[Deck] GW/x Maverick

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Originally Posted by Hencules

Does the spoiled Voice of Resurgence do anything substantial in this deck? It seems like a huge card.

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I don't think it's good enough. To fit the strict criteria of playable creature in this deck, it has to be either be
1. Resilient
2. A hate bear/disruption
3. Significant must answer threat on it's own
4. Protection
5. Acceleration (I.E. noble hierarch)
You have to assume they'll play around the ability and cast things at sorcery speed. It's resilient, but notice how it says when it dies create the token and not when it leaves play. If it said the latter it would be much better because of things like swords to plowshares. And the token likely won't get very big unless you're overextending which is a bad idea. So it's kind of resilient, but most of the time it's just going to be a grizzly bear and you'll be wishing you're playing something else.

Card is useless.

What card in maverick is a MUST answer on the opponent's turn, meaning the opponent playing maverick.

Every card can wait until its your turn.

And now the deck is back to DTB: what do you think the main reason is? The deck is basically the same as months before and the other DTB are almost the same as before too.
Has the maverick players learned to play against jund and the various form of BUG or the abrupt decay/DRS boom has ended and people just resume Mav?
What do you think?

Glad to see Maverick as a DTB again.

Honestly, I think it's less because players learned to fight Decays and Shamans, and more because player (myself included) have just started running their own.

Question: I've been having a hell of a time beating decks super heavy on removal: Jund and Punishing RUG. Is it worth it to add a hexproof guy like Thrun or Sigarda? I've been going without and running a more streamlined list, but there are times I wish I had an answer, and against big mana decks like Nic Fit, it'd be nice to have Sigarda even though I think she costs to much to ever get vs. RUG....

I just finished off my playset of Savannah, so I want to use them and Maverick seems like the place for that. I have access to the Deathrite Shaman/Abrupt Decay build, but having just finished with Junk for months, I want to stay away from that if I can. I also don't have access to the Punishing Fires build, so straight GW Maverick is what I'm looking at. This is what I'm thinking of running:

Maindeck - 60

1 Dryad Arbor
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Scryb Ranger
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Qasali Pridemage
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Mother of Runes
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Knight of the Reliquary

1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

2 Umezawa’s Jitte

2 Sylvan Library

4 Green Sun’s Zenith

1 Path to Exile
4 Swords to Plowshares

1 Maze of Ith
1 Karakas
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Plains
2 Forest
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Cavern of Souls
4 Wasteland
4 Savannah
4 Windswept Heath

Sideboard - 15

1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Krosan Grip
1 Life from the Loam
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Pithing Needle
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Dueling Grounds
2 Choke
3 Rest in Peace

I'm thinking of running Ooze, but I do not have Gaea's Cradle. Do I need to Cradle in order to (effectively) run Ooze? If that is the case, should I cut Ooze and replace him with something else (Goyf?). I really like Ooze, but really dislike Cradle's $100 price tag, so...

No, you really don't need Cradle to use Ooze. Also, I wouldn't ever consider cutting ooze from the deck.

Finished 98th @Strasbourg (1300+ players), only losses day 2 were to TES where he went off turn two both games (he's on the play), Elves (turn 3 kill with him on play both those games) and Miracles where he fetches and spins the top with zero cards in hand and finds Terminus during my lethal attack. In short, I only lost the really bad match-ups and won all the games I had business winning. A friend top came top 40 with a very similar list, losing to Levy playing Miracles in the last round. The deck is as good as it always has been but this meta is hard unless you know what you're doing.

Also, I only faced RUG once (!!!) in 15 rounds which is a shame because it's the easiest match-up together with merfolk.

Play Sigarda. Single-handedly causes Jund to throw up their arms and say, "What the fuck?!"

