Big Red. The deck is insane. I will have a tournament report up.

[dontbiteitholmes]

So I scrubbed out and went 3-4 before dropping.
Lost to MonoG Eldrazi 0-2 both games he flipped Emrakul off of Trap, game 2 I was severely mana screwed.
Lost to RG Titan, game 1 he killed me with one turn left to live, I could have won but I'm unfamiliar with the format and that caused me to misplay. G2 I got crushed by Tec Edge 2x Acidic Slime.
Lost to Elves, game 1 he got nuts and dropped whole hand turn 3. Game 2 screwed hard. Lost game with him at empty hand and me 1 mana short of casting my Consume the Meek, of course he topdecked Tec Edge the turn before.
Lost to UGR Destructive Force, this guy went on to place and I wasn't very familiar with the format once again and sideboarded incorrectly.

Won vs. that crappy mono-W deck with equipment. Ratchet Bomb owned him.
Won vs. Elves, turns out when I draw some of the removal in my deck post board I'm actually heavily favored in this matchup though that doesn't always happen, see above.
Won vs. UGR - After the first round loss to it I figured out how the deck worked and smoked him pretty easily.

Postgame Report-
Memoricide != GG against Ramp. Mindbreak Trap required to circumvent their Trap, also Duress in SB would have been a good idea.
Elves is lame - Sometimes they just win it's so annoying. Post board I had 6x Sweepers and 8x Removal but sometimes it's just not enough.
Changed the deck a little, now I think it works better, too bad theres no more standard for a long time.

[majikal]

too bad theres no more standard for a long time.
Where do you live? There are 2 SCG 10K events this month.

I buckled and built a Standard deck because I figured I'd get a lot of use out of it. It also happens that I am really enjoying the format this season, so bonus points I guess.