[Deck] Death and Taxes

How we usually deal with TNN is get rid of what TNN is enabling which is actually just equipment. I will probably put a Manic Vandal or Thraben Heretic back in to deal with opposing Jittes as my personal way to deal with TNN indirectly, but a Disenchant or 3rd Council's Judgment is also reasonable. Come to think of it, Council's Judgment is one of our most flexible cards in the sideboard and is surprising we havent bumped it up to 3 yet.

Personally I am liking the looks of the red splash more and more. Sudden Demise gives you a real way to deal with Leovold decks without losing value and those decks are only resistant to mana denial because it pressures them so slowly that they will inevitably turn the corner with basic lands vs monowhite while the red splash just drops a Magus of the Moon on the board and follows up with threats.

That being said, I am just an optimist. I will test the Aluren and misc. BUG midrange match ups and get back to you guys on that one.

Remember, I got an on camera TNN and Jitte against Seth Manfield with Council's Judgement. The card will occasionally get people.

I loved Crusader two this weekend. Will write about why in detail later. In short, I got 3 1-hit KOs.

I still hate SotL.

I'll be talking about Jailer vs Banisher Priest in an article this week. Gathered a ton of data by talking with people this weekend.

I only played side events. Had Jailer mainboard, and he was at least decent. I will keep testing him out. I had two Recruiters mainboard, and honestly, almost never used them because other actions required priority. I might replace recruiters with something else, probably more beat down action.

I definitely saw a lot of TNN. Revoker on their equipment saved my ass, and flickerwisping out my revoker so I could equip my own equipment sealed the deal (he stuck a SofI, I revokered it, and then I drew into my own Sofi).

Prelate was great. I felt good with two mainboard. I kept two mainboard Mirran Crusaders and it felt right due to the large amount of Shardless and other BUG variants.

at the moment, i feel like playing less than 2 Mirran Crusader in your 75 might not be a good choice.

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Originally Posted by FeX

at the moment, i feel like playing less than 2 Mirran Crusader in your 75 might not be a good choice.

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Definitely second this. I started day 1 at 5-2 and ended up an unimpressive 5-4. I noticed a LOT of people playing darkblast so not having too many x/1's is important, and basically the only path to victory against BUG decks aside from randomly land-screwing them is crusader.

I wanna test Jailer. Haven't played it at all and think it looks rather mediocre but always give something a shot before dismissing it. That being said, I can't play 10 3-4 mana guys. It's too much imo. Currently I got 4 flickerwisp, 2 recruiter, 1 crusader, 1 prelate, and 1 jailer, but I've run 2 crusader for a while and agree it feel a like the right number. So what are everyone's thoughts? Seems crazy to cut a flickerwisp but what else can be done?

In the last 2 GP Top8 D&T lost to Miracles because they lost the monarch status. I don't think the card is good in the MU, as it's fairly easy for them to get a free attack and to control the board no matter how they order the play (get monarch first or control the board first), but especially if they terminus you and get back a creature off jailer the game ends on the spot. I'm not 100% convinced about Jailer, although in the last 2 GPs DnT proved the lists with him made it. I'm not sure how heavy the impact of Jailer was on their runs, but both lost as soon as they lost monarch status vs Miracles.
Yes, drawing an extra card vs miracles is neat, but it's very awkard when the tables are turned and miracles draws 2 cards a turn.

I guess we'll have to wait on Wescoe's report about the tournament to see what he has to say about Jailer.

I can see it being risky against Miracles, but if that's the only knock against it*, it's still just 1/60 and can be boarded out if it makes sense to not run in that MU. Did those T8 pilots you mentioned leave Jailer in against Miracles postboard?

* (I know there are other issues)

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Originally Posted by kirbysdl

I can see it being risky against Miracles, but if that's the only knock against it*, it's still just 1/60 and can be boarded out if it makes sense to not run in that MU. Did those T8 pilots you mentioned leave Jailer in against Miracles postboard?

* (I know there are other issues)

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Yes, and both lost because they both lost monarch status. That was in the post as well :P

Wescoe:
https://s29.postimg.org/nmmj7qujr/Sc...2017_14_38.jpg

The other guy is in coverage in YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwXvd-JmvJs

At the same time both DnT lists made top 8 with a Palace Jailer in the deck which means the card should actually be taken seriously. Its naive to dismiss the card as mediocre with such results being demonstrated.

