[Deck] GW/x Maverick

We already have Knight for getting extra Wastelands so that doesn't seem like a huge upswing. Getting a hatebear back means the opponent probably (unless in case of discard) managed to remove it once, I think usually when a combo deck remove a hatebear they combo off shortly after and often during the same turn so getting a hatebear back next turn is too slow when it matters the most.

It seems nice to be able to get Jitte back, that card wins so many matchups and is destroyed at first sight. I sometimes play two Jittes and this card could be better than a second Jitte since it can do other things. I also like that it helps ramping to 5 mana (Sigarda/Titania) if there's no opposing Deathrite (but Knights do that too so again no boost compared to knight).

It doesn't seem to add that much functionality, it does bring card advantage BUT that is countered by an active Deathrite most of the time. I think one could be reasonable to test out since it does many things and is GSZ-able, but I will have a hard time taking any three drop out of my list. With that said I can imagine I'm underestimating it too..

Renegade Rallier does seem fine but as others have said already, we are pretty choked on 3 drops.

Since I am playing 3 KoTr and 2 THC atm, I might have to drop my second Library to try this (I don't think this is better than THC).

I'm looking forward to trying it as a 1-of, but I'm also not playing any THC. The fact that you can get it with GSZ is a huge plus.

As for Wasteland, yes your Knights can fetch it, but you also have to sac a land to pull the Wasteland out of your deck. Rallier can reuse one from your graveyard, effectively being a "1GW: 3/2 Human, destroy target non-basic land" in those cases without having to wait a turn to lose summoning sickness nor screwing yourself out of a land. It can also save yourself from mana screw by getting back a land or fetch, get back a hatebear, etc etc.

I think Maverick would use this better than Eternal Witness, which doesn't seem to be used in Maverick at all, although decks that go bigger (like Nic Fit) would probably want EWit over this for sure.

I played 4 leagues today with these results:

1-4
4-1
1-4
4-1

I have increased my collection's worth by quite a bit with all of the 4-1s (4-1 is increase by essentially 24, 2-3 or worse is decrease by only 12).

I have been facing mostly BUG Delver, 4c Delver, 4c Loam, Turbodepths (BUG), Storm, and Death and Taxes, with pretty middle results except death and taxes which I am 75% against (I lose game 1, then win g2 and 3 off of lucksack Zealous Persecutions), and Storm which I am 100% against somehow.

I am pretty happy with my current iteration, which went down to 1 Library for 1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar. I have been loving the Thalia vs 4c Loam, and I am even tempted to run some Fauna Shamans to tutor it.

19-11 after 30 matches, for a 63.33 match %, which is pretty darn good. Small sample size so far, but if I can keep it around 60 it will be the best I have ever done. Even with Sneak and Show, Miracles, and Shardless BUG I was only 55%.

Also, some good news from the front lines. Michael Antrim (1mpulse on here) is 7-2 after day 1, losing to Elves 2 times. I think he is still possibly live for top 8.

I'm 7-2 as well no byes. Lost to Sneak and Show when I started on duress brainstorm, stp grim lavamancer, draw only lands with no other spells. Lost to greedy 4 color value pile with a million removal spells and painful truths. Highlight so far. Death and Taxes opponent at 13, has insurmountable board and probably going to put me away. Draw knight. Equip with batterskull. He taps out for BSkull. I draw. Attack with knight, before blocks activate get fetch to fetch, flash in scryb ranger, untap knight, activate knight, get rogues passage, target knight to hit him for 14. Rogues passage GOAT

Haha Rogue's Passage! That is so ROGUE of you! ROGUE ONE!!!!

Also, I just played another league.

0-3 this time.

Aggro Loam: 1-2
ANT: 0-2
ANT: 1-2

My deck pooped on me vs storm, with many mulligans and a green sun's zenith trolling me in my hand, two savannah in play, and no land for DRS to exile in either yard. I guess I had been pretty lucky up until this point, now I am at 2-2 vs ANT.

Finished 8-4 drop. Got the Belcher, 4 Color Leovold Value deck, and Sneak and Ape. Somehow I beat belcher of those three.

XD not what I would have expected.

To quote that wonderful old video...

