MaximumC
03-24-2014, 02:19 PM
So I've been interested in Scapeshift ever since they printed Thespian Stage. That, plus the new legend rule, makes Scapeshift an instant Marit Lage token. I've been brewing, and I believe I have a list that will reliably land a Marit Lage token on turn 3, usually with protection on turn 4, and can reliably re-assemble the combo repeatedly if stopped the first time. Here's what I've come up with:
Tutors (7)
4 Scapeshift
3 Crop Rotation
Why the 4/3 split? Well, Scapeshift is instant Marit Lage from almost any board position in this deck. Crop Rotation is sometimes a dead card. Plus, Rotation kills your land as part of the cost, meaning you get boned if it gets countered, whereas you do not have that problem with Scapeshift.
Combo (6)
3 Thespian Stage
3 Dark Depths
Three of each means you will draw into the combo naturally on a regular basis, without getting too flooded with useless combo pieces. You have tutors, yes, but the tutors can be countered. The threat of drawing into the combo naturally is killer against decks relying on countermagic. You can board one of each out against decks with no countermagic.
Reslienancy (1)
1 Life from the Loam
I like a singleton here. It lets you recur your combo as much as you like, but your deck is not designed to play like Lands and fill the yard. An opponent who sees this game 1 will bring in yard hate, but in fact this is such a small part of your strategy that it is virtually useless.
Dig (5)
4 Brainstorm
3 Ponder
Sort of goes without saying that you want many top deck dig spells in a deck that shuffles as much as this one does. One Ponder is missing in favor of Crop Rotation (because we also play Halimar Depths) but this might be wrong.
Acceleration (9)
4 Lotus Cobra
2 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors
This is what makes Scapeshift really tick. You can shift three lands to get the combo and a sol land, instantly making Marit Lage. Cobra lets you shift two lands and you automatically have the mana to make Marit Lage right there. This is preferable, because it can happen on turn 3 with protection. (Turn 1 land, turn 2 land cobra, turn 3 fetch, make mana, scapeshift for combo, have 3 blue mana to activate and protect).
Protection (11)
4 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
4 Swan Song
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Echoing Truth
The protection suite is aimed at doing two things: (1) stopping faster combo decks from killing you; (2) stopping countermagic on your tutors; and (3) stopping removal against Marit Lage. The most likely things that will kill Marit Lage are Swords to Plowshares, Terminus, Ensnaring Bridge, Wasteland and Humility. Bridge is the lesser played of these answers, so the counterspell package is designed to hose the instant / sorcery / enchantment answers. I prefer Song to Flusterstorm here specifically because it stops Humility, which otherwise leaves you cold. Wasteland is a less of a problem for this build than it might appear, since you can just shift into two Stages and then go off with 4 mana.
I like a Misdirection to keep decks with Abrupt Decay honest. Yea, it doesn't hit your Marit Lage (well it does, but then you lol and swing for the win) but it does kill your cobras which slows you down.
Alternative Win (2)
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Jace is Jace. He wins, answers Emrakul, finds your combo... I'd run more if I owned them.
Other Lands (19)
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Detla
4 Tropical Island
1 Breeding Pool
1 Halimar Depths
2 Forest
1 Island
1 Underground Sea
1 Bayou
1 City of Brass
SIDEBOARD (15)
4 Toxic Deluge - Criminally underplayed answer to decks who can race faster than you can land a 20/20.
2 Faerie Macabre - My BFF against dredge and reanimator. Cannot be countered or hit with duress, and is a dork in a pinch.
2 Echoing Truth - Answer for Ensnaring Bridge or similar permanent threats. Can't use Chain of Vapor here because it plays really badly when both Marit Lange and a Bridge are on the table.\
4 Deathrite Shaman - Also helps against Dredge, buys us time against fast aggro decks. Might be maindeckable, but honestly is slower than Cobra if you're just going for it.
2 Tarmagoyf - You can do a nice BUG impression if you're up against a deck light on creatures.
1 Grove of the Guardian - A cute alternative wincon with Scapeshift if you're bringing in the goyfs and shaman.
I have not had a chance to try this out competitively, but in gold fishing this deck appears to present Marit Lage on turn 3 more than half of the time. Then, assuming he's dealt with, it is very resilient and keeps coming at the opponent with Marit Lage every few turns thereafter. The only time you fizzle is when you've sacrificed all your lands to get Marit Lage and have no gas left in hand.
