The Cure (Kavu Predator / False Cure)

(Sorry for necroposting.)

I've been tooling around with strategy for the past few weeks now, and I'm a combined 10-2 in my most recent local tournaments. I don't want to say the deck is "good", but I can't seem to stop winning with it. I talk about it in this blog post if you want to read about some guy going 4-0 in a local.

The Good:
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Dark Confidant
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Green Sun's Zenith
2 Abrupt Decay
3 Duress
2 Thoughtseize

The Bad:
4 Kavu Predator
4 Skyshroud Cutter
4 Invigorate
4 False Cure
1 Sylvan Safekeeper

The Ugly:
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Dryad Arbor
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Marsh Flats
2 Windswept Heath
3 Bayou
2 Scrubland
1 Savannah
2 Swamp
1 Forest

SB:
2 Enlightened Tutor
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Engineered Plague
1 Oblivion Ring
3 Pithing Needle
2 Gaddock Teeg
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Cabal Therapy
1 (flex)

The mana is a little rough without an Urborg, but I'm not sure that you really need it. Cutting a fetch, especially with relying so heavily on Deathrite, seems risky.
Thoughtseize has been way better than Duress. Who is ever going to race you?
The Safekeeper is a hero, by the way. Never cut him.

As for the board, the Needles are a point towards the hordes of Maverick holdouts in my area. Maze of Ith, Mother of Runes, and Knight of the Reliquary are all annoying and we have a hard time answering the Maze specifically.
The Enlightened Tutor package has been pretty good so far- it started out as a way to fill out the deck after cutting Swords in matchups where removal is bad.
I may try a Reverent Silence in the board next time, but I don't think the deck wants any more burn spells.

Hm, I still love decks around kavu predator! Interesting, that you really seem to win very often with that list. I tried a similar one many times and just got frustrated... finally I sold my berserks and decided to go for dark maverick...
Anyway, you are doing great! If you proceed winning I may go back to the roots again!:)
I'm excited to see you playing against more blue decks (esper blade, rug delver,...).

Brewed up a different take on the deck after talking with kc.hogan. It's probably worse than the list he's playing, but I think it's an interesting concept.

// Creatures - 14
4 Skyshroud Cutter
4 Kavu Predator
1 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
4 Green Sun's Zenith

// Spells - 18
2 Sensei's Divining Top
4 False Cure
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Invigorate
4 Reverent Silence
2 Refreshing Rain

// Lands - 18
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Bayou
1 Scrubland
2 Savannah
1 Forest
1 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Marsh Flats
2 Windswept Heath

The sideboard might have the rest of the Refreshing Rains and a pile of discard and hatebears.

The idea is to be more combo-oriented. Urborg + Refreshing Rain is a pretty sweet combo - allows us to have up to 12 5+ point free burn spells. It's not difficult to burn someone out when you only need 4 cards (assuming they do a couple points to themselves).

I think sylvan library over top. You can always take a golden shower yourself to recoup the life loss. I know it sucks but it's hard to not play a miser's dryad arbor to GSZ for or to fool Liliana.

Hey I've recently been constructing a budget version of this and I am currently using rite of consumption in place of berserk. I am also using wall of blood with it, it's pretty high risk, high reward especially if countered or removed. Additionally I am using Veilstone Amulet as a means of protection, not the best I know, but once again budget. I have found it to be pretty effective with all the spells that you can play for free (currently running 4 cutters, 4 invigorates, 4 reverent silence, and 4 elvish spirit guides). I was also wondering if anyone thought runechanter's pike would work in this deck? I've been able to get its power up to 4 and turns cutters and one drops into beaters.

Thoughts? Any constructive criticism is welcome.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by slave

I'm really interested in this deck.
There's a few card choices I'd like to hear peoples opinions on, and why they may, or may not fit the deck;

Considering the large amount of creatures and having a GSZ to fetch up an Arbor - what about Diabolic Intent to fetch up Cure?

Although a midrange tactic, why is no one playing Isochron Scepter?

I've been playing with a gold-fish decklist with DRS & AD - but also including a single Scepter & a couple Intent.
SO far I'm liking the flexibility that Intent gives me. Thoughts?

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I've been running two diabolic intents, this works for my deck because I also run veteran explorer or usually get a cutter out

I also have been using two scepters, with 4 cures, 2 abrupt decays, 2 manamorphose, and 1 worldly tutor. I found this works pretty well, especially with mananorphose and drawing a free card.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fonzdizon

I've been running two diabolic intents, this works for my deck because I also run veteran explorer or usually get a cutter out

I also have been using two scepters, with 4 cures, 2 abrupt decays, 2 manamorphose, and 1 worldly tutor. I found this works pretty well, especially with mananorphose and drawing a free card.

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Can you post the list ?

Mana Source:
5 Forests
3 Swamps
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Dryad Arbor
4 Overgrown Tomb
3 Elvish Spirit Guide
3 Lotus Petal

Creatures
1 Quirion Ranger
1 Veteran Explorer
1 Bird of Paradise
4 Kavu Predator
4 Skyshroud Cutter

Sorcery/Instant
3 Green Sun's Zenith
2 Diabolic Intent
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Manamorphose
4 Falsecure
3 Rite of Consumption
2 Cabal Therapy
2 Duress
4 Invigorate
4 Reverent Silence

Artifact
2 Isochron Scepter

Sideboard
3 Putrid Leech
3 Manaplasm
2 Wall of Blood
2 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Natures Claim
1 Quirion Ranger
1 Deathrite Shaman

Notes:
- I like Veteran Explorer because you can either Diabolic intent to complete a combo or cabal therapy x2, while getting the mana required for combos.
- Wall of blood i use with rite of consumption and pay life to deal big damage.