"Belcher is the fastest deck in the format. It almost always loses on turn 1"

Yes. Game one he goblined me turn one. I didn't play anything and scooped. Game two I had duress take belcher, canonist, teeg, Thalia, scoop. Game three he mulls to 6. I keep a hand with pridemage and ZP hoping he's either on goblin plan or play belcher no activation. He simply passes. I draw needle like an ape. Name belcher, he goes 12 goblins and proceeds to lose to ZP. I'll most likely write up a tourney report. Overall the deck was great, but as non blue decks tend to do, it pooped on itself a couple times against sneak and show and I lost a good match up twice

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Megadeus

Sneak and Ape.

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That's apt, remind me of the name about the end of March and I will rename the deck for the 1st of April.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Megadeus

I'll most likely write up a tourney report. Overall the deck was great, but as non blue decks tend to do, it pooped on itself a couple times against sneak and show and I lost a good match up twice

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I'd love to read a report. Did you make top 100 or was that a different Maverick player?

I was just outside top 100, but that's not saying too much considering there were about 125 people at 7-2 after day one ended. It's simply absurd to see how many people are in these events. That will probably be my last GP. It was a great time, but 15 rounds with 1800+ people or whatever is insane. Next time I'll just grind out side events.

I went 4-1 again today, continuing my streak of 4-1 and dropping in-between, which works for me lol.

Dark Bant: 2-1
Aggro Loam (Mats): 2-0
Nic Fit: 1-2
Enchantress: 2-1 (holy crap black makes a huge difference in this matchup, with Decay and Zealous Persecution)
TES: 2-1

I am pretty stoked on my record, 23-16, for 60% match win on modo.

Edit: Oh yeah, I forgot, since Leovold proved so useful yesterday it made me think Spirit of the Labyrinth could be good, so I played 2 in the Sylvan Library slots. They made a nice effect vs Dark Bant (I got to do stuff when he had a leovold with parity). Also, that 3 power can put quite a clock on people when you have a noble or QPM. I think there were probably some times when putting in Leovold off of a show and tell kept sneak players from going crazy with Griseldaddy, and Spirit has been kind to me vs tempo miracles and shardless in the past. I am always afraid to play it in paper because I am very trigger happy with my Sword of Fire and Ice triggers, and I have seen a dude get a game loss for that lol

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Originally Posted by ironclad8690

I am pretty stoked on my record, 23-16, for 60% match win on modo.

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Could you post an up to date list of what you are running? I've been trying to get back into it and have been trying so many random things in slots just to see how I like them. Since I missed some time I don't have opinions on a lot of the flex slot stuff people had, Tracker, Leovold, Garruk main, 2x Library, Loam, Recruiter, Ghost Quarter, Maze, etc.

The options are great to have, I just am not in touch with the "meta" as I used to be so it's hard to make the call on what to use in flex.

I also just got a set of Groves for Punishing Fire if I wanted to tinker around with it, but so far Black for ADecay, ZP, and discard seem to be working for me.

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Originally Posted by oSeabass

Could you post an up to date list of what you are running? I've been trying to get back into it and have been trying so many random things in slots just to see how I like them. Since I missed some time I don't have opinions on a lot of the flex slot stuff people had, Tracker, Leovold, Garruk main, 2x Library, Loam, Recruiter, Ghost Quarter, Maze, etc.

The options are great to have, I just am not in touch with the "meta" as I used to be so it's hard to make the call on what to use in flex.

I also just got a set of Groves for Punishing Fire if I wanted to tinker around with it, but so far Black for ADecay, ZP, and discard seem to be working for me.

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4 Deathrite Shaman
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Noble Hierarch
4 Mother of Runes
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Knight of the Reliquary
2 Qasali Pridemage
2 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Spirit of the Labyrinth
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Scryb Ranger

4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of Fire and Ice

2 Savannah
1 Bayou
1 Scrubland
2 Forest
1 Plains
4 Windswept Heath
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Wasteland
1 Karakas
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Horizon Canopy

Sideboard:
4 Thoughtseize
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Gaddock Teeg
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Zealous Persecution
1 Choke
1 Banishing Light
1 Containment Priest
1 Garruk Relentless

Garruk is really under-performing I really only ever want his vs miracles. Other than that I can't figure out what to cut for him ever. Wondering if maybe Gaddock #3 would be better, since at least that comes in v combo. Thoughts?

Would add a pithing needle and at least a graveyard hate for BR reanimator, like surgical extraction or faerie macabre. I like a decay main too

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Originally Posted by pettdan

We already have Knight for getting extra Wastelands so that doesn't seem like a huge upswing. Getting a hatebear back means the opponent probably (unless in case of discard) managed to remove it once, I think usually when a combo deck remove a hatebear they combo off shortly after and often during the same turn so getting a hatebear back next turn is too slow when it matters the most.

