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Confiducius
01-17-2011, 04:50 AM
Hi guys,
I’m Dennis Wagner. I usually play in Nürnberg, Germany, so some might remember the deck. I know this is my first deck report in this forum, but rest assured, I am a faithful reader for quite some time now. Unfortunately I do not have enough time to play as much as I would like to, but as my deck is starting to build up a fan base on its own I was talked into writing, well, kind of a primer. But enough about me, let’s talk deck.
First off, I am really sorry for the name. I did not come up with it, after a weird name finding phase ranging from Overlook Hotel to Pasta Rape (all hail the FSM!), I just settled for the first reaction I usually get when beating my opponents. This is basically why I am playing this deck. It’s just too damn awesome!

1. The Deck
2. How to play
3. Thoughts on Matchups
4. Pros and cons
5. Some final thoughts

1. The Deck

// Removal
4 Innocent Blood
4 Pernicious Deed
2 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Chainer's Edict
1 Damnation
// Tutors
4 Living Wish
3 Beseech the Queen
3 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Primeval Titan
// Stuff
4 Duress
4 Explore
// Awesomeness
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
// Lands
4 Bayou
6 Swamp
2 Forest
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Polluted Delta
3 Maze of Ith
2 Cabal Coffers
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Eye of Ugin

//Sideboard
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Primeval Titan
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Wasteland
1 Maze of Ith
1 Yixlid Jailer
2 Engineered Plague
1 Life from the Loam
1 Zuran Orb
2 Extirpate
1 Gigapede


So, where to begin?
I guess the first thing to make sure is you understand: It works!
No, really, it does.
And it works on a regular basis.
Not too much luck involved.
No comboing around or hoping for a lucky draw.
No rushing for a good hand.
No sacrificing a good defensive position only to try and get Emrakul into play.
Build up a defense, crush your opponents’ plans, lean back while you set up your game and then bring on the pain. Awesome!

Removal:
The defense is quite simple.
Kill stuff.
And don’t you worry about Force of Will, there is a lot more removal where the first came from. After a short while you have your Maze of Ith, get a Deed and buy yourself some time. What a great way of creating card advantage. Unfortunately it is way too slow.
This is where Explore comes into play.
You might have realized, that this deck plays 27 lands. Now sit down, think hard, test it and go realize just how awesome this card is in this deck.

Tutors:
Beseech. Gets Removal, gets Titan, gets lands. Awesome.
Living Wish. The deck really started to become good after adding this gem of a card.
Sensei’s Divining Top. Ahem, it’s the awesome magic super-dreidel of doom. Needs no introduction.

So the deck basically plays 10 Tutors. This is the reason why I really don’t need so many cards to kill. Look close. Every tutor can fetch me either some removal or “combo-piece”. The only cards I have to play that don’t build a defence are 2 Cabal Coffers, 1 Eye of Ugin, 1 Primeval Titan and 1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
And that’s where the most unconventional (and most awesome) Tutor comes into play … and puts two lands onto the battfield tapped. Best of all, this tutor kills. First price for most awesome secondary win condition.
Now consider this:
1 Eye of Ugin, 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, 1 Cabal Coffers, 9 random lands. Tab Coffers for 12, tap 8 random lands, tap Eye for Emrakul, play Emrakul for 13.
All in a turns work. And this is basically the worst case scenario. If the Titan survives long enough to go fetch for another 2 lands that count for you Coffers, or if you have 2 Coffers out, you can get Emrakul way earlier. And of course, you can always split searching and playing into two turns, but where would the fun be in that?

Stuff:
Explore. Awesome, as described above. Also:
You: Swamp
Enemy: Goblin Lackey
You: Bayou, Explore, Swamp, Innocent Blood
And then you just got 3 lands against tribal. That was pretty much gg for you.

Also: Lategame, lot’s of lands, not handcard. Your Enemy has got enough creatures to kill you. You draw Explore, play it and actually draw mass removal or a killing condition.

It gives you speed, cycle and just makes your deck much more compact.

Duress. Keeps away annoying stuff, like Jace or Force on Tutor. Best played before Primeval Titan.

Awesomeness:
Now imagine you are playing quite a good and expensive Legacy Deck. You are familiar with the meta, you know your deck and all the right strategies. In front of you there sits this random looking guy, showing you a polluted delta. Ok then, you think, watch out for stifle. After the first Innocent Blood, you wonder what he is playing, something pox-ish, probably. You gladly waste the Bayou this guy fetched for (what an idiot). You try to defend you creatures but the removal just keeps coming, and you start to wonder what is going on. Still, you are happy to waste a Maze of Ith as soon as you can. Frantically looking for more creatures, your end draws near. And then, as soon as you see the Primeval Titan (wtf!), you are dead. And you don’t even know it. Perhaps you are holding a counterspell ready, perhaps you are smiling because you have those Swords to Plowshares, effectively giving your opponent 6 life. He just smiles, thanks you for the life, and plays Emrakul. What do you do? Karakas? Jace? Diabolic Edict? Whatever you do, there is nothing effective, because he just played Emrakul.

