That sounds great in theory. Does it work like that in practice?
Conservative, I think, but I am not really sure. Can you give an example?Quote:
Originally Posted by echofish
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Yes and for others on this thread as well.
Like do you go for the kill when you have the chance, or do you just attack with an exalted pendelpumped creature and use your pump spells for protection or until you have perfect information and it is safe for you to initiate pump for the kill.
It looks like Todd Anderson has had more success with Infect than Tom lately, and I think Todd plays more aggressive, as what I have seen on stream.
There is no simple rule or answer to that question. Figuring out and getting better at making these decisions is one of the things that makes Infect so rewarding to play.
If they have W or R or GB open, I tend to assume that they have the removal spell in hand and play accordingly.
On the other hand, if I feel I am losing control of the game and will be unable to sustain pressure if I let them untap, I might just go all in.
Great result!
I read you've lost the 1st round against Esperblade... I know!
I consider the match-up very hard: main deck Jitte, lots of discards spells (especially the Gitaxian Probe + Cabal Therapy duo) and StP are very painful for us.
G2 and G3 they have Zealous Persecution too.... :frown:
How do you deal with this archetype?
Yes, it is hard. I don't know any easy solutions. I just bring in Krosan Grip for Jitte, and Dispel for StP/Zealous/Disfigure/DDT. Sometimes I try to use Invigorate early to avoid discard and Meddling Mage (which almost always names Invigorate otherwise). Pendelhaven is sometimes best used defensively (against Zealous/Disfigure).
Cartesian: I just started using your list today on cocktrice. I do like the flusterstorm main. I'm trying a 2-1 split with pierce.
I went 5-2 at the super IQ in Indy this weekend. My 2 losses were to storm and rug delver. I misplayed in games 1 and 3 against storm so I blame my play. However, the rug player, who is a very competent legacy player and has top 8ed at least 1 legacy GP, absolutely crushed me 2-0. Can someone help me with the rug delver matchup? I went up to 3 submerge in the board, but I am still getting wrecked by the deck. Thoughts or suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thanks.
Hey There,
I've been trying to switch to infect cause I love fun and there is nothing more fun than infect. Crop rotation seems to be key for the rug delver matchup. If you run any extractions in your board bring them in, crop rotate for a wasteland and get them off of their volcs or trops. Attacking their mana base destroys them. Their only way to deal with blighted agent is with bolt or a forked bolt so make sure you have protection when you cast it.
Not a fan of this game plan. The most expensive card in RUG is Goyf, you're going to have a hard time denying their mana when the deck is almost entirely one drops and free spells. Surgical is okay, though I'd be wary of playing any card that doesn't immediately affect the board.
Your best bet is to play patiently and not expose yourself to getting 2 for 1'd by playing pump spells blind. RUG is already a bad matchup, but also one of those decks that's near impossible to beat if they start with the perfect seven. Keep that in mind if you find yourself losing a lot, there are some games that you just aren't meant to win, sometimes you get unlucky.
For pointers, I'd recommend watching Tom Ross play against Was going to suggest series against Jessy Hefner, but he actually loses that one. Still a good watch, but if you want to see him win try the GP series against Lam Phan on Landstill. Not quite RUG delver, but a really great showing of patience and how to play the deck.
Post your 75 when you get the chance. A lot of how you play depends on how you board, and I'm curious to see what sideboard tools you have. I've personally been toying with a white splash specifically for this matchup, it's been great to me so far.
Yeah I agree. I tried to keep him off lands 1 game and that was just an absolute mess.
Here is the 75 I ran. Also, no white splash...yet. I wasn't connvinced I liked having one less island source.
Infect List
x4 tropical island
x4 wooded foothills
x1 penalhaven
x1 Wasteland
x4 misty rainforest
x1 forest
x4 Inkmoth nexus
x4 noble Hierarch
x4 glistener elf
x4 blighted agent
x3 vines of vastwood
x2 berserk
x1 become immense
x1 crop rotation
x1 dig through time
x3 gitaxian probe
x3 spell pierce
x2 Daze
x3 force of will
x1 stifle (made this last minute call. Wasn't good or bad really in my matchups)
x4 invigorate
x4 brainstorm
x1 ponder
Sideboard
x1 crop rotation
x1 Karakas
x2 Krosan grip
x2 grafdiggers cage
x1 force of will
x1 spell pierce
x1 bojoku bog
x2 submerge
x1 dig through time
x2 hydroblast
x1 daze
Also, I watched that match against Lam live. (1) it showed me just how good and top level Tom Ross is; and (2) he did things in that match I totally did not understand and it would make sense 3 turns later. My mind was blown. I still can't belive he won that match.
