[Deck] Nic Fit (GBx Explorer Zenith Control)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheArchitect

The inherent problem with rector is that it has too many cards that are only situationally good.

Look at scapeshift. It has only 2 cards that dont do anything most of the time you draw them: scapeshift. But those 2 cards also instantly win you the game if you get them at the right time. Prime titan, thrag, HM and therapy also can often not do anything initially if you dont have enough lands at that point in the game or your opponent is in topdeck mode.

But wait? How can you say drawing a huntmaster is often bad? Well compared to scapeshift its not as bad, but there are going to be times where you have hand like this:

Huntmaster, thragtusk, Huntmaster, Cabal therapy, Burning wish, forest, badlands.

90% of the other cards in my deck Id rather have than have those HMs or thrags with that hand. So yes huntmaster is good card, just like rector but there are going to be times I just wish that huntmaster was a abrupt decay (or something else universally useful).

Rector has ALOT of cards that dont do anything, or anything particularly useful, if you draw them at the wrong time. And the pay off of having them at the right time is good, but not super impressive. Unlike how scapeshift instantly wins, but is useless without 7+ lands, Sun titan is useless for most the game but then can drastically improve your board presence over the course of a few turns but loses power to most removal/GY hate. Rectors get nullified often by STPS, deathrite, cards EVERY deck is running. Sigarda gets outraced by a goyf. And then it has cards like empath, ruskalka, recycle/greater good, etc, that can do really powerful things, but often you'll wish you drawn something else when you see them.

I want rector to be good, because its awesome. But what it really needs is to have as little situationally good cards as possible, and make sure the situationally good cards in there are not just good, but game winning. I think something like this might not be that bad:

-2 BSA
-2 Spirit dragons
-1 Empath
-1 rusulka
-1 recycle/greater good
-1 Sun Titan

+0-1 Armada Wurm (not sure this is even needed)
+2-3 Leyline of the void (very relevant against most decks)
+2 Helm of Obedience (at its worst, steal a goyf, but it has the MASSIVE payoff of the insta win)
+1 Etutor (bad card, but again the payoff I think will be worth it again, it can also get tops or deeds)
+X Efficient always-good cards so you can get to the point in the game where you can rectors and stuff (thoughtseize, decay, stps, etc).

SB for control/midrange matchup:
+1 Phyrexian arena (easier to cast, isnt dependant on other cards like recycle/good)



Not many decks have any way to interact with leyline+helm. Most decks are leaning on decay, and cutting other artifact/enchantment removal.


Also, unban survival already.

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If they ever unban Survival, I'll be RecSuring so fast your head will spin. Probably in a Nic Fit shell still, but...yeah. Yeah.

Also, I don't disagree with your assessment, but I'm not convinced that Helmline is the way to go. Helmline just seems really anti-synergistic with the rest of the deck ... at best, it's merely "there." It doesn't really do anything with anything else.

We'll see what my testing tonight shows regarding the Greater Good plan. If it ends up not really changing much of anything, which is a distinct possibility, I'll likely end up trying the Doubling Season shell -- planeswalkers are always good, and they're good without Doubling Season being necessary. It just pushes them ridiculously far over the top. If THAT fails, then I'll likely end up disassembling Rector for the time being. I do think that there's something to the core concept -- but it needs better options to exist than currently do.

Idk if helm is good either, but its the best compact thing I can think of. My justification is that rector is already cheating enchantments into play and wouldnt mind running etutor, like how scapewish is already ramping and doesnt mind running burning wish, so having a card that just wins if your already doing what your deck is good at seemed like the best option. Its definitely not as elegant or non-interactive as scapeshift though.


I wish Form of the Dragon was good or golden wish cost 2.

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/attac...1&d=1366139669

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Arianrhod

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

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trollolol... What a great card against brainstorm... In brainstorm decks!

That looks like fun :D

Progenitor Mimic looks very interesting too. It's a GSZ-able answer to Legendary creatures and it produces some ridiculous value with Thragtusk and Witness. Not half bad against SnT either, and it pitches to FoW.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheArchitect

I want rector to be good, because its awesome. But what it really needs is to have as little situationally good cards as possible, and make sure the situationally good cards in there are not just good, but game winning. I think something like this might not be that bad:

-2 BSA
-2 Spirit dragons
-1 Empath
-1 rusulka
-1 recycle/greater good
-1 Sun Titan

+0-1 Armada Wurm (not sure this is even needed)
+2-3 Leyline of the void (very relevant against most decks)
+2 Helm of Obedience (at its worst, steal a goyf, but it has the MASSIVE payoff of the insta win)
+1 Etutor (bad card, but again the payoff I think will be worth it again, it can also get tops or deeds)
+X Efficient always-good cards so you can get to the point in the game where you can rectors and stuff (thoughtseize, decay, stps, etc).

SB for control/midrange matchup:
+1 Phyrexian arena (easier to cast, isnt dependant on other cards like recycle/good)

Not many decks have any way to interact with leyline+helm. Most decks are leaning on decay, and cutting other artifact/enchantment removal.

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So you're suggesting cutting situational cards for different situational cards?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Qweerios

Progenitor Mimic looks very interesting too. It's a GSZ-able answer to Legendary creatures and it produces some ridiculous value with Thragtusk and Witness. Not half bad against SnT either, and it pitches to FoW.

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I've been thinking the same thing here as well. Also Notion Thief doesn't seem that bad in a BUG shell. Notion Thief + Clique is dirty.

An idea just popped into my head. Sam Black's BW Humans or the like with a ton of sacrifice for value style effects and most importantly lots of targeted discard. Rector. Conscription. Hulksmash?

EDIT: Also I'm fucking disgusted that Notion Thief is blue.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HoneyT

So you're suggesting cutting situational cards for different situational cards?
.