Granted the card is obviously high variance because it gives your opponent tangible counterplay so there's that vs examples such as Miracles or decks with fliers.

I will test out Jailer soon but I suspect many who do dislike it (including me) only dislike it because it isnt deterministic.

I watched Craig Wescoe beat my friend on Miracles, with a monarch token drawing him a million cards. He had a Karakas in play - if it weren't for the Karakas, my friend's Clique would have stolen the crown and basically taken over the game. As far as I could tell he had sided out his STPs (he never drew into any after something like 10 draws) so that Karakas was really pulling its weight.

So yeah, it was super good there (beat a Jace on board) while also being super close to costing him the whole game.

Hi friends; I'm new posting here although not new reading here.

I really recommend taking Jailer seriously; I played a very Jailer-heavy list (2 main and 1 side, supported by 4 Serra Avenger to try to always be winning combat once the game becomes all about combat) to 9-5-1 despite my many misplays at Louisville. It was better than Gideon in almost all non-miracles situations, and creates a similar gamestate as Gideon in the miracles matchup (the opponent must now start hitting me with combat damage or I will accrue unstoppable value). It's a huge tempo play in the mirror, turns the corner very quickly against Insectile Aberrations, and reads "draw a card per turn for the rest of the game" against Lands. It even carried me through the MUD match I played round 6. I didn't get to Show and Tell it in; didn't see that matchup. Most important is that it does something important against every opponent, even the ones where it isn't ideal, because it always warps the game to be more and more about creature combat, which is the part of the game we should always be winning.

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One thing I wanted to correct was this misconception, which many of my opponents had as well:

> if they terminus you and get back a creature off jailer

This isn't actually a problem; they don't get the creature back until they become the monarch, so terminus doesn't actually hurt you at all until they cast another separate creature and hit you with it. Against miracles Jailer won one game for me then only lost the other when I failed to answer Clique and my opponent brought in Back to Basics to keep my Karakas down.

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One question I have for all you who are more expert than me: Is Batterskull getting more and more disappointing for you every time you draw it or flip past it in your library? I feel honor-bound to keep it in the deck but it so rarely is doing anything for me at all that I wonder what common matchups you are deploying it in, besides Eldrazi or when you are racing TNN. I also understand that I must be quite clueless here because no one else really seems to consider cutting it and it's always been in the core of the deck. Thanks!

For the past couple of years I have been allocating some of my spare time to creating a White Stompy deck that is similar to D&T, but with Chalice and Ancient Tomb instead of Vial and Port. The metagame seems particularly hostile to such a version, now that so few decks scoop to a Chalice at 1. Finally decided to switch to D&T and I have not regretted it for a second. I just love this deck, it's super skill intensive and thrives upon knowledge of the format. On the flipside, in games that are not decided by mana and tempo, the deck is very unforgiving and a mistimed Wasteland activation or play into Daze can easily cost you the game. Mother of Runes alone could be the subject of an entire book chapter: when do you attack with Mother, when do you block with it and provide protection etc. There is no rule of thumb and it's great to see whenever top players pick this deck up, they do well with it: Thomas Enevoldsen and Craig Wescoe are examples that spring to mind.

With the above in mind, I have to say I am pro Palace Jailer as a 1-of. This card is also extremely skill intensive as every subsequent attack and card that you play revolves around maintaining Monarch status. It already stole several games for me that I had no business winning. Conversely, if losing Monarch status would yield a loss in an otherwise won game, it seems very likely that the D&T player made one or more mistakes along the way. It should also be realized that the bad beats involving lost Monarch status, may have been lost games either way. I think the games where the D&T player does not make any mistakes, Palace Jailer will only very rarely end up losing you a game that Banisher Priest would have won. The other way around seems much more likely to me.

I haven't thought about or tested multiple copies of Jailer.

Alrighty, here's my tournament report for my 48th place finish this weekend.

I wrote a bit about Palace Jailer in my article that I'm posting Friday, so I'll save my thoughts until then.

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Originally Posted by Medea_

Alrighty, here's my tournament report for my 48th place finish this weekend.

I wrote a bit about Palace Jailer in my article that I'm posting Friday, so I'll save my thoughts until then.

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Grats Phil, you represented us well at the tourney. Sadly missed you at the event.