-Matt

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Originally Posted by allek

Top 98'ed @Strasbourg (1300+ players), only losses day 2 were to TES where he went off turn two both games (he's on the play), Elves (turn 3 kill with him on play both those games) and Miracles where he fetches and spins the top with zero cards in hand and finds Terminus during my lethal attack. In short, I only lost the really bad match-ups and won all the games I had business winning. A friend top came top 40 with a very similar list, losing to Levy playing Miracles in the last round. The deck is as good as it always has been but this meta is hard unless you know what you're doing.

Also, I only faced RUG once (!!!) in 15 rounds which is a shame because it's the easiest match-up together with merfolk.

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can you please post your 75?

cheers

Versus ANT postboard, knowing that they've boarded in Abrupt Decay, which line of play do you choose (assuming you're on the play).

You 1: Windswept Heath -> Savannah, Mother of Runes, pass.
Them 1: Polluted Delta -> Island, Ponder, pass.
You 2: Forest, tap 2 to play Thalia with Mother of Runes able to protect from Abrupt Decay.

Or, do you go for the riskier play of:

You 1: Windswept Heath -> Savannah, Noble Hierarch, pass.
Them 1: Polluted Delta -> Underground Sea, Ponder, pass.
You 2: Wasteland their Sea, then cast Thalia.

Assuming you opened with those cards, do you ever go for the riskier (but more rewarding) play that they'll walk into Wasteland like in scenario 2 or just always go for the safer route in scenario 1? I feel scenario 1 is the better play as if they did fetch an Underground Sea, I can just waste it on my next turn, although I won't be swinging for as much (2 versus the Exalted 3).

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Originally Posted by Arsenal

Versus ANT postboard, knowing that they've boarded in Abrupt Decay, which line of play do you choose (assuming you're on the play).

You 1: Windswept Heath -> Savannah, Mother of Runes, pass.
Them 1: Polluted Delta -> Island, Ponder, pass.
You 2: Forest, tap 2 to play Thalia with Mother of Runes able to protect from Abrupt Decay.

Or, do you go for the riskier play of:

You 1: Windswept Heath -> Savannah, Noble Hierarch, pass.
Them 1: Polluted Delta -> Underground Sea, Ponder, pass.
You 2: Wasteland their Sea, then cast Thalia.

Assuming you opened with those cards, do you ever go for the riskier (but more rewarding) play that they'll walk into Wasteland like in scenario 2 or just always go for the safer route in scenario 1? I feel scenario 1 is the better play as if they did fetch an Underground Sea, I can just waste it on my next turn, although I won't be swinging for as much (2 versus the Exalted 3).

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1 is by far the better play. ANT plays 15 lands and a cantrip means they're very likely to have another land. If they're in a position to go off quickly, they'll need Thresh'd Cabal Ritual, and Wasting a Sea helps that goal. They also play 4 Lotus Petal, so it's going to be hard to keep them off IMSs. As long as you can stop them from killing your hatebears, you'll win (barring corner cases with extreme amounts of mana).
Also since you're on the play you're pretty much guaranteed to have another turn - they can't cast 2 Chain of Vapors until turn 3 at earliest if they're willing to burn a Petal - so you can just Waste them next turn.

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Originally Posted by phazonmuant

1 is by far the better play. ANT plays 15 lands and a cantrip means they're very likely to have another land. If they're in a position to go off quickly, they'll need Thresh'd Cabal Ritual, and Wasting a Sea helps that goal. They also play 4 Lotus Petal, so it's going to be hard to keep them off IMSs. As long as you can stop them from killing your hatebears, you'll win (barring corner cases with extreme amounts of mana).
Also since you're on the play you're pretty much guaranteed to have another turn - they can't cast 2 Chain of Vapors until turn 3 at earliest if they're willing to burn a Petal - so you can just Waste them next turn.

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I disagree wholeheartedly. I think the second play is much, much better.

If you're on the play and set up a board position of you with Savannah, Hierarch, Thalia, and them with nothing, you're extremely favored to win that game. They cannot cast anything really meaningful for two turns at the very least. and if they do, they'll be wasting precious resources and storm count (Cantrips, Petals) on simply establishing time parity. The second play at the very least, will put them at give or take 10 life before they can interact with you, and if you can play anything else meaningful over the next two turns, (Any sort of postboard hate or additional pressure/lifegain), they'll be hard pressed to catch up.