It seems nice to be able to get Jitte back, that card wins so many matchups and is destroyed at first sight. I sometimes play two Jittes and this card could be better than a second Jitte since it can do other things. I also like that it helps ramping to 5 mana (Sigarda/Titania) if there's no opposing Deathrite (but Knights do that too so again no boost compared to knight).

It doesn't seem to add that much functionality, it does bring card advantage BUT that is countered by an active Deathrite most of the time. I think one could be reasonable to test out since it does many things and is GSZ-able, but I will have a hard time taking any three drop out of my list. With that said I can imagine I'm underestimating it too..

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The biggest issue with adding any 3cc creature in Maverick is that the deck is super mana tight as is. We are essentially a ramp deck whose payoff strategies destroy our own lands.

Often I can barely run 4 GSZ 4 KotR let alone trying to add 1-2 more 3cc threats. The best way to think about this card is "what is the value I am hoping to get that is different from the other options available?"

What excites me the most about this card is the fact that it gives you both card advantage, tempo advantage, and a beefy threat for just 3cc. Any one of the things it provides is better given by other cards; but at a cost. Lost tempo (in regards to Tireless Tracker), lost card advantage (in regards to THC), plain smaller (in regards to Courser of Kruphix) etc...

But before any of those questions gets asked--one must always ask the question of; can my version of Maverick afford another three-drop creature?

Hi all!

I'm a legacy noob, but I've been watching scg vids for a few years now and I think its the most interesting format.

Here's what I'm considering:

1x meren of clan nel toth
2x knight of the reliquary
4x renegade rallier
1x eternal witness
3x thalia, guardian of thraben
1x gaddock teeg
1x scavenging ooze
2x grim flayer
4x deathrite shaman

2x kaya, ghost assassin

4x green sun's zenith

2x thoughtseize
4x cabal therapy

3x abrupt decay
4x swords to plowshares

4x verdant catacombs
2x marsh flats
3x windswept heath
2x bayou
1x scrubland
1x savannah
1x plains
1x swamp
1x forest
1x dryad arbor
1x karakas
4x wasteland

SB

1x dragonlord dromoka
1x nissa, vital force
1x thragtusk
4x surgical extraction
1x duress
2x unezawa's jitte
2x golgari charm
1x vindicate
1x abrupt decay
1x qasali pridemage

I haven't tested this list. Its theorycrafting at this point. I also brought a bride of young frankenstein brew to my local legacy once months ago so I know there's lands and mud. No idea what the local meta looks like now.

I've chosen to forego the stoneforge mystic package in favor of meren, kaya, and eternal witness. I love me some recursion. Unfortunately, I think rest in peace could hurt so the threats in the sideboard don't rely on the graveyard. Otherwise, I would love to play Titania. I feel like wasteland -> renegade rallier -> wasteland could severely hurt a lot of decks. And you can tell how sadistic I am because my dream is to use eternal witness plus vindicate (and surgical extraction, swords to plowshares, cabal therapy) to strip my opponent of all hope.

Again, I haven't tested this yet (I don't even have all the pieces at the moment), but I would love to get your feedback. I defer to your experience.

Thanks!

Your higher curve (especially in the sideboard) and desire to play Meren and planeswalkers makes me think you might want to check out Junk Nic-Fit over in the Nic-Fit thread instead. They are more of a ramp deck and can more easily cast some big stuff like what you have in your 75.

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Originally Posted by RobNC

Your higher curve (especially in the sideboard) and desire to play Meren and planeswalkers makes me think you might want to check out Junk Nic-Fit over in the Nic-Fit thread instead. They are more of a ramp deck and can more easily cast some big stuff like what you have in your 75.

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I was inspired by some elements of nic fit, but I think this deck shares a greater similarity with Maverick due to the toolbox with green sun's zenith. I think this also has better game against combo than nic fit.

Deathrite shaman, green sun's zenith (with dryad arbor), renegade rallier, and knight of the reliquary all help to ramp. Plus, I think the bigger stuff will come in in grindy matchups, games that'll go longer.

Just want to say: I regularly have trouble even resolving 2-3 drops or zenithing for x= 4 vs most of the format, even with 23 lands. Make of that what you will...