A resolved Palace Jailer vs a fair deck will generally either win you the game or lose you the game. It will win you the game more often, but you have to be willing to suck up those losses too.

I flamed out at the GP after starting 5-1. I wasn't super happy with my build and probably needed more white sources and maybe a 24th land. Got manascrewed a lot.

R1 (Bye) (Went 4-0 on Friday to almost get a second bye, but lost my 5th match to TNN+Jitte)
R2 Elves (Loss) (Demoralizing way to start the tournament, punished so hard for not getting that 2nd bye)
R3 Bug Delver (win)
R4 DnT (win) (He mentioned he read these boards / played well so it wasn't an easy matchup)
R5 DnT (win) (Wasn't as experienced with the deck)
R6 Lands (win) (Win g1 easily off Prelate, lose g2 to an unchecked Tireless Tracker, win g3 off Revoker for Vortex, Prelate on 2 + monarch token.)
R7 Legends Miracles (loss) Lost a very grindy g1 and we went to time after I Cataclysmed g2.
R8 Dredge (loss) Mulled to 5 g1, but not gonna win g1 vs Dredge on the draw, so I scooped and didn't show him what I was playing. Won g2 off Faerie Macabre, g3 I had it but he had Cabal Therapy and named Macabre + had a t3 kill.
R9 Shardless (loss) G1 I had double Vial on the draw, played the second one over a creature specifically to play around him having an Abrupt Decay - he had his one-of Pulse. Super wrecked. G2 I had a Mirran Crusader in hand all game and never drew a 3rd land over something like 7 turns.

Felt pretty unlucky to lose 3 fine-to-good matchups in a row. I might have made a few tiny mistakes vs Miracles but mostly played alright.

I think Reid Duke's TNN deck looks like an impossible matchup (t2 TNN or Leovold every game + Decay, Jittes + black sideboard cards). I just don't see how we ever beat that. I think everyone wanting to brew with Fatal Push and Leovold for the foreseeable future is going to put DnT in a kinda rough spot. I am probably more interested in going back to splash builds, specifically the black splash. If we're entering a TNN meta, maindeck Pontiff seems like where you want to be and Kambal is another form of damage through a TNN wall. I actually was tempted to play it in the main event, I just forgot to bring Scrublands.

Nice run Phil!

Sorry I didn't get a chance to chat with you at the event.

(aside: I'm from Cleveland and drove down to the event,6.5hrs, Friday night. With two friends and meeting a third coming in from Indy. I was providing two of my friends, including the Indy one, with decks: D&T (me), Eldrazi and UB Reanimator. Alas... Friday night I discovered to my never-ending horror that I had forgotten to put the decks in my overnight bag... so yeah I not only screwed over myself but 2 friends who also made the drive. So needless to say I drank a lot of BOURBON instead of playing Magic :( )


Anyway, on Saturday I did head down to the event and saw lots of folks on D&T as you mentioned. Not to be mean: but after observing about 5 different matches from between 5 to 10 minutes I couldn't believe how BAD most of these D&T players were. It's a shame that so many player pick up the deck which leads to the decision to play enough sideboard hate out of our competitors.

As for Reid's deck: I feel like it's probably critical to land a turn 1 swords on the dork to avoid getting such a strong 3drop play on turn2. The deck doesn't really have many 2-drop plays and feels like it's probably beatable if you can use removal + lands to get them off of 3/4 mana. I agree though that the particular "threat" package of TNN, Leo, and Jace lines up pretty nasty against D&T :(

Ugg just saw Reid had 2 dread of nights and a 2nd jitte in his sideboard.

GROSS.

The Dreads seem like curious choices to me because I see no way that we reliably beat this deck's main, so why even worry about DnT? Also good against Mentors, but that's usually not their main purpose.

Post-board that BUG deck is not even too soft to RiP since it only plays one Goyf. It's possible we would have games where we stall their 3 drop with a STP or Revoker, but that doesn't solve the bigger problem. Plus, I imagine post-AR this deck would replace the Cut with a Fatal Push, and maybe even play additional copies.

(People could also just not end up playing this deck at all.)

@Iatee

I just wrote up a giant article about the deck moving forward that I'm going to push out Friday, and you ended up saying a bunch of the same things I had in mind.