Now here comes the best part:
You sit down, try to find answers in your sideboard, only to realize: there is nothing you can do! Some people board graveyard hate (evil evil Chainer’s Edict!). Some board Grip for Deed. Most keep their Swords MD. But you always deconstruct you own deck, and still never find the sideboard tech you need.


2. How to play

I don’t think there really is that much of a need to tell you how to play the deck. But I guess I will try and state the obvious.

You always start on the defense. Get your lands on the board, be happy when you play a Sensei’s Divining Top, kill some creatures. If you have a Duress, try to play it early to know what you are up against. Basically there are two major things to consider:
1. When do you stop to care about the enemy’s creatures and start building up for the big swing? If you play the Damn Awesome Deck a Tarmogoyf really starts to look no more dangerous like, say, an angry kitty. It might scratch you, but you got the leash (Maze) and you can always just kick it over the next best fence. So you can ignore that goyf for one or two rounds, wish for the right lands, use fetch to get rid of those annoying removals you see with your top or Beseech the Queen and get a Titan. Just consider when to get scratched to deal some real damage.
2. How much do you risk just to kill more creatures? Your main card advantage comes from killing a lot of creatures with mass removal. You support your plan with Maze of Ith. So don’t go killing every single creature you see right then and there! On the other hand, I once got beaten up by elves, still holding on to a Damnation, with a Maze on the battlefield. See what you are up against and try to consider when it’s time to destroy.

Wastelands.
That is among the first things I always get to hear when people try to find a way to foil my plans. Well, here is what to consider:
You have 4 Wastelands. What will you target? Most go for the first Bayou they see. Nice try. 27 lands. Next up, as soon as they see a Maze of Ith, they destroy that. Annoying, but ok. Only some try to wait for Cabal Coffers, Eye of Ugin or Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. They are the smart ones. And they just bought themselves a few rounds. But up to that moment, I just went on playing completely undisrupted. All of that is just fine with me. Also, counting the Coffers and Urborg I play in my wishboard, I have 5 Lands for 4 Wastelands. I guess the only way to really get to the Damn Awesome Deck is recurring LD. But those matchups are quite rare, and still you have your sideboard Life from the Loam and Extirpate.


3. Thoughts on Matchups

I am not really a fan of those percentage matchup analysis discussions so I guess I will just share my thoughts on some matchups with you.

Thesh.
A few creatures. Stiflewaste. Counterspells.
The only way for him to win is to frantically protect the one or two creatures he plays. It is quite hard for him to get through a fine woven web of Maze, Removal and Discard. Of course, he has all the right answers, but he is not that likely to draw them at the right time in the right order. Also, Mongoose dies to every removal you play.

Dragon Stompy.
Mhhh, Dragon Stompy. I really like that matchup. Mostly because it scared the living hell out of all of my previous decks. The only thing you have to make sure is that you get one Swamp and one Forest out and your good. Thanks to moon you always get the third mana for Trinisphere, your removal is on cc1 2 3 and 4. Pernicious Deed wins the day.

Control.
Well, anything blueish. Long waiting periods are just what you like. Mishra’s Factory is matched with Mazes, and then you win with Emrakul, or with Duress then Titan, or with Eye and two rounds of searching and playing. Jace may bounce Emrakul, but you cast it. Humility might be annoying, but you do play Maelstrom Pulse and Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre. Also, Counterbalance isn’t all that bad. Just play the occasional spell to keep your opponent occupied and make themselves feel important. This is one of the most laid back matchups you may find. Board Loam (keep Waste wishable) and Ulamog and you’re fine.

Tribal.
More of a difficult matchup than you might think. Elves and especially Goblins tend to be very very fast. Goblins most of all, since they disrupt you manabase long enough to get those few rounds they need to kill you early. I don’t have too much experience playing against Merfolk, but I guess it will be kind of similar. Tribal is the reason why I would consider playing 4 Maze main again, and playing more Engineered Plague sb. Not much need for Duress here.

Combo.
Play Duress. See hand. Offer draw. If you don’t get you draw, offer a 2-1. Go get lunch.
This is the one big weak spot of the Deck. I really tried to do something against it, but it just a waste of sideboard space. Even if you might disrupt your enemy for a few rounds, you are just too slow to build up a clock.

I know there is a lot more out there to play against. Right now I just named a few to give you an insight on the deck. Now you go and build it. Post you matchups ;)


4. Pros and cons

Why not to play the Damn Awesome Deck?
Well, mostly because of the one matchup you are just no good against. Got a lot of combo where you are playing? Even with Mystical Tutor being banned? Keep your hands of this deck!
Also, one might be appalled by the thought of playing defensively all the time.
Oh, and if you have a weak bladder, play burn. You just tend to sit there and play for the whole round with this deck.