What's everyone's thoughts on the flex land spots.
I've been running the dark depth combo ever since I've been playing with the deck, which I've enjoyed a lot as it can get you out of many tight spots.
As others have remarked though, it can mess with the consistency of the deck so I've been toying with the idea of trying other lands instead.

Other lands I've seen in similar spots:
- Cradle
- Cavern of Souls
- Horizon Canopy
- Maze of Ith (Great effect, doesn't tap for mana - similar to Dark Depths in that regard)

I'm probably missing a few (not including Karakas here, as I'm already running it).

Does any one have comments on which of these or others they like best? I can see a case for each of those, and downsides. Is this purely a meta call or are there objectively better things to be doing? (If it helps, I play most often vs Miracles, Elves, Show and Tell, Eldrazi, Maverick, 4c Loam).

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Originally Posted by DoomRabbit

What's everyone's thoughts on the flex land spots.
I've been running the dark depth combo ever since I've been playing with the deck, which I've enjoyed a lot as it can get you out of many tight spots.
As others have remarked though, it can mess with the consistency of the deck so I've been toying with the idea of trying other lands instead.

Other lands I've seen in similar spots:
- Cradle
- Cavern of Souls
- Horizon Canopy
- Maze of Ith (Great effect, doesn't tap for mana - similar to Dark Depths in that regard)

I'm probably missing a few (not including Karakas here, as I'm already running it).

Does any one have comments on which of these or others they like best? I can see a case for each of those, and downsides. Is this purely a meta call or are there objectively better things to be doing? (If it helps, I play most often vs Miracles, Elves, Show and Tell, Eldrazi, Maverick, 4c Loam).

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I started tinkering with Ironclad's list. The Horizon Canopy has been good as another GW land, and real nice once or twice as a card draw. I found in tight games where it went kinda long and stalled a bit, having an extra draw was nice to get through the deck faster... ESPECIALLY in sideboard games.

Ironclad also runs a Cradle, which I loved in a game. I was a little tight on mana and being able to drop a SFM and a Jitte against Elves in the same turn was real nice. I also run a 1 of Batterskull and have loved Cradle with that just to ramp a bit more. It def. has led to some explosive plays; possible GSZ, Batterskull + bounce mana, etc.

Maze is meh. I used to run Maze but it's becoming less and less effective IMHO. Elves kill you with an army, Show and Tell decks don't care about lands unless it's a Karakas, Miracles flood you with minions, Delver it's ok against but I feel that match is already good, Stoneblade laughs cus TNN. I think the way the format has shifted Maze has become less important. Yes it allows some cheeky plays with KotR but I feel like it's better suited being a potential mana land instead of a utility card.

Cavern is decent but the creature base is split a lot more then it used to be. Human used to be the go to, but that no longer can be dropped on turn 1 for a mana dork, into an uncounterable Knight t2 unless you run NH. Having land that can't cast Teegfather most of the time makes me sad.

Ghost Quarter. It's nice to have another Wasteland style effect, esp. if you run Life from the Loam, nice being able to get around Pithing Needle on Wasteland in those cases. Also can be used to filter your own land if you REALLY need it.

Bojuka Bog in the board still seems ok in spots, but I have preferred going with the "free" and potential game winning Surgical Extraction for my grave hate seeing as how it can impact more matchups then just "graveyard" decks.

Urborg. I had an opponent play Urborg against me and it saved my mana. It's an odd one since it can potentially save your enemy but it was nice being able to get black mana out of all the random utility lands.

After getting back into it, I am leaning on Ironclad's choices of Cradle/Canopy. If I had to bring in a 3rd I'd maybe find space for Loam and a Ghost Quarter.

I dropped canopy and play Rogues Passage, Gaea's Cradle, and Karakas as one of utility lands. Passage has won me many many games

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Originally Posted by oSeabass

I started tinkering with Ironclad's list. The Horizon Canopy has been good as another GW land, and real nice once or twice as a card draw. I found in tight games where it went kinda long and stalled a bit, having an extra draw was nice to get through the deck faster... ESPECIALLY in sideboard games.

Ironclad also runs a Cradle, which I loved in a game. I was a little tight on mana and being able to drop a SFM and a Jitte against Elves in the same turn was real nice. I also run a 1 of Batterskull and have loved Cradle with that just to ramp a bit more. It def. has led to some explosive plays; possible GSZ, Batterskull + bounce mana, etc.

