Derm
06-29-2011, 06:19 AM
The idea seems completely absurd, I know. Ichorid is the shit. But test this out. It wins by turn 3 or 4 most of the time, provided that you're not disrupted.
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Bridge from Below
4 Breakthrough
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Deep Analysis
4 Bloodghast
3 Putrid Imp/Oona's Prowler
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Narcomoeba
2 Dread Return
2 Flame-Kin Zealot
4 City of Brass
4 Gemstone Mine
3 Polluted Delta
1 Underground Sea
1 Island
1 Swamp
3 Dakmor Salvage
SB:
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
4 Ancient Grudge
4 Ray of Revelation
1 Darkblast
4 Firestorm
The idea with this deck is to get 2 lands into play. If you do, you threaten to Deep Analysis and win on any given turn. The Bloodghasts fill the Ichorid spot better for this more combo-ish version of the deck because in the middle of your second Deep Analysis of the turn (which happens all the time, since you run 4 and LED's to activate them), you dredge a Dakmor Salvage, pop 2 or 3 Bloodghasts back into play, and win right away, whereas Ichorid makes you wait a turn.
Breakthrough for 1 is a very strong play, both because it avoids Mental Misstep and because it allows you to grab an extra land or an LED (or another Breakthrough FTW) off the top and keep it in your hand.
It seems foolish not to run Cephalid Coliseum, but I tested them, and in this particular version of Dredge, they don't work that well. The fact that the Coliseum's ability is uncounterable doesn't end up being relevant that often because you can just Cabal Therapy to get around whatever disruption your opponent has. The issue with Cephalid Coliseum is that it requires a second U producing land, whereas with Deep Analysis as your main go-off card, you only need one. And obviously the main drawback to the Coliseum is that they're only good if you draw them in your opening hand or first couple of draws. After that, once you're dredging, they're completely useless and Deep Analysis is a powerhouse.
Test it out. I know there are any number of theoretical arguments against this version of Dredge, but keep in mind that I've played it a bunch on Cockatrice and with friends and it was working well. Most of my match losses came from stupid errors I made (letting Bridges die for no good reason, etc.) since I'm new to Dredge. Goldfish a bit and see how she handles.
Problems so far: Cursecatcher, since I don't run Darkblast main; Qasali Pridemage, since I have no way to kill it or prevent its ability from removing my Bridges once it's on the board.
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Bridge from Below
4 Breakthrough
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Deep Analysis
4 Bloodghast
3 Putrid Imp/Oona's Prowler
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Narcomoeba
2 Dread Return
2 Flame-Kin Zealot
4 City of Brass
4 Gemstone Mine
3 Polluted Delta
1 Underground Sea
1 Island
1 Swamp
3 Dakmor Salvage
SB:
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
4 Ancient Grudge
4 Ray of Revelation
1 Darkblast
4 Firestorm
The idea with this deck is to get 2 lands into play. If you do, you threaten to Deep Analysis and win on any given turn. The Bloodghasts fill the Ichorid spot better for this more combo-ish version of the deck because in the middle of your second Deep Analysis of the turn (which happens all the time, since you run 4 and LED's to activate them), you dredge a Dakmor Salvage, pop 2 or 3 Bloodghasts back into play, and win right away, whereas Ichorid makes you wait a turn.
Breakthrough for 1 is a very strong play, both because it avoids Mental Misstep and because it allows you to grab an extra land or an LED (or another Breakthrough FTW) off the top and keep it in your hand.
It seems foolish not to run Cephalid Coliseum, but I tested them, and in this particular version of Dredge, they don't work that well. The fact that the Coliseum's ability is uncounterable doesn't end up being relevant that often because you can just Cabal Therapy to get around whatever disruption your opponent has. The issue with Cephalid Coliseum is that it requires a second U producing land, whereas with Deep Analysis as your main go-off card, you only need one. And obviously the main drawback to the Coliseum is that they're only good if you draw them in your opening hand or first couple of draws. After that, once you're dredging, they're completely useless and Deep Analysis is a powerhouse.
Test it out. I know there are any number of theoretical arguments against this version of Dredge, but keep in mind that I've played it a bunch on Cockatrice and with friends and it was working well. Most of my match losses came from stupid errors I made (letting Bridges die for no good reason, etc.) since I'm new to Dredge. Goldfish a bit and see how she handles.
Problems so far: Cursecatcher, since I don't run Darkblast main; Qasali Pridemage, since I have no way to kill it or prevent its ability from removing my Bridges once it's on the board.