But:
The time you play is quite relaxing. The Damn Awesome Deck has a few choices you have to make, and you must make the right the choices at the right time to win. Still, you don’t have to always think about everything, like control usually does.
One of the major upsides of the deck is its consistency. As a said before, you don’t compromise your defense just to play Emrakul. You don’t rely on your graveyard. Your kill can’t be countered. Wastelands don’t bother you too much. And the best thing is, even if somebody knows you are playing the Damn Awesome Deck, there really isn’t that much they can do about it. (Except start to play combo.) Even the usual tactics against Emrakul are not that good. Jace or Karakas just leave you smiling.
Also, the lategame is yours. There are a lot of situations where you and your opponent just stare at each other, lots of lands on the battlefield and no cards in hand. All you need then is one tutor, or just Emrakul itself. Those are 10 cards you can find that make you win immediately! (3 Beseech, 4 Living Wish, 1 Eye of Ugin, 1 Primeval Titan, 1 Emrakul).


5. Some final thoughts

The deck is not finished jet. On the other hand, when can you really say that about a deck? Some things you mind find interesting to test:

-1 Swamp +1 Maze main.
I tested that yesterday and I must say I really don’t miss the one swamp that much. Also, a playset Maze main is just the thing you want against a lot of decks. You usually wish for other things.
One might also consider to fill that slot with your sideboard Life from the Loam, depending on the meta.

More Engineered Plague? Well, I considered stocking up on them. I wouldn’t play more than 3 though, you still need your sideboard space.

Graveyard based decks seem to come back. With the banning of Survival most seem to think there is no gy removal anymore. Prove them wrong. Play Extirpate. Perhaps you want to play one wishable Bojuka Bog. I filled that slot with the Jailer, but hey, you might want to test that.

Also, don’t you cut Gigapede. At times, it is just what you need.

One Zuran Orb (and Loam) is all you need against Zoo and random Burn. Online turn 3 with Beseech. Watch out for your own Deeds!

There is so much more I could tell you about the Damn Awesome Deck, but I guess I already said enough. One thing perhaps:
When I started playing the deck I heard compliments from about everyone. Well, some snobs were sneering at the Deck because they were just too smug to try and get to know it. But most just animated me to post the deck here, even my opponents, so I did. Now yesterday the weirdest thing happened to me. While beating up my opponent, who played Zoo, two bystanders and friends of my opponent complained loudly about my deck, and how much they never want play against it ever again. I just kept smiling. It was the best compliment anyone ever made for my deck.
So thanks to everyone who helped me test and develop the Damn Awesome Deck, and sorry for all the awful matches you had to sit through and watch all your creatures die.

I guess this is it. Took me 6 Month to develop and 2 days to write. Just do me a favor, don’t just skip over it and flame. Read, test, give feedback, make the deck popular.

Regards
Dennis

Nidd
01-17-2011, 06:17 AM
Now yesterday the weirdest thing happened to me. While beating up my opponent, who played Zoo, two bystanders and friends of my opponent complained loudly about my deck, and how much they never want play against it ever again. I just kept smiling. It was the best compliment anyone ever made for my deck.
So thanks to everyone who helped me test and develop the Damn Awesome Deck, and sorry for all the awful matches you had to sit through and watch all your creatures die.
In defense of these guys, you didn't want to play against your own deck, either - after playing 2 games only!

The deck has a lot of potential and has an impressive kill - hardcasted Emrakul is nothing to sneeze at.
Give it a try.

Clark Kant
01-17-2011, 07:00 AM
You are basically playing Mono Black Control, but with better win conditions and tutors.

Play Hymn to Tourach.

More importantly, play Skithirhx. That creature is made for Monoblack control. It wins in 1-2 turns flat, almost everytime.

Confiducius
01-17-2011, 07:24 AM
The deck is exactly like mono black control.
Exept for the Deeds.
And the Pulses.
And the Wish.
And the Titan.
And Emrakul.

So to what end should i play either Hymn or Skithirihx?

The plan is to mount a great defence and then kill, then and there.
Swords don't bother me.
Removal in general does not bother me.
Creatures do not bother me.
Lands do not bother me.
So everything a hymn could take from my enemy is either irrelevant, or also targetable by Duress.
Also, I have no way of looking at my opponents hand.

And the Skithirihx just enables my opponents to use their removal effektively, and is therefore completely irrelevant.
I only need very little deckspace for the actual kill, so why should I overload the deck with creatures, when those two are just fine? Or were you talking about sb?
There a Skithirihx might find its place.
I wouldn't try, but you might just test it and tell us how it worked.

eq.firemind
01-17-2011, 07:28 AM
Grave Titan is better than Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon and actually is the best finisher for Mono-B/Trainwreck-like deck.
It punches for 10 against empty field and, leaves chumpblockers behind and doesn't completely dies to Swords to Plowshares.
I believe you should drop Explore for Hymn to Tourach, your kill conditions for Grave Titans and some lands for more anticreature cards, namely Diabolic Edict to have more outs against manlands.