Maze is meh. I used to run Maze but it's becoming less and less effective IMHO. Elves kill you with an army, Show and Tell decks don't care about lands unless it's a Karakas, Miracles flood you with minions, Delver it's ok against but I feel that match is already good, Stoneblade laughs cus TNN. I think the way the format has shifted Maze has become less important. Yes it allows some cheeky plays with KotR but I feel like it's better suited being a potential mana land instead of a utility card.

Cavern is decent but the creature base is split a lot more then it used to be. Human used to be the go to, but that no longer can be dropped on turn 1 for a mana dork, into an uncounterable Knight t2 unless you run NH. Having land that can't cast Teegfather most of the time makes me sad.

Ghost Quarter. It's nice to have another Wasteland style effect, esp. if you run Life from the Loam, nice being able to get around Pithing Needle on Wasteland in those cases. Also can be used to filter your own land if you REALLY need it.

Bojuka Bog in the board still seems ok in spots, but I have preferred going with the "free" and potential game winning Surgical Extraction for my grave hate seeing as how it can impact more matchups then just "graveyard" decks.

Urborg. I had an opponent play Urborg against me and it saved my mana. It's an odd one since it can potentially save your enemy but it was nice being able to get black mana out of all the random utility lands.

After getting back into it, I am leaning on Ironclad's choices of Cradle/Canopy. If I had to bring in a 3rd I'd maybe find space for Loam and a Ghost Quarter.

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I find Maze of Ith to be fantastic. Against damn near all matchups.

Even vs combo and Miracles I use Maze of Ith plus Deathrite Shaman as 3 damage a turn game 1 off of 1 creature as early as the 2nd turn. (attack with DRS, untap DRS, then burn with DRS)

Its my go to vs Eldrazi, its my go to vs Delver, it even forces my shardless opponents to have to over commit because they have such few threats a maze + mom really shuts them down.

And since I run Maze + Depths Combo I've won many games copying Maze with Stage and a lot of creature matchups just get turned off when that happens.

That's definitely an interesting approach. I think these choices all have their validations, and there is no real way of knowing which one is the best period, just which one works best for each player's style. Maze has saved my butt a few times in the past, and giving knights pseudo-vigilance is awesome. I just don't know what I would cut for it, probably a spell to keep my mana consistent. Same with DD/Stage combo. I like having the 22 "immediate" mana producers. Also having to sac one of your 2-3 lands to grab a maze can get awkward at times.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ironclad8690

That's definitely an interesting approach. I think these choices all have their validations, and there is no real way of knowing which one is the best period, just which one works best for each player's style. Maze has saved my butt a few times in the past, and giving knights pseudo-vigilance is awesome. I just don't know what I would cut for it, probably a spell to keep my mana consistent. Same with DD/Stage combo. I like having the 22 "immediate" mana producers. Also having to sac one of your 2-3 lands to grab a maze can get awkward at times.

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I had to cut so many cool creatures when I added depth/stage and maze. My creature list is super bare bones to make up for it. 22 lands, depths, maze, 3 equipment, 4 plow leaves very little in the forms of "try out this guy?"

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Originally Posted by DoomRabbit

What's everyone's thoughts on the flex land spots.
I've been running the dark depth combo ever since I've been playing with the deck, which I've enjoyed a lot as it can get you out of many tight spots.
As others have remarked though, it can mess with the consistency of the deck so I've been toying with the idea of trying other lands instead.

Other lands I've seen in similar spots:
- Cradle
- Cavern of Souls
- Horizon Canopy
- Maze of Ith (Great effect, doesn't tap for mana - similar to Dark Depths in that regard)

I'm probably missing a few (not including Karakas here, as I'm already running it).

Does any one have comments on which of these or others they like best? I can see a case for each of those, and downsides. Is this purely a meta call or are there objectively better things to be doing? (If it helps, I play most often vs Miracles, Elves, Show and Tell, Eldrazi, Maverick, 4c Loam).

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I haven't played in months, but I'm on-and-off lurking.
My flex lands are:
1 Cradle
1 Karakas
1 DD
1 Stage
1 Forest #2 (making 4 basics) or fetch #7

I haven't found the need for Maze in a long while and I greatly dislike Horizon Canopy.
Given the delver-heavy meta I was playing in, Forest #2 was solid quite often. It also protected me against DnT, Nic Fit, and anything running Blood Moon.

