Not Quite Thresh(Gro)

[Angel of Despair]

I have been testing this deck for about 2 months now, and I think I am in love. I was an avid Thresh player. My team wanted me to switch decks a whole lot (mostly so they could use my FoW's and Trops) but I wouldn't switch. Sure, I picked up a couple of decks here and there, but I was always drawn back to its magesty. Unfortunately this card called Jotun Grunt came out, I'm sure you've heard of it. Anyway..between that and crypt, I found it harder to keep my creatures big. I started the transition by taking out 1 Werebear for the one Quirion Dryad I owned. I loved that tiny change, and I looked everywhere for three more, but everybody was out and nobody had any for trade, so I just tested it proxied and played with one in tournaments. FINALLY, I got them, and I got them for free! So now its time for the big change. Here is the decklist:

18 Land

4 Tundra
3 Tropical Island
4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
2 Island
1 Plains

12 Creatures

3 Jotun Grunt
3 Meddling Mage
4 Quirion Dryad
1 Mystic Enforcer
1 Loxodon Heirarch

30 Other Spells

4 Force of Will
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Brainstorm
4 Serum Visions
4 Counterspell
4 Daze
2 Peek
2 Portent
2 Pithing Needle

Sideboard:

3 Armageddon
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Jotun Grunt
2 Loxodon Heirarch
2 Tormod's Crypt
3 Krosan Grip
2 Hydroblast

Now for my choices

DRYAD: As I said before I originally tested her in the Werebear slot, she was good there, but not great because I had other green creatures and artifacts that didn't make her grow. Now she is MVP. I have had her with 7+ counters on her in some games, plus she is NOT RELIANT ON THRESH to get big

Grunt: He is great in the "Mirror" plus against IGG and Loam decks, Also how can you go wrong with 8 fetches, I have used StP 6 times in one game because of him!

Loxodon Heirarch: He is a good beater as a 4/4 plus he gains me 4 life. I am still testing him in here..and I am open to any other suggestions.

Peek: this card is really good with meddling mage, and its a cheap counter for Dryad

Portent: not even sure how much I like this card, but I couldnt find my predicts when I was building it. I even tried running Curiosity in this slot, but it was too suboptimal..and I am not sure If I want to play predict with so many fetch lands.

Armagedon: I cant even tell you how many times this card won me games 2-3, It is amazing with such a low curve!

E.E.: It is another removal spell

So far all of my matchups have improved, especially against decks that use the graveyard, and some people even sided in Tormod's Crypt against me because they thought I was playing thresh with Dryads. I love the surprise attack. I have only taken it to a couple of weekly tournaments but I did well with it. I will come back with more extensive match results after Sunday's 4X Tropical Island Tournament at The Dragons Lair.

[insertnamehere]

How have you fared against Goblins. I have seen several versions of this deck played and I am not sure if their is enough power to deal with Goblins. Have you considered splashing black for E. Plague or red for Pyroclasm?

[Angel of Despair]

How have you fared against Goblins. I have seen several versions of this deck played and I am not sure if their is enough power to deal with Goblins. Have you considered splashing black for E. Plague or red for Pyroclasm?

I have definately considered splashing black for E. Plague, there are a couple of matchups that I would like to see that card in play.

[ExplosPlankton]

How can you play jotun grunt and mystic enforcer in the same deck? This seems more than suboptimal. Cut the enforcer for another hierarch?

[Angel of Despair]

How can you play jotun grunt and mystic enforcer in the same deck? This seems more than suboptimal. Cut the enforcer for another hierarch?

yeah I was going to cut him for another Heirarch, but he is foil and oh so pretty. besides that, it has worked for me in a lot of cases, but it has also sat in my hand in a lot of cases. I just took the deck apart to try to build a Scepter Chant deck, and I was doing the list from memory. I took out the Enforcer after the last tournament I played and switched him for one of the heirarchs in the SB. I was also thinking about going -2 Portent +2 Counterbalance, or 2 more peek, but I haven't decided yet.

[noobslayer]

This list is the one I've been testing for about a month and a half now. I don't have a whole lot to say about it.

// Lands
2 [B] Island (1)
1 [B] Plains (1)
4 [B] Tundra
3 [B] Tropical Island
4 [ON] Flooded Strand
3 [ON] Polluted Delta

// Creatures
4 [PS] Meddling Mage
4 [PS] Quirion Dryad
3 [CS] Jotun Grunt

// Spells
2 [MM] Counterspell
3 [SOK] Pithing Needle
3 [SC] Stifle
4 [FD] Serum Visions
4 [B] Swords to Plowshares
4 [MM] Brainstorm
4 [AL] Force of Will
4 [NE] Daze
4 [IA] Portent

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [SOK] Pithing Needle
SB: 1 [SC] Stifle
SB: 3 [TSP] Krosan Grip
SB: 3 [PT] Armageddon
SB: 3 [RAV] Loxodon Hierarch
SB: 2 [DIS] Loaming Shaman
SB: 2 [IA] Hydroblast

[Citrus-God]

You dont run Geese'. You should so run Jittes in there. Also, cut the Portents for Sleight of Hand. You want to make your Dryad big right? Sleight of Hand gives you the card now, not next turn.

[Elf_Ascetic]

You dont run Geese'. You should so run Jittes in there. Also, cut the Portents for Sleight of Hand. You want to make your Dryad big right? Sleight of Hand gives you the card now, not next turn.

Or stifle, since you already run a lot of cantrips.

I'm not sure wether I like the fat-creature slot in this deck. 4 mana is a lot. I think you can cut back on lands when you're not running hierarchs, giving you more room for even more cantrips. :wink:

[noobslayer]

Um, with dryad, it's not a huge concern of getting the card, as much as it is getting the counter. Sleight of Hand and Portent do that at the same speed. Also, Portent is good in the burn match-up, where I want to buy myself a turn and not give them any gas.