Hey guys,
is there really no 2 drop outside of Leonin, Relic Warder which can blow up artifacts AND enchantments?? I think from the fair deck side the TNN+Jitte+DoN+Push will give you guys a hard time for future events. This combination is not just popular now with the Duke winning list, all those 4c Delver Friedman versions already play this configuration!

I think even a cc3 creature like Reclamation Sage (In white of course) for example would still be good...No options?

If not I think you guys should maybe think about a 3rd CJ in the SB...

Edit: I'm currently switching to this deck too, that's the reason I try to help my biggest enemy :laugh:

@Manipulato
Yeah, options are surprisingly bad on that front. Leonin Relic-Warder is the best thing stapled to a creature at two or three mana, unfortunately.

Unless we play either the green or red splash. Manic Vandal, Rec Sage and Pridemage are all good considerations.

Anyways I think a start in this new direction we are taking is to start running another Council's Judgment. This card deals with so many problems we have in fair match ups.

If I ever go up to 4 in the sideboard I will tell you guys about my experience with a fun-of Ballot Broker. :D

As a note on the Black splash besides just running Orzhov Pontiffs and Kambals you guys do realize that you now have access to Perish. Also Sorin Solemn Visitor is a serious consideration but I would personally still sway towards not running it but being able to race effectively is nice.

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Originally Posted by gh0st_b1rd

Unless we play either the green or red splash. Manic Vandal, Rec Sage and Pridemage are all good considerations.

Anyways I think a start in this new direction we are taking is to start running another Council's Judgment. This card deals with so many problems we have in fair match ups.

If I ever go up to 4 in the sideboard I will tell you guys about my experience with a fun-of Ballot Broker. :D

As a note on the Black splash besides just running Orzhov Pontiffs and Kambals you guys do realize that you now have access to Perish. Also Sorin Solemn Visitor is a serious consideration but I would personally still sway towards not running it but being able to race effectively is nice.

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Sadly Manic Vandal only kills artifacts :-/ And he's red of course...CJ is probably the most versatile answer for TNN DoN & Jitte but a creature would be way better of course because of Vial (uncounertable + helps in manascrew games) & Cavern (uncounterable) but well...
CJ can get countered by Daze or FoW and sometimes there are these shitty games where you stuck on 2 lands or ww is not given...

I think we can just hope that a white Reclamation Sage as a human gets printed near future.

@iatee @_Medea not only Pontiff and Kambal seem good in the meta to come, Zealous Persecution also wins races and deals with hierarchs and TNNs. Black also provides discard and Lingering Souls as an option for grindy MUs where 2-for-1-ing is a must.

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Originally Posted by Manipulato

Sadly Manic Vandal only kills artifacts :-/ And he's red of course...CJ is probably the most versatile answer for TNN DoN & Jitte but a creature would be way better of course because of Vial (uncounertable + helps in manascrew games) & Cavern (uncounterable) but well...
CJ can get countered by Daze or FoW and sometimes there are these shitty games where you stuck on 2 lands or ww is not given...

I think we can just hope that a white Reclamation Sage as a human gets printed near future.

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As luck would have it they printed a W/R rec sage, Duergar Hedge-Mage.

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Originally Posted by CptHaddock

As luck would have it they printed a W/R rec sage, Duergar Hedge-Mage.

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That feels terrible. I don't think I'd play that even if I had the Imperial Recruiters, as it seems pretty difficult to get double mountain. You really need the option of both, not just one or the other. Sometimes you have to hit Omniscience, other times it is Jitte you must worry about. IMHO it really matters.

or you have plains, port, karakas...nice hedge mage

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Manipulato

Hey guys,
is there really no 2 drop outside of Leonin, Relic Warder which can blow up artifacts AND enchantments?? I think from the fair deck side the TNN+Jitte+DoN+Push will give you guys a hard time for future events. This combination is not just popular now with the Duke winning list, all those 4c Delver Friedman versions already play this configuration!

I think even a cc3 creature like Reclamation Sage (In white of course) for example would still be good...No options?

If not I think you guys should maybe think about a 3rd CJ in the SB...

Edit: I'm currently switching to this deck too, that's the reason I try to help my biggest enemy :laugh:

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*****There is Capashen Unicorn, (as well as devout witness and reliquary monk) which destroys both, however; it's a turn slower..