Nidd
01-17-2011, 01:28 PM
You are basically playing Mono Black Control, but with better win conditions and tutors.

Play Hymn to Tourach.

More importantly, play Skithirhx. That creature is made for Monoblack control. It wins in 1-2 turns flat, almost everytime.

Grave Titan is better than Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon and actually is the best finisher for Mono-B/Trainwreck-like deck.
It punches for 10 against empty field and, leaves chumpblockers behind and doesn't completely dies to Swords to Plowshares.
I believe you should drop Explore for Hymn to Tourach, your kill conditions for Grave Titans and some lands for more anticreature cards, namely Diabolic Edict to have more outs against manlands.
You 2, build the deck on MWS and take it for a spin. You'll notice that Grave Titan and/or Skithiryx don't do anything you want your finishers to do. Skithiryx needs 3 swings to win and Grave Titan eats 1 StP - you effectively payed 4BB for 4 power, 6 life and "target opponent discards a card called StP".
You play exactly 2 cards in your MD devoted to the kill - Emrakul and Eye of Ugin. That leaves a lot of space in the MD for defensive cards.

Play the deck before writing basic stuff that would apply for similiar decks. This deck doesn't work like any other deck in the current format.

jamis
01-17-2011, 01:40 PM
Since this is pretty much a better Train Wreck, does Regrowth or Staff of Domination have any place in this deck? Both those cards were pretty important in that deck, so I was a bit surprised to not see them here.

Blackmagic
01-17-2011, 02:50 PM
A really odd idea I'd like to add is what about crop rotation?

It acts as a tutor for you're one off lands and you can play it in response to wastelands targeting you're lands.

You can then also play one bojuka bog which you can tutor for.

Confiducius
01-17-2011, 04:05 PM
Since this is pretty much a better Train Wreck, does Regrowth or Staff of Domination have any place in this deck? Both those cards were pretty important in that deck, so I was a bit surprised to not see them here.

Well, the deck started out as a train wreck, but I would really want to point out that this is no Train Wreck
It became something very different and in choosing Emrakul as my kill of choice, the deck has some very different play to it.
Therefore we really must consider, if a card is good in this deck. Even if it is similar to others, I have never seen anything matching its gameplay, as it somehow combines the deadlyness of combo with a near-indisruptability. At the cost of speed.

Therefore we must ask ourselves what Regrowth really does. It basically gives me access to every spell I have played up until then. So that mean extra tutors or removal. In Train Wreck Regrowth was also used to als get your kill conditions back after a non-sword solution.
We do not need that second aspect. What about the first then?
At this point we will have to see what we should actually take out of the deck in order to get Regrowth in.
Most would immediately think of Explore. But please, do try the card before you cut it, it has just proven to be way to good to be taken out. In order to get your defence up quickly you could even say it is essential.
Also, and this is important, Regrowth makes you more vulnerable to graveyard hate.

Staff of Domination is basically defence, engine and lifegain. Sounds good, especially when you play a deck with a lot of mana.
But when this deck has mana, it usually doesn't tutor for a Staff, which it could only get with Beseech, but it rather gets a Primeval Titan with either Living Wish or Beseech the Queen. And also, as long you havent played or seen this deck: If you resolve Primeval Titan, you win the game. Even if your opponent plays Swords to Plowshares right afterwards. Not much he can do then.



A really odd idea I'd like to add is what about crop rotation?

It acts as a tutor for you're one off lands and you can play it in response to wastelands targeting you're lands.

You can then also play one bojuka bog which you can tutor for.

I could tutor the Bojuka Bog with Living Wish, if I had it in my sideboard. Apart from that, it really is a good plan against Wastelands. I just wouldn't know where to fit it in. As a regular Maindeck choice it really slows down my game, and with the 8-11 (if you count the Tops) Tutors, I think that really is enough already.


I realize that this deck strikes any viewer as unconventional, and it really is easy to compare it to something familiar, like Train Wreck.
The thing is, it just isn't.
But be sure, it also isn't just a draft written hastily on a handkerchief. That was about half a year ago but I played it a lot, and it really works just as it is.
I don't say it is perfect and I am open to contructive critisism.
It would just be nice if you played the deck, even a little, to understand the very unique feeling of its gameplay.

muscleb
01-17-2011, 05:09 PM
So awesome to see explore being used well in a legacy deck, explore is just a great card(in the right deck of course). I have to try this deck at some point!

JCLe
01-17-2011, 07:53 PM
I've built a similar deck basing it off of train wreck just like you did and I must tell that this deck does win more than you'd think...

Something u'd definately want to look into is a Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale off the sideboard, it really helps against goblins god draws and/or against any stupid stuff like empty the warrens when ur on the play, it also obviously sinergizes very well with your 3 mazes main deck (I only had 2) and with exploration (i ran explore and a loam MD with 1 cycler in MD and 1 in SB).