Cradle is insane. If you have one, it's auto-include for me IMO. Viciano's vial Maverick and Herzog throughout the years demonstrate why this card is dope. Cradle also helps immensely with curving/zenithing/making mana with few lands.

As a side note, I haven't seen the meta shift since I've gone on hiatus. MTG not really a force in my life rn. Upcoming set looks boring.

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Originally Posted by Warden

I haven't played in months, but I'm on-and-off lurking.
My flex lands are:
1 Cradle
1 Karakas
1 DD
1 Stage
1 Forest #2 (making 4 basics) or fetch #7

I haven't found the need for Maze in a long while and I greatly dislike Horizon Canopy.
Given the delver-heavy meta I was playing in, Forest #2 was solid quite often. It also protected me against DnT, Nic Fit, and anything running Blood Moon.

Cradle is insane. If you have one, it's auto-include for me IMO. Viciano's vial Maverick and Herzog throughout the years demonstrate why this card is dope. Cradle also helps immensely with curving/zenithing/making mana with few lands.

As a side note, I haven't seen the meta shift since I've gone on hiatus. MTG not really a force in my life rn. Upcoming set looks boring.

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Are you on hiatus for any particular reason, or just taking a break? The world needs more M@vericks ;)

Thanks for the input, plenty of food for thought.

I tried something else last night, with a one of ghost quarter and life from the loam. That felt really good, played a long grindy game vs Miracles that I ended up winning by keeping him of of white mana, recurring wastelands for the tundras, and ghost quartering plains repeatedly until he ran out. Might keep playing with that for a bit, the second "free" land slot is up for discussion though ;)

I'd like to try cradle, I don't own one so it's a bit of an investment, but nothing stopping me from proxying one to see how it feels.

Cradle plus equipment feels like cheating. It's pretty insane.

I played this "Stock" list in a challenge at the GP: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/540138#online

Except I had to swap in DD combo for Canopy/Cradle and tossed in Bind as #61.

Not so much to report, I got to beat DnT with a Bind on Mother of Runes to swing combat in my favor, and Scryb Ranger to get extra uses from Mother to nullify their Jitte and force my Jitte through. Was beat by Burn when I couldn't stick a Jitte, although I did manage to punt it a bit by not taking out Eidolons early, and made the mistake of siding out the DD combo which would have won game 2. Was beat by BR Reanimator in 3 when I couldn't answer a T1 Sire (although I did get to Bind a Griselbrand activation). Beat UR Bedlam Delver with just typical Maverick play.

Deck felt fairly well positioned, no super fast combo is out there other than Reanimator.

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Originally Posted by Marethyu

I was inspired by some elements of nic fit, but I think this deck shares a greater similarity with Maverick due to the toolbox with green sun's zenith. I think this also has better game against combo than nic fit.

Deathrite shaman, green sun's zenith (with dryad arbor), renegade rallier, and knight of the reliquary all help to ramp. Plus, I think the bigger stuff will come in in grindy matchups, games that'll go longer.

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I agree with RobNC on this one and am only responding now because (1) you say you are a legacy noob and I want you to feel like people are paying attention to your concerns and (2) you might be a little confused about what Maverick and Nic Fit do. Let's get you to where you want to go.

Mother of Runes and dorks are a notable omission in your list. Really, we’re a GSZ/MoR/dork/KoTR/Wasteland deck with the ability to run various utility packages (typically SFM+equipment, but also P-Fire+Grove, DD+Stage, etc) and utility lands (Maze of Ith, Karakas, Grove of the Burnwillows, DD+Stage) depending on the build. Once you start to get away from those elements, you’re talking about a deck that is fundamentally different from a Maverick deck. In other words, it ain't just the GSZ, which is why I say we're a GSZ/MoR/dork/KoTR/Wasteland deck. They all work together to make the deck viable. As such, Maverick has a high number of core cards and very few flex spots. What flex we do have tends to be in the aforementioned utility package and land slots, but it appears that there is consensus on 2-3 SFM and 2-3 equipmunk (Jitte for sure, but also Batterskull and some number of the swords) and the P-Fire+Grove combo being worse than Thalia. (FWIW P-Fire til I die.)