EDIT: Jittes seem really good with 11 creatures in the deck.

[Angel of Despair]

I was running Stifle. I had 2 last tournament, thanks to Ben. It was in the peek slot I think. I took the deck apart and I guess I forgot to include some of the cards that I like the idea of taking out the 4cc guys though. maybe I will take those out to put Jitte back in. I took it out originally because I thought 4 artifacts were too much for this deck. I do like the idea of sleight of hand over portent though. Bane actually suggested that as well.

[Pinder]

EDIT: Jittes seem really good with 11 creatures in the deck.

Well, with a deck so devoted to getting and keeping a huge creature in play, Jitte as a 1-2 of might not be so bad. Huge Dryad wielding a Jitte is teh goods. And with all the cantrip you can find one when you need it, and put them back when you don't.

It might be a little win-more, but it's certainly worth testing, don't you think?

[Bane of the Living]

I like the synergy Peek has with Meddling Mage. Maybe it would be worth trying mroe before cutting them all together. IMO the deck doesnt need Serum Visions as much as it used to as thresh. You could replace it with another instant speed cantrip or Stifle. What the deck does seem to lack is a one drop creature. Would Mother of Runes fit in here at all? Then you dont rely on counters to protect Dryad. Turn one Mom, turn two Meddling Mage is a house against combo as well.

[noobslayer]

Don't Include Mother. If you are going to be playing peek and mage as a main deck pseudo-combo, you might as well drop needles into three slots as well to make peek all that more useful.

[Illissius]

An interesting idea -- Trinket Mage? Fetches Needle, Explosives, and maybe Crypt, while putting a counter on Dryad, and a body for Jitte. The one knock is that it costs three mana.

[Angel of Despair]

So here is my new list. It seemed to do way better than the first.
4 strands
4 Deltas
4 Tundra
3 Tropical Island

4 Quirion Dryad
4 Meddling Mage
3 Jotun Grunt
3 Isamaru, Hound of Konda

4 StP
4 FoW
4 Brainstorm
3 Counterspell
3 Daze
4 Peek
3 Stifle
2 Serum Visions
2 Jitte

I want to find room to put Pithing Needle back in, but I just don't know what to cut. help?

I took out the Heirarch's and the Enforcers. It seems like I might still need a finisher though. I am finding more and more that my Dryad is getting killed before she gets really big, and Jitte seemed to be really popular yesterday, so I was using it more to save my ass by blowing up another one. When I actually did play and equip it though it was great.

@Illissius: I don't know about Trinket Mage. Maybe in the sideboard, but I don't know if it will be good enough for what I am trying for, at least not until Pithing Needle is back in the maindeck.

[Nydaeli]

Evil Roopey has T8ed once or twice with a list similar to this. As I recall he doesn't run Meddling Mages maindeck, opting instead for Watchwolf, which is surprisingly solid.

Here, I found the thread.
http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4219

[Jaynel]

I like Isamaru as a cheap beater, but do you feel it clogs up the 1cc slot at all?

I fully support running Mages maindeck. At the Tropical Island tournament, I saw them help out with the combo matchup incredibly game one.

It seems like Grunt makes a fine finisher. It's as big as a Hierarch, and Mystic Enforcer lacks synergy with the rest of the deck (well, it does function well with the 10 cantrips and free counters, but it opens you up to graveyard hate, which the deck is able to avoid in it's present state).

Once your opponent has used up Swords on Mages and Dryads, you just need to swing in with Grunt and remember to pay the upkeep cost :wink: .

[jazzykat]

I fully support running Mages maindeck. At the Tropical Island tournament, I saw them help out with the combo matchup incredibly game one. They also give twice as many counters to Dryad as Watchwolf does.


I believe you only get one counter for casting either a Meddling Mage or a Watchwolf.

[Jaynel]

Ah, I was incorrect. I still think Mage offers more with a 2/2 body than a vanilla 3/3 does. It also makes the green splash simply for Dryad (and SB options).

[Angel of Despair]

I like Isamaru as a cheap beater, but do you feel it clogs up the 1cc slot at all?

I fully support running Mages maindeck. At the Tropical Island tournament, I saw them help out with the combo matchup incredibly game one. They also give twice as many counters to Dryad as Watchwolf does.

It seems like Grunt makes a fine finisher. It's as big as a Hierarch, and Mystic Enforcer lacks synergy with the rest of the deck (well, it does function well with the 10 cantrips and free counters, but it opens you up to graveyard hate, which the deck is able to avoid in it's present state).

Once your opponent has used up Swords on Mages and Dryads, you just need to swing in with Grunt and remember to pay the upkeep cost :wink: .

I do not think he clogs up the slot. I actually put him in there because I felt I was lacking 1 drops. I think I may bring him down to 2 though and take out a peek or something for my 2 pithing needles. I felt that my games would have been a lot better if I had them in there. (Survival...)

[Bane of the Living]

Do you think you need Krosan Grip? Because I noticed a couple games where Disenchant would've grew your Dryad and the situation didnt call for split second.

[Lego]

Have you considered more draw? You've got no actual card advantage in the list, and this seems like it will hurt, especially against Solidarity. Compared to Thresh, you're going to draw into more creatures/Jitte and need to be able to make that up. Maybe even a Predict engine would do it. I think Peek is probably just a crutch, so if you go 4 Brainstorm, 4 Serum Visions, you should be okay running Predict. I don't know if you've found that the lack of CA hurts in that matchup though.

[Tacosnape]

Has anyone considered Opt/Impulse? The thing about Quirion Dryad is that I like to be able to make my cantrips function as miniature giant growths at instant speed.