Primeval Titan is really good also, but I cannot say for sure it would be good in the SB for your build.

Hope this helps and good luck getting more attention on this good deck.

arwall
01-17-2011, 07:56 PM
I have come to really love Thawing Glaciers; if you don't get Wastelanded it's pretty much smooth sailing lands-wise. It uses :1: to bring out the land, but then you can just play Thawing Glaciers again! Or, if you absolutely need to play something that turn, if you've got another land card go ahead and play that.

It's really come through for me when I've used it.

Nidd
01-17-2011, 08:06 PM
I've built a similar deck basing it off of train wreck just like you did and I must tell that this deck does win more than you'd think...

Something u'd definately want to look into is a Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale off the sideboard, it really helps against goblins god draws and/or against any stupid stuff like empty the warrens when ur on the play, it also obviously sinergizes very well with your 3 mazes main deck (I only had 2) and with exploration (i ran explore and a loam MD with 1 cycler in MD and 1 in SB).

Primeval Titan is really good also, but I cannot say for sure it would be good in the SB for your build.

Hope this helps and good luck getting more attention on this good deck.
Tabernacle was considered, but dismissed due to the huge price tag. Quite sad that this keeps a great card out of the deck, but what can we do... We'll test it and see whether it's worth the investion, I guess.

From what I know, the Titan in the SB is very important in order to be able to consistently have access to it. Remember, resolving it pretty much seals the deal as it means that Eye of Ugin is coming in.

If some people don't know how to approach the deck, think of Quinn with PainterStone but without Elspeth or Sacred Mesa with a much more resilient kill.
Seriously, this is Control with a combo-esque finish.

JCLe
01-17-2011, 09:56 PM
Fail, I did not see the Titan in the board...

How are the 2 coffers maindeck treating you? I remember running 3 with 2 uborgs and that was doing pretty well.
Also have you tried thoughtseizes over duresses? It's definately better against tempo strategies with a few creatures and lots of counters

Other than that I really like the deck and will try it for sure, thanks for the list !

perm
01-17-2011, 10:56 PM
So am I wrong or does it look like you just stall till turn ~11 and hardcast emrakul? Also, primeval titan being the only removable creature as 1 of in the deck makes it a pretty guaranteed swords target

Mystical_Jackass
01-18-2011, 12:29 AM
I really like the style of this deck, I can see how it works really well. Sort of a fusion between The Rock & Lands, with Explore being the glue that binds it together. I do like though that it's less gy vulnerable than, say, Lands because it doesn't run Loam as engine. And the fact that their removal is dead in their hand is great as well.

bruizar
01-18-2011, 03:05 AM
How do you plan on casting emrakul with wastelands around.

Confiducius
01-18-2011, 05:16 AM
Fail, I did not see the Titan in the board...

How are the 2 coffers maindeck treating you? I remember running 3 with 2 uborgs and that was doing pretty well.
Also have you tried thoughtseizes over duresses? It's definately better against tempo strategies with a few creatures and lots of counters

Other than that I really like the deck and will try it for sure, thanks for the list !

The deck run surprisingly well with only 2 Cabal coffers and 1 Urborg, though the two cards I cast Living Wish for most of the time are Urborg and the Titan.


So am I wrong or does it look like you just stall till turn ~11 and hardcast emrakul? Also, primeval titan being the only removable creature as 1 of in the deck makes it a pretty guaranteed swords target

Yeah, kind off. Well, not necessarily as late as turn 11, but yes. Concerning the Titan beeing removed: Why not? Actually in the last tournament the Titan always got removed the same turn it got out. But still, I got my two lands through the cip trigger. Now in lategame you can pretty much count on the fact, that you have at least 1 of the 4 manaproducing and Emrakul-fetching lands, so that makes a total of three, even if you haven't used any tutor beforehand to get more of those lands.
Then, the enemy feels save as he just gives you a 6-life present (how very nice of him) only play Emrakul the very next turn.


How do you plan on casting emrakul with wastelands around.

As described above:
Wasteland target Nr. 1 is always a bayou. After they see a Maze, they want to get rid of that. That's the point where I am pretty much save. And even when my enemy waits for the other lands next game, I still have 3 coffers and 2 urborg, counting the wish targets, so he will never get rid of it all. Also, game 2 my Life from the Loam will be put MD, to be fetched by Beseech the Queen.

Mr. Safety
01-18-2011, 09:44 AM
Great deck, great strategy. I really like it. The only thing is that your deck is weak to combo (stated by yourself). That's not good! How do you feel about Chalice of the Void in the sideboard or maybe 5-6 maindeck targeted discards (Inquisition of Kozilek or Thoughtseize)? I think with some minor changes, you could get yourself some decent combo hate in here.

Good luck with this! Interesting, to say the least.