Soltari Visionary is delightfully unplayable, except he dodges TNNs and other blockers. If you're ok paying 3 and waiting a turn for summoning sickness anyway, there's also the idea of maindecking Mangara again in the Banisher/Jailer slot. If paying 3 is ok but waiting a turn isn't, maindecking a removal spell other than StP is an option.

tl;dr plz print 2/2 Human Reclamation Priest.

I run 1 of both main and an additional Relic-Warder side. I have, however, dropped a Recruiter for Crusader #2.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gh0st_b1rd

Unless we play either the green or red splash. Manic Vandal, Rec Sage and Pridemage are all good considerations.

Anyways I think a start in this new direction we are taking is to start running another Council's Judgment. This card deals with so many problems we have in fair match ups.

If I ever go up to 4 in the sideboard I will tell you guys about my experience with a fun-of Ballot Broker. :D

As a note on the Black splash besides just running Orzhov Pontiffs and Kambals you guys do realize that you now have access to Perish. Also Sorin Solemn Visitor is a serious consideration but I would personally still sway towards not running it but being able to race effectively is nice.

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Perish is actually a pretty interesting suggestion. obviously the primary use would be wrecking Elves, but if fair DRS/Leovold decks become a major part of the meta, that's a pretty good card.

I've been very happy with Relic-Warder, card is good.
Sure, a War Priest of Thune that hits artifacts as well as enchantments would be better but that isnt a card they're likely to print any time soon.

The enchantment removal is actually the important part of the card tbh, you have Revokers for artifacts.
If you just want a destroy effect, Seal of Cleansing is a good option but obviously not vialable or recruitable so plays quite differently

Some more videos :) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...rWe4DDKdqwRoIH

Here's the other article I promised, talking about how I built my deck and what I want to try moving forward.

Hey guys, here's a bad tournament report from Louisville. I wasn't going to play the main event because I don't have a deck, but I won a gpt on Friday and felt like I should play. I borrowed a d+t list missing some cards and played it cold, at Louisville for the first time ever.

9 plains
4 port
4 wasteland
1 Mishra’s factory
3 karakas
1 cavern of souls
1 horizon canopy

4 mother of runes
4 aether vial
4 thalia, guardian of thraben
4 flickerwisp
4 stoneforge mystic
4 swords to plowshares
3 phyrexian revoker
2 serra avenger
2 sanctum prelate
2 thalia, heretic cathar
1 batterskull
1 umezawa’s jitte
1 sword of fire and ice
1 eldrazi displacer

2 council’s judgement
2 cataclysm
2 ethersworn canonist
2 containment priest
2 rest in peace
1 gideon ally of zendikar
1 absolute law
1 seal of cleansing
1 pithing needle
1 path to exile



Decklist reasoning: This is a pretty stock list minus maindeck spirit of the labyrinth and 3 recruiters. I couldn’t find any recruiters so I just jammed two new thalia which seemed ok (it was mostly awful) and an eldrazi displacer (which was mvp). With no recruiters to get it, random maze spirit seemed bad so I shoved in the 4th stoneforge. 4th stoneforge and double serra avenger kind of seems like training wheels, but I need training wheels. For the record, I don’t think horizon canopy or mishra’s factory are worth it, and I think one should be a plains and the other either also a plains or a second cavern of souls. The manabase in this deck is pitiful.

Round 1 bye
Round 2 bye

Round 3: Mirror
Game 1: Opponent can’t beat jitte on a serra avenger, I am victorious
Game 2: Opponent can’t beat containment priest + eldrazi displacer wombo combo. Also, the containment priest was his.

Round 4: Bryant Cook on TES
Game 1: Opponent makes 12 goblins on turn 2, I make a batterskull and win the race.
Game 2: Opponent has the chain of vapor for Ethersworn canonist, then swiftly kills himself with an ad nauseum.

Round 5: Miracles
Game 1: Can’t beat opponent flipping all 4 terminus.
Game 2: Fight pretty hard against some wraths ‘ n stuff with displacer-wisp and get er’ done
Game 3: Mull to 5, slam into counterspell, terminus, jace. womp womp .

Round 6: Braverman on miracles
Game 1: He mulligans. I have a weak hand and have to full-steam into a terminus, but he doesn’t have it.
Game 2: He mulligans twice, misses a bunch of land drops, and I just get in there, baby.