While the deck does play 15 lands, They're already down to 13 lands in the remaining 57 cards that they have available to them. Give or take only 7 of which actually produce mana. While they may make the next land drop, if it is a fetch, they only have 11 lands left in the deck of 49 cards. They need, at the very least, two lands in play to actually have game against Thalia. And they'll have to prioritize those lands over everything else, making them less able to sculpt with cantrips/brainstorm.

If they were in any sort of position to go off quickly, they'd have done it on the first turn, and the double whammy of being down a land and having to pay extra for everything with Thalia is a stumbling situation that will just cut some decks off at the knees.

Hi everyone,

I managed to finish 38th at GP Strasbourg :)

Here is my list:

4 Wasteland
4 Savannah
4 Windswept Heath
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Karakas
3 Forest
1 Plains
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Eiganjo Castle

4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Mother of Runes
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Qasali Pridemage
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Scryb Ranger
1 Gaddock Teeg
4 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Aven Mindcensor
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Thrun, the Last Troll


SB: 2 Faerie Macabre
SB: 2 Oblivion Ring
SB: 1 Krosan Grip
SB: 1 Gaddock Teeg
SB: 1 Karakas
SB: 2 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 2 Enlightened Tutor
SB: 2 Pithing Needle
SB: 1 Rest in Peace
SB: 1 Engineered Explosives

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Originally Posted by ThePrevailer

Glad to see Maverick as a DTB again.

Honestly, I think it's less because players learned to fight Decays and Shamans, and more because player (myself included) have just started running their own.

Question: I've been having a hell of a time beating decks super heavy on removal: Jund and Punishing RUG. Is it worth it to add a hexproof guy like Thrun or Sigarda? I've been going without and running a more streamlined list, but there are times I wish I had an answer, and against big mana decks like Nic Fit, it'd be nice to have Sigarda even though I think she costs to much to ever get vs. RUG....

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I won about 10 duels during GP Strasbourg with either Sigarda or Thrun. Zenith on 5 closes almost all games that are grindy.

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Originally Posted by Arsenal

Versus ANT postboard, knowing that they've boarded in Abrupt Decay, which line of play do you choose (assuming you're on the play).

You 1: Windswept Heath -> Savannah, Mother of Runes, pass.
Them 1: Polluted Delta -> Island, Ponder, pass.
You 2: Forest, tap 2 to play Thalia with Mother of Runes able to protect from Abrupt Decay.

Or, do you go for the riskier play of:

You 1: Windswept Heath -> Savannah, Noble Hierarch, pass.
Them 1: Polluted Delta -> Underground Sea, Ponder, pass.
You 2: Wasteland their Sea, then cast Thalia.

Assuming you opened with those cards, do you ever go for the riskier (but more rewarding) play that they'll walk into Wasteland like in scenario 2 or just always go for the safer route in scenario 1? I feel scenario 1 is the better play as if they did fetch an Underground Sea, I can just waste it on my next turn, although I won't be swinging for as much (2 versus the Exalted 3).

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Let's start with the similarity - Thalia on turn 2. ANT and TES both have trouble against this card. They have 3 possible ways to interact with Thalia:
1) Chain of Vapor (:1::u:)
2) Dread of Night (:1::b:) - not as common today, so...
2a) Massacre (:1:)
3) Abrupt Decay (:1::g::b:)
4) Karakas (which both scenarios do nothing against)

Let's assume that Maverick's hand contains:
Noble Hierarch, Mother of Runes, Thalia, Wasteland, fetchland; This gives two possible turn 1 plays, and each their own path.

Assuming again that Maverick is on the play for this game.

The best line of play would be Fetch->Sav, Noble Hierarch on turn 1, then Thalia + Wasteland on Turn 2. Depending on the land played by the combo player, either use Wasteland to LD, or tap Wasteland to cast Thalia and also cast Mother of Runes. While this play is completely dead to Dread of Night and Massacre, these two cards have seen less play as Maverick has diminished its metagame presence. This gives the most pressure on ANT/TES.