Open to suggestions and comments, particularly from someone who has tried this before!
Tutors (7)
4 Scapeshift
3 Crop Rotation
Why the 4/3 split? Well, Scapeshift is instant Marit Lage from almost any board position in this deck. Crop Rotation is sometimes a dead card. Plus, Rotation kills your land as part of the cost, meaning you get boned if it gets countered, whereas you do not have that problem with Scapeshift.
Combo (6)
3 Thespian Stage
3 Dark Depths
Three of each means you will draw into the combo naturally on a regular basis, without getting too flooded with useless combo pieces. You have tutors, yes, but the tutors can be countered. The threat of drawing into the combo naturally is killer against decks relying on countermagic. You can board one of each out against decks with no countermagic.
Reslienancy (1)
1 Life from the Loam
I like a singleton here. It lets you recur your combo as much as you like, but your deck is not designed to play like Lands and fill the yard. An opponent who sees this game 1 will bring in yard hate, but in fact this is such a small part of your strategy that it is virtually useless.
Dig (5)
4 Brainstorm
3 Ponder
Sort of goes without saying that you want many top deck dig spells in a deck that shuffles as much as this one does. One Ponder is missing in favor of Crop Rotation (because we also play Halimar Depths) but this might be wrong.
Acceleration (9)
4 Lotus Cobra
2 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors
This is what makes Scapeshift really tick. You can shift three lands to get the combo and a sol land, instantly making Marit Lage. Cobra lets you shift two lands and you automatically have the mana to make Marit Lage right there. This is preferable, because it can happen on turn 3 with protection. (Turn 1 land, turn 2 land cobra, turn 3 fetch, make mana, scapeshift for combo, have 3 blue mana to activate and protect).
Protection (11)
4 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
4 Swan Song
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Echoing Truth
The protection suite is aimed at doing two things: (1) stopping faster combo decks from killing you; (2) stopping countermagic on your tutors; and (3) stopping removal against Marit Lage. The most likely things that will kill Marit Lage are Swords to Plowshares, Terminus, Ensnaring Bridge, Wasteland and Humility. Bridge is the lesser played of these answers, so the counterspell package is designed to hose the instant / sorcery / enchantment answers. I prefer Song to Flusterstorm here specifically because it stops Humility, which otherwise leaves you cold. Wasteland is a less of a problem for this build than it might appear, since you can just shift into two Stages and then go off with 4 mana.
I like a Misdirection to keep decks with Abrupt Decay honest. Yea, it doesn't hit your Marit Lage (well it does, but then you lol and swing for the win) but it does kill your cobras which slows you down.
Alternative Win (2)
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Jace is Jace. He wins, answers Emrakul, finds your combo... I'd run more if I owned them.
Other Lands (19)
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Detla
4 Tropical Island
1 Breeding Pool
1 Halimar Depths
2 Forest
1 Island
1 Underground Sea
1 Bayou
1 City of Brass
SIDEBOARD (15)
4 Toxic Deluge - Criminally underplayed answer to decks who can race faster than you can land a 20/20.
2 Faerie Macabre - My BFF against dredge and reanimator. Cannot be countered or hit with duress, and is a dork in a pinch.
2 Echoing Truth - Answer for Ensnaring Bridge or similar permanent threats. Can't use Chain of Vapor here because it plays really badly when both Marit Lange and a Bridge are on the table.\
4 Deathrite Shaman - Also helps against Dredge, buys us time against fast aggro decks. Might be maindeckable, but honestly is slower than Cobra if you're just going for it.
2 Tarmagoyf - You can do a nice BUG impression if you're up against a deck light on creatures.
1 Grove of the Guardian - A cute alternative wincon with Scapeshift if you're bringing in the goyfs and shaman.
I have not had a chance to try this out competitively, but in gold fishing this deck appears to present Marit Lage on turn 3 more than half of the time. Then, assuming he's dealt with, it is very resilient and keeps coming at the opponent with Marit Lage every few turns thereafter. The only time you fizzle is when you've sacrificed all your lands to get Marit Lage and have no gas left in hand.
Open to suggestions and comments, particularly from someone who has tried this before!