Round 7: Intentional draw with Kevin Fang, he is much better at the d and t mirror than me.

Round 8: Burn
Game 1: Get burned out because double searing blaze double eidolon. Opponent seems sloppy.
Game 2: Opponent can’t beat an absolute law. Get rekt nerd.
Game 3: Opponent misses a sulfuric vortex trigger and dies with lethal burn in hand and me at two. Justice.

Round 9: Enlightened tutor rip-helm miracles
Game 1: opponent locks up the game and I scoop to a jace +countertop to try to have time to win twice
Game 2: I play very poorly and my opponent has it all and I die. Side note: am I supposed to play around daze??



Round 10: Bug delver
Pregame: I show up just as the round is supposed to start and am very frantic. My opponent is bummed about no free win.
Game 1: I draw a lot of ports and wastelands and ruin his day.
Game 2: I put a sword on a thing and kill his things, he hates it.

Round 11: BG depths
Game 1: He makes a marit lage and I have a flickerwisp
Game 2: He makes 2 marit lage, and I have a Swords and then an Eldrazi displacer.

Round 12: Mud
Game 1: I use my plow on a metalworker to try to play the mana game with my port, he punishes me with a bunch more sol lands and double wurmcoil.
Game 2: he plays some awful artifact that lets the player who flips higher cmc cards take the next turn? He flips some lands and triple-walks me and I win pretty easily. Card seems bad.
Game 3: I name mana sources with double revoker to keep him off mana and get immediately punished by kuldotha forgemaster off the teezy, have to cataclysm hoping he doesn’t have a platinum emperion or something. He does. I die.

Round 13: Infect
Game 1: took a pretty aggressive line of porting my opponent’s basic forest on turn 2 with the hopes of playing wasteland and vialing in a thalia and locking my opponent out of spells after that. Die turn 2 to land invigorate berserk, obviously.
Game 2: Die to an inkmoth nexus through 2 swords to plowshares, thalia, jitte. Some ridiculous combination of Inkmoth, Double dismember, force of will+blue card, daze, invigorate, berserk.

Round 14: Lands
Game 1: Opponent does nothing and I somehow wasteland+jitte my way to victory.
Game 2: rest in peace and absolute law are quite a beating.

Round 15: Elves
I die very quickly in two and drive back to Canada.

I’d like to confirm that I am better at playing death and taxes than Kevin Fang, as we finished with the same record and my list was substantially worse. Also many of my opponents had no business losing their rounds and played poorly. Also so did I.

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Originally Posted by Medea_

Here's the other article I promised, talking about how I built my deck and what I want to try moving forward.

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Great read. I am not too pleased with the emergence of Leovold. I tested Reid's list at my local legacy event and it was silly.

I was traditionally running a creature heavy sideboard without council's judgement. It seems I have to adapt and not leave home without at least two in the side.

I really like the idea of splashing black for pontiff and perish. What are your thoughts on a singleton bitterblossom in the side for some help against miracles? I know gideon is better overall but an early bitterblossom could be easier to land if you have a thalia out and are on the mana denial plan. I plan to try the build out this week.

Several of the people I know that play Miracles run 2x Spell Snare, much like Lossett does, and it's been good for them (and myself, I play it as well in my Miracles list), I feel like the Gideon is still better here, especially with TNN getting popular again. The +1/+1 is better vs. all the hate for the merfolk (g. Charm, ZP, E. Plague, etc.).

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by Secretly.A.Bee

Several of the people I know that play Miracles run 2x Spell Snare, much like Lossett does, and it's been good for them (and myself, I play it as well in my Miracles list), I feel like the Gideon is still better here, especially with TNN getting popular again. The +1/+1 is better vs. all the hate for the merfolk (g. Charm, ZP, E. Plague, etc.).

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

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Good point. I appreciate the insight.

Been putting off buying Gideon since his price spike but with the change in standard, waiting another 5-6 months doesn't seem worth it.

Im swapping out my gideon for elspeth personally.
Gideon's a 4 mana 2/2 in about 60% of games and a 5 mana 2/2 in about 30% of games, I've been very unimpressed.
Elspeth lets you fly over a TNN with any creature and doesnt die to 1 hit from it, even exalted. It's just as good against miracles IMO and in the matchups where the tokens are for chump blocking there's no difference.