[Article]Eternal Europe: Diamonds in the Rough

[Mon,Goblin Chief]

Wanna see some of the more innovative decks seeing play right now? Check it out:

http://www.starcitygames.com/article/25717_Eternal-Europe-ndash-Diamonds-In-The-Rough.html

[Koby]

Thanks for writing Carsten!

[GGoober]

Wanna see some of the more innovative decks seeing play right now? Check it out:

http://www.starcitygames.com/article/25717_Eternal-Europe-ndash-Diamonds-In-The-Rough.html

That Crackanimator list is pretty awesome. Although aside from Entombs, how can you consistently get Griselbrand out? It seems that the consistency bottleneck is having Griselbrands stuck early in your hand and not having access to 'entomb'-like spells outside of 4 entombs.

I see your soft spot for "Dreadstalker" (StifleNought) in the article :P I really liked the way the deck worked although I feel that to be relevant in the metagame of abrupt decays, you would need to include more copies of Vision Charm. Abrupt Decay means that you are almost always guaranteed to lose your Dreadnought unless you lead the setup with discard. Vision Charm has always been an amazing card in the deck (still being relevant against Batterskull but its main application is completely trolling opponent removal for a cheap U. In addition Dreadnought + Vision Charm allows Dreadnought to be out of play and return back with 'haste', allowing you to tap out on turn 2 without fear of Liliana/removal since the Nought is no longer there until you untap with a hand of protection).

[alastair]

That Crackanimator list is pretty awesome. Although aside from Entombs, how can you consistently get Griselbrand out? It seems that the consistency bottleneck is having Griselbrands stuck early in your hand and not having access to 'entomb'-like spells outside of 4 entombs.

From library its Entomb & Intuition. From hand you have Brainstrom, Thoughtseize, and Therapy. Draw, pass, discard also works fine.

[xfxf]

Good article. Although I'm having a hard time believing Stiflenought to be a real contender in an environment where everyone and their mums are running handfuls of Swords to Plowshares and Abrupt Decays.

[.dk]

Commented on SCG as well, but thought I'd also post here and say thanks for the article. I really like the way you break down data points, and then draw conclusions from them. And of course, your mono-white aggro deck looks awesome with blind obedience and meekstone. :)

And thanks for the shoutout as well!


For those in the thread asking about how Tin Fins works (or Crackanimator) - Carsten linked to the thread in his article, but you can check out the development thread here:

http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?24104-TinFins-3-Return-of-the-Onion-Burst

Having Griselbrand in your hand isn't a problem - you can Therapy or Thoughtseize yourself to pitch it. Or Careful study if you're running it. The deck runs a ridiculous amount of reanimation spells, so drawing into one of those with Brainstorms, Ponders, Studies really isn't hard.

[ScatmanX]

From library its Entomb & Intuition. From hand you have Brainstrom, Thoughtseize, and Therapy. Draw, pass, discard also works fine.
Also, 4 Rituals, 4 Petals, 2 Mox could help.

Very nice read, as always.

[Mr. Safety]

Great read, and the Vial White Weenie deck was interesting. I agree that Thalia NEEDS to be maindeck, and I also think that the deck could go even further in the tax direction with Thorn of Amethyst in the sideboard. It's so heavy with creatures that it would be smart to double up on taxes (Thalia, Thorn) against combo decks. Turn 1 Vial, turn 2 Thorn, then use Vial to advance beats while sitting on Wasteland killing their non-basics. Playing 8 Functional Thalias against combo seems pretty good. Oh yeah, and don't forget about Ethersworn Canonist!!!

I've been talking up Aven Mindcensor with folks lately, mostly for Modern, but I can see how it would be such a nice boost in Maverick or Bant. I'd love to play NO-Pro Bant, but I don't have the blue duals to make it work. I do however plan on using NO-Pro in my Junk sideboard. It feels like a good time to play a little more unfair, and also dodge those Abrupt Decays.

[lordofthepit]

Nice article, as usual.

I was thinking Dreadnought and Bant were good choices right now. However, do you agree on the maindecks of the lists you posted, or would you go a different direction?

[Seiklos]

Thanks for the highlighting my Dreadnought list, but it really works a lot better when no one expects it!

@bilb_o: It's true, removal is a weakness it shares with other decks that play creatures, however, it does have ways to combat it. Honestly, it's not for all metas, but here in the Midwest it's pretty decent.