Cletus89
01-23-2011, 08:10 AM
Hi Dennis,

you said that you've got not chance against Combo. I've tested your deck few times on MWS, and against combo-decks i prefer 4 Mindbreak Traps in the sideboard. Therefor i've cutted 1 Zuran Orb, 2 Extirpates and the Gigapede. Even if you don't want to have sb-options against combo, i would neither play Gigapede (in which mu do you need gigapede?) nor Zuran Orb. Why one random not-wishable orb against combo?.

Greetings, Cletus

Qweerios
01-23-2011, 05:09 PM
What about Solemn Simulacrum? or even Korlash, Heir to Blackblade? Perhaps even some Eternal Witness and/or Gatekeeper of Malakir to replace some tutor/removal effects. All of these work with the whole ramp/tutor/removal concept and can open up Cabal Therapy for your harder combo matchup. Althought, Chainer's is probably much better with ramp than Gatekeeper, just an idea for a Therapy plan.

I agree on Explore being the glue of the deck though, truly awesome with b/g coffer/ramp. Although, it seems to me like your deck needs more card drawing abilities. Splitting CQ and CA 50/50 might work better than going all out on Card Quality (Phyrexian Arena > Beseech maybe?).

Anyhow, with all those board sweepers and innocent bloods, I think Solemn would shine. Another thing, I would totally cut 2 Mazes from your MB for something other than lands, 25 lands and 1 maze is enough IMO.

DragoFireheart
01-24-2011, 12:10 AM
This deck drops dead to combo. I can imagine the match (favoring combo) is like 99-1 or something insane like that.

Sideboard maybe?

Confiducius
01-24-2011, 06:56 PM
Great deck, great strategy. I really like it. The only thing is that your deck is weak to combo (stated by yourself). That's not good! How do you feel about Chalice of the Void in the sideboard or maybe 5-6 maindeck targeted discards (Inquisition of Kozilek or Thoughtseize)? I think with some minor changes, you could get yourself some decent combo hate in here.

Good luck with this! Interesting, to say the least.


Hi Guys,

thanks for the input.
The combo Matchup really is bugging me, so let us talk about that this time.

First off, the real big Problem is not only the missing combo hate, but also the fact that we do not have a decent clock.
A good combo Deck has answers for basically any hate.
Therefore, hate does not make you win the matchup, hate only gives you some more rounds to play.

Now combine those two factores and you'll see that creating a decent combo matchup really isn't that easy.

There are some cards that I could use.
Inquisision of Kozilek
Thoughtseize (though the two life makes it easier for the combo player)
Mindbreak Trap (propably the best to have as a playset)


No we have the second big question.
What cards will we have to take out, to get some hate in?



Hi Dennis,

you said that you've got not chance against Combo. I've tested your deck few times on MWS, and against combo-decks i prefer 4 Mindbreak Traps in the sideboard. Therefor i've cutted 1 Zuran Orb, 2 Extirpates and the Gigapede. Even if you don't want to have sb-options against combo, i would neither play Gigapede (in which mu do you need gigapede?) nor Zuran Orb. Why one random not-wishable orb against combo?.

Greetings, Cletus

Now there is someone who took a real look at the deck. Thanks!
Before we start cutting away those cards, which truly are some uncertain choices, I would like to share my thoughts with you on the pro side of the cards.

Gigapede: I was once playing my first round against recurring waste. I really felt a surge of panic when I was frantically searching for any way to win. It turned out, the Gigapede was the only Win-Condition I had when being confined to my basics.
Zuran Orb: Works post board just like LftL, you board it in an can tutor it with Beseech the Queen turn 3. Put into play, it forces any combo player to count to 13. If not, he will have to use Empty the Warrens, playing right into our Plague/Pulse/Deed on hand.

So both cards have their purpose.
Extirpate: I will not cut this card. Period. There are way to many matchups where you can use this card, e.g. Goblins on Ringleader, Ichorid, any recurring.dec, control on Jace, Reanimator.

So now we have 2 possible free slots.
But there are more happy news!
I found one more slot.
The Deck only needs 5 basic swamps to run smoothly.
I put a 4. Maze from the SB main and it was ok.
That gives us one more slot in our SB.

So 3 possible SB slots.

After a bit testing I must say I do not agree with the opinion to just play 1 Maze main, but 3 will definatly do.

So we have 1 more MB slot.
What do we do here?

In my opinion, one Extirpate main could really do the trick.
It helps against a lot of matchups and it gives us a round 1 out against recurring waste, now that we did cut Gigapede.

With 1 Extirpate main wie finally made room for 4 Mindbreak Traps SB.
I really don't know if they will do it for me, due to the very slow clock, but we will see.

Final result:

MD
- 1 Swamp
+1 Extirpate


SB
-1 Zuran Orb
-1 Gigapede
-1 Maze of Ith
-1 Extirpate

+ 4 Mindbreak Trap

The only thing missing here is something against stupid burn.
But I guess that matchup is even less likely than combo.

What do you think?

