Tao
12-19-2013, 02:12 PM
Over the past weeks I have been experimenting quite a lot with different Fire control lists and I think I finally came up with something that feels quite competitive. The deck is designed to feast on all creature heavy decks as well as Tempo decks while still being able to hold its ground against Control and having a shot against Combo. The maindeck feels very well rounded and I like all numbers, the Sideboard is still a bit rough.
The list:
4 Punishing Fire
4 Liliana of the Veil
4 Abrupt Decay
3 Innocent Blood
4 Pernicious Deed
3 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Slaughter Games
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
2 Eternal Witness
2 Life from the Loam
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
3 Treetop Village
3 Bayou
1 Taiga
2 Badlands
1 Wooded Foothills
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Swamp
1 Forest
2 Wasteland
2 Bloodstained Mire
SB: 4 Thoughtseize
SB: 4 Red Elemental Blast
SB: 2 Thrun, the Last Troll
SB: 2 Surgical Extraction
SB: 2 Duress
SB: 1 Wasteland
It plays an enormous amount of removal which is possible because the two key of the deck - Punishing Fire and Liliana of the Veil - also act as threats.
Liliana is a very good card in the deck because with all the other removal you play you are able to protect her and slowly tick her up to her ultimate. Her Discard ability also synergizes with Life from the Loam and Punishing Fire. Another strength of hers is that she can take care of bigger creatures like Tombstalker that you won't be able to kill with Deed, Decay or Fire.
Punishing Fire is extremely important as a form of card advantage and as a way to deal with Planeswalkers, especially Jace TMS.
The other removal spells are Abrupt Decay, Pernicious Deed and Innocent Blood.
Abrupt Decay is the best targeted removal in the format and it is an important card because it also takes care of things that would otherwise be tough to beat like Counterbalance.
Pernicious Deed is simply the best sweeper in the format and you can often get two for ones from it.
Innocent Blood is in the deck to complement the removal suit for things like Mongoose and to make sure you won't get overrun. You don't have many other 1-drops so the fact that it lets you play multiple spells in the early turns is very nice.
With this much removal the deck has a very easy time against all kinds of aggression like from Delver decks. It can also easily deal with most midrange decks. Against traditional Jund you can usually go over the top of what they do and things like True-Name Nemesis are not able to stay in play for more than turn.
The card that might raise some eyebrows is Slaughter Games but it is actually very important against cards that you will otherwise find difficult to beat like Life from the Loam, Punishing Fire or many other recursion engines. It is also very good against the Miracles deck and a key card in stealing G1 wins from Combo decks. It is a dead card in aggressive matchups but you already have an awesome matchup against those decks - you are usually still able to beat RUG even if you draw a Slaughter Games.
To ensure you can actually win the game you play a good amount of sources of card advantage, recursion and card selection (Sensei's Top, Liliana, Witness, Loam + Treetop Village / Grove / Wasteland). The 2 Wastelands are not to mana screw the opponent but to combat lands with abilities like Academy Ruins or Mutavault. A third copy of Wasteland is in the Sideboard to help against decks like 12-post or Dark Depths.
The deck plays Garruk Primal Hunter as an additional win condition for grindy matches. Garruk works well with your own Innocent Bloods and Deeds and is not affected by Terminus, Swords, a single Bolt or Abrupt Decay. In Preboard games most opposing decks should not be able to deal with these threats, especially with the help of Slaughter Games. Post board you can side in Thrun for Innocent Blood in the right matchups to have an easier time winning through graveyard hate and to put pressure on Jace TMS.
The Combo matchup is not very good in G1 but you can steal some games with Slaughter Games and Liliana + Inquisition is also quite nice. A big part of the Sideboard is dedicated to Combo to help fix this issue.
The list:
4 Punishing Fire
4 Liliana of the Veil
4 Abrupt Decay
3 Innocent Blood
4 Pernicious Deed
3 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Slaughter Games
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
2 Eternal Witness
2 Life from the Loam
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
3 Treetop Village
3 Bayou
1 Taiga
2 Badlands
1 Wooded Foothills
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Swamp
1 Forest
2 Wasteland
2 Bloodstained Mire
SB: 4 Thoughtseize
SB: 4 Red Elemental Blast
SB: 2 Thrun, the Last Troll
SB: 2 Surgical Extraction
SB: 2 Duress
SB: 1 Wasteland
It plays an enormous amount of removal which is possible because the two key of the deck - Punishing Fire and Liliana of the Veil - also act as threats.
Liliana is a very good card in the deck because with all the other removal you play you are able to protect her and slowly tick her up to her ultimate. Her Discard ability also synergizes with Life from the Loam and Punishing Fire. Another strength of hers is that she can take care of bigger creatures like Tombstalker that you won't be able to kill with Deed, Decay or Fire.
Punishing Fire is extremely important as a form of card advantage and as a way to deal with Planeswalkers, especially Jace TMS.
The other removal spells are Abrupt Decay, Pernicious Deed and Innocent Blood.
Abrupt Decay is the best targeted removal in the format and it is an important card because it also takes care of things that would otherwise be tough to beat like Counterbalance.
Pernicious Deed is simply the best sweeper in the format and you can often get two for ones from it.
Innocent Blood is in the deck to complement the removal suit for things like Mongoose and to make sure you won't get overrun. You don't have many other 1-drops so the fact that it lets you play multiple spells in the early turns is very nice.
With this much removal the deck has a very easy time against all kinds of aggression like from Delver decks. It can also easily deal with most midrange decks. Against traditional Jund you can usually go over the top of what they do and things like True-Name Nemesis are not able to stay in play for more than turn.
The card that might raise some eyebrows is Slaughter Games but it is actually very important against cards that you will otherwise find difficult to beat like Life from the Loam, Punishing Fire or many other recursion engines. It is also very good against the Miracles deck and a key card in stealing G1 wins from Combo decks. It is a dead card in aggressive matchups but you already have an awesome matchup against those decks - you are usually still able to beat RUG even if you draw a Slaughter Games.
To ensure you can actually win the game you play a good amount of sources of card advantage, recursion and card selection (Sensei's Top, Liliana, Witness, Loam + Treetop Village / Grove / Wasteland). The 2 Wastelands are not to mana screw the opponent but to combat lands with abilities like Academy Ruins or Mutavault. A third copy of Wasteland is in the Sideboard to help against decks like 12-post or Dark Depths.
The deck plays Garruk Primal Hunter as an additional win condition for grindy matches. Garruk works well with your own Innocent Bloods and Deeds and is not affected by Terminus, Swords, a single Bolt or Abrupt Decay. In Preboard games most opposing decks should not be able to deal with these threats, especially with the help of Slaughter Games. Post board you can side in Thrun for Innocent Blood in the right matchups to have an easier time winning through graveyard hate and to put pressure on Jace TMS.
The Combo matchup is not very good in G1 but you can steal some games with Slaughter Games and Liliana + Inquisition is also quite nice. A big part of the Sideboard is dedicated to Combo to help fix this issue.