SCG Free Article: Just Go (...) Kill Him By Max McCall

[Tammit67]

http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/20784_Just_Go_Fing_Kill_Him.html

Yes it a survival metadeck. Still a decent read.

I'm not a fan of the lack of standstill/counterbalance in the list. Academy Ruins is most likely unnecessary, but the list is an archetype I love.

Discuss

[Rico Suave]

It is nice to see coverage of this deck.

In many ways the Standstill package (Standstill and Factory) helps support the CB package (CB/Top) and vice versa. Standstill is much better when we played a turn 1 Top. CB is much better when we have a Factory to block the one creature that got through. Factory is much better when we can activate it without fear of StP resolving through our CB. And Top is just absurdly good even without factoring in the synergy with these other cards.

Yet I did not see an acknowledgement that Standstill or Factory even exist. It was very disappointing.

[Julian23]

When I read the title, Day9 immediately jumped to my mind. Great reference! :-)

[AngryTroll]

I'm surprised that there are zero Trickbinds in the list. It looks solid otherwise, though. I wish Jaces weren't so expensive.

[median]

I'm interested that you board out force of will vs new horizons, while keeping the spell snares in.
In any case good read, I always like the deck.

[Tammit67]

It is nice to see coverage of this deck.

In many ways the Standstill package (Standstill and Factory) helps support the CB package (CB/Top) and vice versa. Standstill is much better when we played a turn 1 Top. CB is much better when we have a Factory to block the one creature that got through. Factory is much better when we can activate it without fear of StP resolving through our CB. And Top is just absurdly good even without factoring in the synergy with these other cards.

Yet I did not see an acknowledgement that Standstill or Factory even exist. It was very disappointing.

This was basically my thoughts. The meta was still decently vulnerable to both strategies, and CBtop/Standstill really punish weaker players. Having the tool box main is ok, but unnecessary with the countermagic + clock the deck can provide often enough preboard. The list present lacks the traditional control elements that make it "Dreadstill".

Factory under either of the enchantments, or even just stalling the ground, has won me so many games that no nod in their direction seems almost wrong.

[SMR0079]

Thanks for the shout out Max! The saddest part about Survival getting banned is the possibility of UBW Stifle-Nought not being good enough. Seriously, the deck has all of my favorit cards in it. I suppose I'll have to forgive you for cutting Countertop though ;) However, I did the article and how you took the deck in a slightly different direction.

I also wish you would have addressed why you did not simply run the "standard" build, but not for the reasons stated by others. I came to the conclusion that standstill is horrible in anything resembling control a long time ago. Granged, this is more of a tempo control deck, but none the les. I had left the CounterTop package but cut standstill-factory.

In a format where Merfolk is the one of the most popular decks (at both the SCGs and our local circuit) and your worst matchup (Goblins isn't a walk in the park either) it's enough for me to think twice before automatically cramming it in the deck. I think the increased focus of the deck and the stability of the manabase increases when you remove the Standstill package. Dreadstill's biggest weakness was that it tried to do too much, that and the printing of QuasaliPridemage.

I realize that this is not a clear cut issue, as you can certainly make a case for it's merits, and I certainly respect the opinoins of Rich Shay and Rico, but I respectfully disagree. Perhaps Rico or Rich can chime in and outline what matchups suffer due to the loss of Standstill-Factory. Zoo comes to mind, but you basically need to counter there first 2 creatures and drop standstill Factory. Academy ruins Recurring EE is a very strong line of play agasint Zoo that shouldn't be underestimated. This list looks to have a good game 2/3 with all of the removal game.

Cheers

[Eldariel]

Day9 Quote = Good article. Well played. Too bad we never really got to the position where we could start attacking Survival by just fcking killing them but I'm sure this'll be relevant at another point where the format is dominated by a strategy with minimal interaction capabilities.