This has nothing to do with a safer play, but more to do with buying more time. Hierarch-Thalia gives you the opportunity to Wasteland on turn 2, which is more important and buys more time than protecting Thalia from spells. Thalia already protects herself from most spells that could interact with her, so the Mother of Runes is redundant for Turn 2.

Interesting to read peoples' different opinions. Now, same set of cards, but this time, Maverick is on the draw. Changes?

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Originally Posted by Arsenal

Interesting to read peoples' different opinions. Now, same set of cards, but this time, Maverick is on the draw. Changes?

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Using the same hand? Then, no unlikely any change to the play. Being on the draw means you're half a turn behind and the best way to remedy that is by playing Hierarch to gain the tempo back. Being on the draw against a storm deck is usually a death sentence too.

I have interesting list which need more testing and tweaking:


2 Deathrite Shaman
2 Noble Hierarch
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
3 Natural Order
4 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Scavenging Ooze
4 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Mother of Runes
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
2 Qasali Pridemage
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Scryb Ranger
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Plains
2 Forest
4 Wasteland
2 Bayou
3 Savannah
4 Windswept Heath
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Karakas
3 Lingering Souls
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
3 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons

\\SB
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Bojuka Bog
2 Wilt-Leaf Liege
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Gaddock Teeg
2 Abrupt Decay
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Thrun, the Last Troll


Like You see there is major change - I add Natural Order with mostly 2 targets:
-Sigarda, Host of Herons - its really good vs grindy MU only Terminus/Supreme Verdict can answer it
-Craterhoof Behemoth - this is tech from combo elves - its mostly lethal after it lands - this tech gives speed vs all fair MU, adding sometimes turn 4 kills.

other tech to support I add Gaea's Cradle (normally its useful only with equipments, but I mostly abandon it to gain consistence, here it back) with is amazing with Lingering Souls, most list running Deathrite Shaman, with little black splash its easy to flashback. In this case with Cradle you can simply hardcast Behemoth from hand. 3 Stoneforge Mystics are needed to long grindy MU where tokens from lingering souls are not just 1/1 flyers. Decreasing value from Knight of the Reliquary by Deathrite Shamans which are almost everywhere force constructors to find other ways to victory ;].

SB is still messy - I like Wilt-Leaf Liege actually Hymn of Tourach are common in more decks then usual - BUG tempo/BUG Control/Jund even in Esper sometimes, Get Wilt-Leaf Liege(specially vs decks which doesn't have access to StP) on turn 2, casting Lingering Souls to get 2 2/2 flyers is mostly gg for those decks.

GL with testing and remember have fun killing with flying 6/6 trample Spirits :]

I see that there are a few flex slots that people can play around with. Any thought ever given to Reveillark as a 1-of? Casting cost may be prohibitive, but there are tons of targets in Maverick (Thalia, KotR, Pridemage, Ooze, Stoneforge, Teeg, Scryb Ranger, Aven Mindcensor, etc), it's a beefy 4/3 Flyer, and it can't be played around easily once resolved (Jace Unsummon, StP, blink effects, etc). Or just Evoke it and get back 2x KotR that were countered/Abrupt Decayed earlier. I feel like this might be too cute, but as a 1-of you probably won't see this until late game anyway and it's trigger can be devastating to your opponent.

EDIT: @Gotta, Eiganjo Castle looks interesting, but space for utility lands is pretty tight as it is. Did it ever matter or was it just a non-basic, Legendary Plains most games?

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Originally Posted by Arsenal

EDIT: @Gotta, Eiganjo Castle looks interesting, but space for utility lands is pretty tight as it is. Did it ever matter or was it just a non-basic, Legendary Plains most games?

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Since nobody actually casted pyroclasm, It never matter. Although it allowed Thalia to attack few times without being killed.