I've been debating this with a RUG playing friend and I think you are right, the surgical plan is not great. Utilizing your permission spells and getting damage in where you can seems to be the better option. Playing patiently and taking advantage of the white sideboard splash.
Against RUG, I would look to side in Submerge, Bog, and maybe Hydroblast if you see Lavamancer. Force of Will always comes out against RUG, the card disadvantage is too much to deal with in these fair matchups. If you're on the draw, I'd also consider siding out some number of Daze, Wasteland, and Stifle, as that first turn advantage makes these significantly better. On the play, keep in the playset of Daze, and consider cutting some of the slower cards, such as a Ponder or a Vines of Vastwood.
I'd consider redoing the sideboard, it seems to be rather scattered. Cards like Bog and Grafdigger's fill similar roles, while other such as Hydroblast and Dig Through Time just seem out of place.
Edit: Get a Sylvan Library. That card does fantastic things against Miracles and R/G Lands.
So GP Lille is happening this weekend, and I have been able to get some testing going on Magic Online - in the last 4 days I have played in 5 daily events, and my results are 4-0, 3-1, 4-0, 1-3, and 4-0:
Miracles 2-0
Stoneblade 2-0
Death & Taxes 2-0
bUrg Delver 2-1
Miracles 2-1
Aggro Loam 2-1
RUG Delver 2-1
bUrg Delver 0-2
Dredge 2-1
Enchantress 2-0
Miracles 2-0
Miracles 2-0
Shardless BUG 2-0
UR Delver 1-2
bUrg Delver 0-2
Miracles 0-2
Omnitell 2-1
Burn 2-0
Miracles 2-1
bUrg Delver 2-1
I feel as if the maindeck is where I want it to be, and I have mostly been thinking about sideboard and making changes. Maindeck is identical to my list from Prague Eternal posted earlier, except for -1 Daze, +1 Vines. For the sideboard, I am probably going with the Tundra (and Misty+Heath to fetch it), and some Hydroblast. Submerge might not be so good now, because bUrg only plays 1 forest.
I wish all Infect players at GP Lille good luck, and if you lose game 1 to Dredge, I hope your hand for game 2 looks like this:
http://i.imgur.com/anEtW0u.png
Pretty nice results!
I like your MD configuration, shame that flusterstorm is now 60$ card, hope they will reprint it soon :(
I wish you all the best at GP Lille. Hope you will be facing some miracles and storm decks all day long:)
I'm also going to play in Lille this weekend and I'm thinking of adding white in the sideboard for Plow and RiP. Is it worth it? I have played it a year ago but haven't tested it much with it.
I'd say no, two reasons.
First, legacy is a format that rewards experience. Knowing what to do in every corner case of every matchup is what ups your win percentage from good to great. Although StP and RIP are strong cards, they are fundamentally different from their non-white counterparts (Submerge and Bojuka Bog) in how they interact with the board. Going for a last minute switch might make the deck stronger, but that will be offset by a lack of familiarity with the new sideboard.
Second, what decks are you expecting to see? I'm not going to the GP myself, but if I had to name the big hitters, I'd go with Miracles and Omnitell. White splash is not particularly good against either, so keep in mind that if you're trying to improve your matchups across the board, you're doing so by making yourself weaker to the two boogeymen of the format.
Edit: Find room for a V. Clique in your sideboard. It's a fantastic tool to fight Omni and Miracles.
You're right, I won't play it then. Are you sure about Clique? It's a good card but it's also 3 mana, isn't that a bit much against Omnitell? I haven't experienced that much problems against the deck to be honest. I can see Clique being excellent against Miracles tho.
If you like your Omni and Miracle matchups, I wouldn't worry about playing Clique. That said, don't avoid playing it just because it costs 3 mana. I tend to bring it in against combo and Miracles. Against the first, I'm usually on the defensive, so I rarely find myself using mana for anything else early on in the game. Against Miracles, the matchup tends to go a bit longer to the point where mana is less of an issue. Think of Clique as a 3 mana threat that disrupts on resolving and gets around Flusterstorm, Dispel, and Spell Pierce. With Hierarch, you can cast it as early as turn 2, which is fine against most Omnitell hands.
Infect (Sánchez, Ricardo [ESP]) is in top8 at GP Lille with record 13:2, top8 games can be watched here: http://www.twitch.tv/magic
His 15th round was interesting, he lost first game, in second game he mulliganed to 5 cards and win on turn 2 through FOW with pendelhaven and tripple invigorate on glistener.
In third game hi opponent (omni-tell) resolved show and tell and put emrakul into play bud died on the backfire to exalted agent with invigo and vines.
Nice!
Hope he will do well in top8 matches.