OurSerratedDust
01-24-2011, 07:33 PM
If your matchups are so good against other decks, why dilute your side board for a matchup you will probably lose regardless? I don't know the ins and outs of your deck too well, but I would say you should devote your sideboard to improving matchups you have a chance winning. As a storm combo player, I'm honestly not too afraid of a couple Mindbreak Traps.

Nice deck though, looks solid.

EDIT: Two more things. How does DAD deal with a resolved Jace? Outside of a maelstrom pulse, I didn't see too many things that could deal with him. The second thing is, have you tried Deathmark in the deck? It seems like it might work nicely.

Confiducius
01-24-2011, 08:03 PM
If your matchups are so good against other decks, why dilute your side board for a matchup you will probably lose regardless? I don't know the ins and outs of your deck too well, but I would say you should devote your sideboard to improving matchups you have a chance winning. As a storm combo player, I'm honestly not too afraid of a couple Mindbreak Traps.

Nice deck though, looks solid.

EDIT: Two more things. How does DAD deal with a resolved Jace? Outside of a maelstrom pulse, I didn't see too many things that could deal with him. The second thing is, have you tried Deathmark in the deck? It seems like it might work nicely.


You are right about just abandoning the combo matchup. That is what I did with the old Decklist.
Right now I just found that there is some space in my Deck and I really want to try combo hate again.
Also, I really don't know what else my strong matchups could need in my sb.
I will test that in the future.
Lets see how this turnes out...


I have not yet tested Deathmark. Is it really necessary?
I guess I do have enough c1 Removal, and targeting might only become important against Goblins, or Bobs.

Oh, and against Jace I do what I do best:
I play Emrakul. ;)

MasterKazoom
01-24-2011, 09:57 PM
Is it just me, or does underlining the word play every time just seem cruel? Maybe it's just me, since my Dragon stompy has been crushed by his Emrakul too often already.

Did I mention he has an altered art Marshmellow Man Emrakul in his SB, for wishing purposes?

AngryTroll
01-24-2011, 11:27 PM
First of all, this deck looks awesome.

Inquisition of Kozilek looks like it would fit in really well. It deals with almost all of the creatures that see play in this format, but also gets Infernal Tutor, Burning Wish, Lion's Eye Diamond, and most of the rest of the cards you care about against combo. Second, I'd probably run Thoughtseize over Duress mainboard. Both will help against combo and both hit Jace, the Mind Sculptor but Thoughtseize counts as creature removal as well.

Do you flash back Chainer's Edict more or less often than you want to kill Mishra's Factory? If you find yourself wanting to hit Manlands more often, Diabolic Edict is the man for the job.

I'd more the Duresses to the board so that in game two you have at least 12 pieces of 1cc disruption. Combo will still be a pretty brutal uphill fight from there, though, with your win condition being so slow. If you simply accept that the combo matchup is that bad, Inquisition of Kozilek looks a lot less attractive main. I'd probably still run Thoughtseize over Duress, but I'm not sure how you can fix your combo matchup.

Awesome deck!

KærvekTheMerciless
01-25-2011, 12:02 AM
Did I mention he has an altered art Marshmellow Man Emrakul in his SB, for wishing purposes?

That's fucking awesome.

Oh. And if you consider black, consider Shadow of Doubt. It's pretty solid against combo. Just not Belcher.

Confiducius
01-25-2011, 07:33 AM
Is it just me, or does underlining the word play every time just seem cruel? Maybe it's just me, since my Dragon stompy has been crushed by his Emrakul too often already.

Did I mention he has an altered art Marshmellow Man Emrakul in his SB, for wishing purposes?

I am very sorry, I forgot the part about Damn Awesome Gameplay.
Occasionally, when I wish for my winning Emrakul, I sometimes just look through my Sideboard and start humming the Theme Music of Ghostbusters. (Yes, right there, you can hear it in your mind right now!)
Most just look at me very confused, until I show them this:

http://s3.mananation.com/uploads/2010/09/PHOTO16.jpg

Xiang
01-25-2011, 03:12 PM
This is indeed awesome^^

Qweerios
01-25-2011, 06:21 PM
Now I want one :(

Mr. Safety
01-26-2011, 12:53 PM
Hi Guys,

thanks for the input.
The combo Matchup really is bugging me, so let us talk about that this time.

First off, the real big Problem is not only the missing combo hate, but also the fact that we do not have a decent clock.
A good combo Deck has answers for basically any hate.
Therefore, hate does not make you win the matchup, hate only gives you some more rounds to play.

Now combine those two factores and you'll see that creating a decent combo matchup really isn't that easy.

There are some cards that I could use.
Inquisision of Kozilek
Thoughtseize (though the two life makes it easier for the combo player)
Mindbreak Trap (propably the best to have as a playset)

I would say you have to bring the targeted discard...and then rape their graveyard or library.

Extirpate
Sadistic Sacrament
Cranial Extraction
Haunting Echoes


Your clock won't matter if they don't have a win/condition. You can beat their face in with a Mishra's Factory, lol.