It looks like you like to do some radical stuff in your deck building. Nic Fit is far less restrictive than Maverick in this regard. Beyond the few core cards (play sets of Cabal Therapy and Veteran Explorer, some number of Maelstrom Pulse and Pernicious Deed) and the B/G/x land base, basically the feckin sky is the limit. You always read about how Nic Fit is a legacy commander deck since people just run seemingly random but very powerful cards in it. (I mean, I’ve seen Sorin, Grim Nemesis in some builds.) The Veteran Explorer ramp helps you do that and I don't think there's really anyway to port that to Maverick without cutting key cards. I find the flexibility Nic Fit affords appealing because it helps you adapt to different meta games… and I guess I like the idea of playing Sorin, Grim Nemesis in legacy.

All that said, your deck has more in common with a Nic Fit deck than a Maverick deck. I want you to get constructive responses to your post and, unless you want the obligatory "+4 Mother of Runes, +2 Knight of the Reliquary, -4 Cabal Therapy" posts, you really should try the nice degenerates over in the Nic Fit thread.

Your first post referred to how you wanted to strip your opponent of hope. Well Cabal Therapy taking a look at your opponent's hand followed by Veteran Explorer followed by flashbacked Cabal Therapy is pretty a pretty good way to do that. Plus you get two basics off it and your opponent could get none depending on what they're playing.

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Originally Posted by TMagpie

I had to cut so many cool creatures when I added depth/stage and maze. My creature list is super bare bones to make up for it. 22 lands, depths, maze, 3 equipment, 4 plow leaves very little in the forms of "try out this guy?"

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Gotta say, the absolute kewelest creature is a 20/20 black Avatar creature token with flying and indestructible named Marit Lage.

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Originally Posted by ironclad8690

Are you on hiatus for any particular reason, or just taking a break? The world needs more M@vericks ;)

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Got engaged several months back. Haven't enjoyed the format as much during 2016. CNY meta is also ridiculous lol.

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Originally Posted by menloe

I agree with RobNC on this one and am only responding now because (1) you say you are a legacy noob and I want you to feel like people are paying attention to your concerns and (2) you might be a little confused about what Maverick and Nic Fit do. Let's get you to where you want to go.

Mother of Runes and dorks are a notable omission in your list. Really, we’re a GSZ/MoR/dork/KoTR/Wasteland deck with the ability to run various utility packages (typically SFM+equipment, but also P-Fire+Grove, DD+Stage, etc) and utility lands (Maze of Ith, Karakas, Grove of the Burnwillows, DD+Stage) depending on the build. Once you start to get away from those elements, you’re talking about a deck that is fundamentally different from a Maverick deck. In other words, it ain't just the GSZ, which is why I say we're a GSZ/MoR/dork/KoTR/Wasteland deck. They all work together to make the deck viable. As such, Maverick has a high number of core cards and very few flex spots. What flex we do have tends to be in the aforementioned utility package and land slots, but it appears that there is consensus on 2-3 SFM and 2-3 equipmunk (Jitte for sure, but also Batterskull and some number of the swords) and the P-Fire+Grove combo being worse than Thalia. (FWIW P-Fire til I die.)

It looks like you like to do some radical stuff in your deck building. Nic Fit is far less restrictive than Maverick in this regard. Beyond the few core cards (play sets of Cabal Therapy and Veteran Explorer, some number of Maelstrom Pulse and Pernicious Deed) and the B/G/x land base, basically the feckin sky is the limit. You always read about how Nic Fit is a legacy commander deck since people just run seemingly random but very powerful cards in it. (I mean, I’ve seen Sorin, Grim Nemesis in some builds.) The Veteran Explorer ramp helps you do that and I don't think there's really anyway to port that to Maverick without cutting key cards. I find the flexibility Nic Fit affords appealing because it helps you adapt to different meta games… and I guess I like the idea of playing Sorin, Grim Nemesis in legacy.

All that said, your deck has more in common with a Nic Fit deck than a Maverick deck. I want you to get constructive responses to your post and, unless you want the obligatory "+4 Mother of Runes, +2 Knight of the Reliquary, -4 Cabal Therapy" posts, you really should try the nice degenerates over in the Nic Fit thread.

Your first post referred to how you wanted to strip your opponent of hope. Well Cabal Therapy taking a look at your opponent's hand followed by Veteran Explorer followed by flashbacked Cabal Therapy is pretty a pretty good way to do that. Plus you get two basics off it and your opponent could get none depending on what they're playing.

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^^This. Maverick revolves around Mom/Thalia/Wasteland/Reliquary backed by GSZ and the best GW supporting cast you can muster.

