Finn
07-03-2007, 04:43 PM
It seems we all tend to stick with what we like. Zilla likes his stompy critters, Jack is still on a crusade in search of control. And I always seem to come back to the same aggro-control spot. After several abortive attempts with Tarmogoyf, I figured it belonged best in Threshold. I still think so, but I hate blue. So I began by trying to build Threshold without blue. Street Wraith is not up to the hype. Edge of Autumn wasn't bad, but I almost never cast it (except to play Street Wraith), and the deck has plenty of Sorceries and Lands already. Tombstalker is too counterproductive, and not better than the Goyf. So I went more traditional and I don't know quite what to call it. The meta is moving rapidly into the combo zone, and this deck has that in mind. If black (and not blue) is your defense, you get the benefit of dandy creatures and removal. Anyway, here is the result after much testing and tweaking.
Creature (15)
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Nimble Mongoose
4 Dark Confidant
3 Nantuko Shade
Sorcery (11)
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Duress
3 Vindicate
Instant (7)
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Cremate
Artifact (4)
4 Engineered Explosives
Enchantment (4)
4 Sicken
Land (19)
4 Polluted Delta
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Forest
2 Swamp
4 Bayou
4 Scrubland
side (15)
3 Contagion
4 Sphere of Resistance
3 Jotun Grunt
2 Pithing Needle
3 Mutilate
It turns out that the deck really isn't that much like Threshold after all. The more I tried to emulate it, the more I found myself wishing I were playing Daze and the like. So I stopped trying, and found the deck improving to the point that it actually has advantages over Threshold.
Yes, it's in there:
1. Sicken came as a pretty big surprise to me, but I have really liked it. Looking at it now, I am not quite sure what the problem ever was. It has obvious turn 1 purposes, and since combo is among the easier matchups, I tend to have plenty of opportunity to cycle it when I need to.
2. Cremate has been pretty good to me. I can pick and choose what to remove when I just need to cycle it, and I get to have fun with Life from the Loam and Tendrils.
Notably absent:
1. Street Wraith, Tombstalker, Edge of Autumn see above
2. Cabal Therapy - Just couldn't fit it. The combo matchup is pretty good, so I figured this could slide. And I discovered that it's not quite as good against today's combo anyway.
Does it get to Threshold reliably?
Not nearly as well as Threshold. Sometimes it is turn 4 or 5. Sometimes, not for a while longer. This can be an issue where the Mongoose is concerned, and is a sticking point. But it is not a major one. I suspect that it is because this deck does not play counters. There is a lot of creature removal in the main. Consequently the mongoose is still a very strong turn one play even if it only deals one point for a few turns.
Matchups:
I'm afraid this is 100% MWS crapola, so in this case, it can only show trends. So I am not going to even bother digging up the numbers.
Stax: very, very good - all the tools are present to make Stax hate you.
Belcher: very good - they can belch you before your first turn - nothing you can do about that. But if that fails to happen, you have a lot of advantages.
TES: (only two games) Like Belcher, but seems even better for you since they have Cremate in the main to worry about for IGG.
Landstill: pretty good - the sb is not especially well suited for this though.
Threshold: dead even - played a lot, I mean a lot of these. It was commonly
Goyf Standoffs until someone got the upper hand.
Goblins: Not very good. You are disruptible, and a half step slower. Stuff like Duress and Vindicate just don't cut it here. The board helps a lot though, and for opponents who stuck around for games 2 and 3, I fared much, much better.
I seem to be facing the same decks all the time these days. And this is all if them that are worth noting.
Notes:
The land supply is on the shaky side. Perhaps one more Swamp could be in order. Mutilate used to be Pernicious Deed, which is so often a beating, but not quite as good in the hardest matchups, and there are a few artifacts of my own that I would like to keep around. It hurt to remove it, but Mutilate can often spare Goyf or the Shade.
Creature (15)
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Nimble Mongoose
4 Dark Confidant
3 Nantuko Shade
Sorcery (11)
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Duress
3 Vindicate
Instant (7)
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Cremate
Artifact (4)
4 Engineered Explosives
Enchantment (4)
4 Sicken
Land (19)
4 Polluted Delta
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Forest
2 Swamp
4 Bayou
4 Scrubland
side (15)
3 Contagion
4 Sphere of Resistance
3 Jotun Grunt
2 Pithing Needle
3 Mutilate
It turns out that the deck really isn't that much like Threshold after all. The more I tried to emulate it, the more I found myself wishing I were playing Daze and the like. So I stopped trying, and found the deck improving to the point that it actually has advantages over Threshold.
Yes, it's in there:
1. Sicken came as a pretty big surprise to me, but I have really liked it. Looking at it now, I am not quite sure what the problem ever was. It has obvious turn 1 purposes, and since combo is among the easier matchups, I tend to have plenty of opportunity to cycle it when I need to.
2. Cremate has been pretty good to me. I can pick and choose what to remove when I just need to cycle it, and I get to have fun with Life from the Loam and Tendrils.
Notably absent:
1. Street Wraith, Tombstalker, Edge of Autumn see above
2. Cabal Therapy - Just couldn't fit it. The combo matchup is pretty good, so I figured this could slide. And I discovered that it's not quite as good against today's combo anyway.
Does it get to Threshold reliably?
Not nearly as well as Threshold. Sometimes it is turn 4 or 5. Sometimes, not for a while longer. This can be an issue where the Mongoose is concerned, and is a sticking point. But it is not a major one. I suspect that it is because this deck does not play counters. There is a lot of creature removal in the main. Consequently the mongoose is still a very strong turn one play even if it only deals one point for a few turns.
Matchups:
I'm afraid this is 100% MWS crapola, so in this case, it can only show trends. So I am not going to even bother digging up the numbers.
Stax: very, very good - all the tools are present to make Stax hate you.
Belcher: very good - they can belch you before your first turn - nothing you can do about that. But if that fails to happen, you have a lot of advantages.
TES: (only two games) Like Belcher, but seems even better for you since they have Cremate in the main to worry about for IGG.
Landstill: pretty good - the sb is not especially well suited for this though.
Threshold: dead even - played a lot, I mean a lot of these. It was commonly
Goyf Standoffs until someone got the upper hand.
Goblins: Not very good. You are disruptible, and a half step slower. Stuff like Duress and Vindicate just don't cut it here. The board helps a lot though, and for opponents who stuck around for games 2 and 3, I fared much, much better.
I seem to be facing the same decks all the time these days. And this is all if them that are worth noting.
Notes:
The land supply is on the shaky side. Perhaps one more Swamp could be in order. Mutilate used to be Pernicious Deed, which is so often a beating, but not quite as good in the hardest matchups, and there are a few artifacts of my own that I would like to keep around. It hurt to remove it, but Mutilate can often spare Goyf or the Shade.