Xiang
01-26-2011, 01:26 PM
I would say you have to bring the targeted discard...and then rape their graveyard or library.

Extirpate
Sadistic Sacrament
Cranial Extraction
Haunting Echoes


Your clock won't matter if they don't have a win/condition. You can beat their face in with a Mishra's Factory, lol.

This worked when mysthical tutor was still around and storm combo had only 1-2 tendrils maindeck. TES is playing 4 burning wishes +2 win cons with different names main (though etw. is less relevant), belcher plays 4 wishes + 4 belcher, the only combo deck this might work against is solidarity if you take out the cunning wishes they can't kill you (cause of Emrakul), but you would have to resolve the sacrament through lots of countermagic. It's not longer an I win situation it just slows down combo. I think your combo matchup is negativ never the less but I might be wrong.^^ Might be worth testing. All in all I think the way this deck is designed it's not possible to get a possitiv matchup against combo at the moment. In a combo light meta it's really interesting.

Nidd
01-26-2011, 02:20 PM
I would say you have to bring the targeted discard...and then rape their graveyard or library.

Extirpate
Sadistic Sacrament
Cranial Extraction
Haunting Echoes


Your clock won't matter if they don't have a win/condition. You can beat their face in with a Mishra's Factory, lol.
Good luck winning against TES without a clock.
The deck features 8 Wishes, 8 I Tutors and 1-2 MD Winconditions. It's practically impossible to disrupt them to a level where this deck can win.

What I think should be mentioned to clean up a common misconception is the following:
I see people suggest cards like Hymn - cards a deck likle MBC would play because MBC cares about CA. DAD however doesn't care about CA. It simply cares about the boardstate and it's largely irrelevant for the deck whether it's opponent drops 1 or 2 creatures, because they can't get through the Mazes and will be cleared away by a Deed once the opponent threatens critical mass. Deed's job also isn't to create CA, because DAD doesn't win by depriving it's opponents of ressources - it wins by setting up Emrakul.
Like a combo deck, it keeps the interaction with it#s opponent to a minimum and then just wins.

conboy31
02-03-2011, 02:59 AM
I played a handful of games pre and post board tonight vs. Ubg Jacestill (http://www.eternal-central.com/?p=483) . The deck is a lot of fun to play and some outrageous scenarios crop up.

Preboard, we are unfavored. They have no creatures besides factory and we have 7 sorcery speed removal. These 7 dead cards are just too many unless we open up with 0 of them and land a t1 top. They have 2 dead cards (ghasty demise) and some weak pernicious deeds and innocent bloods. However, a top, brainstoms, and jace favors their ability to filter preboad dead cards.

'Just' casting Emrakul in the face of Jace is a noble goal, but it is often very hard with wasteland being added to the equation.

Postboard the match gets much much better. Dropping the 7 card sorcery speed removal suite opens up: 2 extirpate, 1 gigapde, 1 wasteland, 1 life from the loam, 1 ulamog the infinite, 1 primeval titan.

Depleting the strength of the wishboard is essential because they have cspell, spierce, snare, and fow. I found it better to use it as a bait spell or grabbing a land in the early game and trying to topdeck/tutor/top into the stronger tutor targets added to the md.

Extirpate is the MVP post board. Target either Jace/Factory/Wasteland and the game gets 20% easier. Target one of the other two with your 2nd extirpate and you win the game unless they happen to already have landed a jace and it has a bunch of counters on it.

I also played vs. mono blue merfolk but his deck does not use standstill which is actually strong vs. us. Being able to vial or drop a creature and sstill with a man land guarantees that they will be drawing three cards. Because he lacked that card advantage I was often able to win due to 2-1s or greater with edicts + fb, deeds, wrath, etc. I feel merf w/standstill would lower the win%.

It is a fun deck. No where else have I hardcast ulamog and emrakul on t7.

Edit- I think keeping wasteland in the board vs. control is wrong. The deck can tutor, filter, or lucksack a single wasteland with greater consistency vs. banking on A) resolving the wish and B) wasteland being most important at that precise moment.

Sniperfreak
03-16-2011, 01:37 PM
I think you should include 1 copy in the main or in the sb of Gamekeeper i think it fits very well in the deck.
I have been testing the deck and only i have to say is that is very powerful.

kiblast
03-16-2011, 02:02 PM
I played a handful of games pre and post board tonight vs. Ubg Jacestill (http://www.eternal-central.com/?p=483) .
Preboard, we are unfavored.
Postboard the match gets much much better.

I play Jacestill (both UBG or UBGw) and never had problems against DAD either pre board or post board. I think I never lost a single match against it. I play Loams as well (2 of ) so basically setting a Wastelock against UBG is really unprobable, because I'll probably set it before you (I play more cantrips and deckthinning) and I don't think 2 Extirpates can save you from the raw control of Jacestill. Anyway I really like this deck concept. How has been Gigapede working for you? I think I could fit it in Jacestill SB.