@Claymore: You still finding value in dual sylvans? When they stick, they're strong as all hell. But 2016 was not kind to them in my experiences. Often I'd rather go for the tutor effect in SFM or Recruiter. Wondering your thoughts here.

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^^This. Maverick revolves around Mom/Thalia/Wasteland/Reliquary backed by GSZ and the best GW supporting cast you can muster.

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Quite right. On another level, I love Maverick because KotR enables all of these extremely effective packages that might not fit well together in other decks. Punishing Fire and Dark Depths have a place in the deck because you can reliably tutor for the lands you need. And chomping a couple of lands to make you a new bestest bud, Marit Lage, is a fun thing to do to people.

That's in addition to the SFM package in the main and the Enlightened Tutor package out of the side. Sometimes one of the mainboard packages ain't great, so it's easy to side it out entirely and slot in various Tutor pieces depending on what you're playing against.

This goes back to the earlier discussion about land. I run (a pretty standard for Punishing Maverick) 26 lands main, including Maze of Ith, x3 Wasteland, x3 Grove of the Burnwillows, Dark Depths, Karakas, and Thespian's Stage. I run x1 Bojuka Bog in the side. I replaced Horizon Canopy with a basic Plains because there were a lot of games where I wanted x2 basics (think I got my ass et up by Blood Moon a lot that week) and because I wanted to increase the cost of my modern G/W Elves deck by $80. I am not sure what creatures, other than Thalia, who is a non-bo with me anyway, I miss as a result of running so many lands, but I do very much appreciate the powerful effects of my utility lands. They just make KotR better.

So, for those not playing P-Fire, I do think the DD+Stage and Maze of Ith mainboard and Bojuka Bog sideboard are worth considering because they are additional tutorable effects. Yer Surgicals, for instance, are good, but not tutorable. Like some of our creatures, these lands may look rinky-dink, and sometimes they suck to draw, but they all have applications and can definitely tilt, if not break, certain match ups. Think of the slots they occupy as spell slots and they start to look a lot cooler.

1-3 drop in today's league.

Miracles: 2-1:
Grixis Control: 1-2
Eldrazi: 1-2
Omnishow: 0-2

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@Claymore: You still finding value in dual sylvans? When they stick, they're strong as all hell. But 2016 was not kind to them in my experiences. Often I'd rather go for the tutor effect in SFM or Recruiter. Wondering your thoughts here.

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I only played in the single Challenge and haven't played the deck much else recently, but in the past I always felt Sylan is one of the most powerful cards in the deck. Being able to dig for removal (Swords), GSZ, or sideboard pieces always felt very strong. Cradle may help, but I don't know if the deck can take the turns off in expending most of its mana on tutor effects.

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Originally Posted by menloe

So, for those not playing P-Fire, I do think the DD+Stage and Maze of Ith mainboard and Bojuka Bog sideboard are worth considering because they are additional tutorable effects. Yer Surgicals, for instance, are good, but not tutorable. Like some of our creatures, these lands may look rinky-dink, and sometimes they suck to draw, but they all have applications and can definitely tilt, if not break, certain match ups. Think of the slots they occupy as spell slots and they start to look a lot cooler.

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The reason I like Surgical is a little different to what I like Bog for. Bog is killer against all in graveyard style decks like Dredge and Reanimator, being able to attack multiple pieces at once is what shines there. Surgical shines in matchups where I need to deal with one problem card. For example, I was playing against 12 post in a game 2. He dropped a Cloudpost turn 1 and passed. My turn 1 I Wasteland his Cloudpost, then Surgical it. He scooped on the spot. Not saying this is the case in everything, but being able to remove 3x+ is sometimes backbreaking. Oh your opponent is all in on his Show & Tells and probably took out counterspells since you aren't playing blue? Thoughtseize one and Surgical it for a fun time. Elves combo, find a way to kill a problem elf or stop a N.O. and negate that part of their deck. Taking an entire chunk of a Legacy deck away is very strong IMHO.

TLDR: I run 2 Surgical and no Bog, but as Reanimator keeps growing I may squeeze in a Bog and maybe a Crop Rotation for a quick instant speed graveyard wipe.

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Originally Posted by Megadeus

Cradle plus equipment feels like cheating. It's pretty insane.

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I second this. After playing a few games with Cradle I am in love. I liked having Batterskull already since it just wins games on the spot, but having Cradle in there makes the deck so much more aggressive. I was able to squeeze in a win vs. Enchantress by just throwing creatures on the table and turning them all sideways.