Nic fit shell is bad in this deck.

The core deck :
18 lands
1 dryad
4 Kavu Predator
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Skyshroud Cutter
4 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Falsecure
4 Invigorate
2 Reverent Silence

The you can splash with swords to plousares, or play more beaters like Scourge of Skola Vale or Corpsejack Menace , some discard duress, cabal therapy or tzt o more removal ,devour flesh or abrup decay.

What did you think about fugal behemoth?

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Originally Posted by fonzdizon

What did you think about fugal behemoth?

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Its a bad creature. You can pay a higgher X. Play 4 kavu predator and 4 GSZ .

Has anyone tried running or had any thoughts on the new Nyx card Solidarity of Heroes? its a poor-mans berserk for two and it only works for Kavu Predator, but it also allows to keep Kavu as well instead of sacrificing it. Also i've been running Talara's Battalion as backup beaters to go with Putrid leech. It a 4/3 with trample for 2 and only requires another green spell in order to cast it, which i found to work well elvish spirit guide, green suns zenith, and when desperate casting a free life-gain w/o Kavu Predator on board. Thoughts and opinions?

Hey guys,

Played this deck in my local store to a 2-1 finish. I wanted to Kavu Predator some people, and thankfully I got to do just that. List was kc hogans but with 2 jitte and some golgari charms in the board. Also 1 more abrupt decay main.

Round 1: I play against storm. He gets himself to 4 from ad nauseum and git probe, and tendrils me for a lot. I played my false cure, decided that I still lost anyway somehow, and scooped up my cards. After the tournament, I realized that I am a huge durdle and that each storm tendrils resolves individually, and the 2nd storm copy would have killed him before it killed me (based on how False Cure works). Lifeprotip: understand what your cards do before playing them in a tournament.

Game 2 I mull 3 no landers and keep a hand with drs but no hate and we wins easily on turn 2.

Round 2: bant stoneforge. Turns out kavu predator is a beast in this matchup, and I think I make it a 12/12 by the end of the match when i beat him by trampling over his stuff. (Trample is op in legacy btw).

Game 2 he just cant hang when I false cure and double invigorate an unblocked deathrite shaman for exactsies.

Round 3: UR delver cruise. He has a slow start wheras I get a predator and skyshroud cutter pretty quick. He cant remove predator once he is 8/8, and I easily win the race.

Game 2, he has an even slower start, and I am able to get a jitte online with a large predator and skyshroud cutter.

I was pretty dissapoint about scooping to storm, but at least I know how that interaction works now. I am thinking about playing this for the rogue factor at GP LAs legacy side event. Also kavu predator is awesome, but you guys already know that :)

Changes going forward: I did not find myself needing the removal. I might go to 4 StP and no decay, but I am afraid of artifacts and enchantments. Deck is way more resilient to countermagic than I thought. Invigorate is the most awesome lightning bolt "counter". I had golgari charms in the board, but really there is no reason to -1/-1 anything because of predator trample (I am too used to jund).

What have you guys found to be the main problems in testing (like what popular decks are good vs us?)

Here is what I am currently testing btw, it is pretty sick:

4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Kavu Predator
4 Dark Confidant
4 Skyshroud Cutter
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Dryad Arbor

1 Sylvan Library

4 Swords to Plowshares
4 False Cure
4 Invigorate

4 Thoughtseize
4 Green Sun's Zenith
3 Duress

3 Bayou
2 Scrubland
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Windswept Heath
1 Forest
2 Swamp
3 Polluted Delta

SB: 2 Umezawa's Jitte
SB: 3 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 1 Diabolic Edict
SB: 2 Surgical Extraction
SB: 1 Scavenging Ooze
SB: 2 Nature's Claim
SB: 1 Gaddock Teeg
SB: 3 Abrupt Decay

Oh how I wish dual lands weren't that expensive. This deck seems awesome. How does it do vs the decks to beat?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daize

Oh how I wish dual lands weren't that expensive.

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This was my beloved decks back in the times when I owned Magic cards.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daize

Oh how I wish dual lands weren't that expensive. This deck seems awesome. How does it do vs the decks to beat?

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The delver matchups are a little tough, I go back and forth with the duress and abrupt decays in the main. With 4 stp and 3 decay you can play a jundish role. Sometimes you just get a giant kavu that cant be blocked by goyf. You can usually race the tempo decks, and invigorate is basically a counterspell for their burn.

Bug is the worst matchup, but patriot and rug arent that bad. I have just began testing vs UR cruise, and that matchup seems favorable.

Vs miracles we have a diverse curve, but with no way to go long we definitely like some sideboard slots dedicated to shutting down top.

Really cool and albeit slower than other combo decks, it can win out of nowhere after that too. Lacking a bit of resilience, so it seems. Ironclad, I don't mean to sound like an expert after 2 nights of trying it out on Cockatrice, but don't you feel like 18 lands is a bit much?

(Although I did win from out of nowhere vs standstill casting 3 false cures and a Invigorate on his Nether Spirit.. oh. my. lawl.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daize

Really cool and albeit slower than other combo decks, it can win out of nowhere after that too. Lacking a bit of resilience, so it seems. Ironclad, I don't mean to sound like an expert after 2 nights of trying it out on Cockatrice, but don't you feel like 18 lands is a bit much?

(Although I did win from out of nowhere vs standstill casting 3 false cures and a Invigorate on his Nether Spirit.. oh. my. lawl.)

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Yeah, 18 lands does feel a little high, but since I was playing a more "Rock" oriented list it seemed good. You can definitely get tempod out by a good wassteland or two, so 18 and arbor seemed like a good fit.

I see your point, being outhated gets you pretty hard.