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Im suggesting lowing the number of situationally poor cards and then making sure the ones there are going to win the game. Im not sure leyline helm is good in nic fit, but no ones really tried it and it seems decent on paper.




Also ya, the Chains of Mephistopheles looks cool. If any legacy deck can play it, its nic fit. The simic clone every turn also does seem really good. Even at its worst copying an opponents goyf or clique every turn could be devastating.

I was playing UGb Explorer in the 6th round feature match at SCG Milwaukee. It was my first big tournament (more than 5 rounds), so please excuse the misplays on camera :laugh:.

SCG Milwaukee Tournament Report

Decklist

Spells(24)
3x Sensei's Divining Top
4x Brainstorm
4x Force of Will
4x Cabal Therapy
3x Pernicious Deed
4x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2x Green Sun's Zenith

Creatures(15)
4x Baleful Strix
2x Vendilion Clique
4x Veteran Explorer
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Eternal Witness
1x Thrun, the Last Troll
1x Thragtusk
1x Primeval Titan

Lands(21)
1x Volrath's Stronghold
1x Wasteland
2x Creeping Tar Pit
1x Swamp
2x Forest
2x Island
1x Underground Sea
1x Bayou
2x Tropical Island
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Misty Rainforest

Sideboard
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Maelstrom Pulse
3x Counterbalance
3x Carpet of Flowers
1x Scavenging Ooze
2x Extirpate
1x Darkblast
1x Engineered Plague

I originally played GB Nic Fit (using Diabolic Intent), but after losing to T.E.S. and combo elves last December, I was determined to add Force of Will to the list and this is the current state of the deck. Last minute changes came from adding counterbalance to the sideboard and making the following changes to the main (+2 Vendilion Clique, +3 Sensei's Divining Top, -3 Liliana of the Veil, -2 Ponder). This helps the already stretched mana base of the deck, as Liliana was the only spell requiring double black mana.

Deck Notes:
-The deck revolves around protecting Jace, the Mind Sculptor through both Pernicious Deed and creatures.
-Plan B is to resolve a Primeval Titan, fetching a Volrath's Stronghold and a Creeping Tar Pit (or 2). The singleton wasteland is an out to Maze of Ith and just to provide general utility.
-Thrun was a last minute addition in order to fight Punishing Jund. I had cut him from my original list very early on but was having issues with the Jund matchup. I'm still unsure about this decision.
-Thragtusk is my hedge against Burn/Aggro decks and may be switched to the sideboard, as I usually would want to wait for Primeval Titan after hitting 6 mana with Green Sun's Zenith.
-I cut a Phyrexian Tower since it's subpar without the Veteran Explorer and leaves you vulnerable to wasteland while producing only colorless mana. It allows for explosive starts but I felt it hurt the consistency of the mana base too much and would have to take a spell slot rather than a land slot. In addition, I had cut all the spells requiring double black mana.
-I wanted at least 17 blue sources for Force of Will.
-I wanted to try to include the Counterbalance in the sideboard against combo/burn decks.
-I only included 2 Green Sun's Zenith since this deck includes 4 Brainstorm in addition to 3 Sensei's Divining Tops, allowing the Veteran Explorer to be found more easily.
-Vendilion Clique and Cabal Therapy have some synergy.
-I only ran 5 basics, as brainstorm can shuffle away extra Veteran Explorers.


Match Reports:
note: sideboarding and game notes are from memory; I only recorded life totals and cards in hand from Cabal Therapy/Vendilion Clique

Round 1 (BUG Delver)
Game 1: He wins the die roll and plays Deathrite Shaman into Hymn, hitting 2 lands. I can't get off of 2 lands and a 6/7 Tarmogoyf gets there. (Loss)

In:
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Maelstrom Pulse
3x Carpet of Flowers
1x Scavenging Ooze

Out:
4x Force of Will
3x Veteran Explorer
1x Cabal Therapy

Game 2: Deathrite Shaman into two Tombstalkers is bad for a deck relying on Deed and Abrupt Decay. (Loss)

(0-1) (0-2)


Round 2 (SI)
Game 1: He wins the die roll and tries to use fast mana to cast Infernal Contract, which meets a Force of Will. I play Cabal Therapy and see a hand of Ill-Gotten Gains, Infernal Contract, Elvish Spirit Guide, Infernal Tutor, and Summoner's Pact; the flashback takes the Summoner's Pact. I play Jace and fateseal away any mana sources. Creeping tar pit and Eternal Witness (returning Force of Will) attack for the win. (Win)

In:
3x Counterbalance
1x Maelstrom Pulse
2x Extirpate
1x Engineered Plague

Out:
1x Thragtusk
1x Primeval Titan
1x Thrun, the last troll
4x Baleful Strix

Game 2: I keep an initial 7 with Force of Will and Pernicious Deed. He mulligans to 5. I hit two land drops with a top in play and decide to let a Cabal Ritual and a Lotus Petal resolve since I should be able to handle an Empty the Warrens. He plays an EtW for 8 goblins and I Force of Will one (probably the incorrect play). A Cabal Therapy shows me a hand with Empty the Warrens, Goblin Charbelcher, and Cruel Bargain. I never get off of 2 lands even after brainstorm and top, which doesn't matter anyways since he is able to cast Cruel Bargain and drop a Charbelcher, activating it with an LED for the win. (Loss)

Game 3: I again open with a Force of Will (3 out of 3 games!) and keep. I play a Veteran Explorer and start swinging in for one every turn. He plays a Carpet of Flowers while I have two islands. I play Cabal Therapy and see a hand of Ill-Gotten Gains, Cabal Ritual, Cruel Bargain, and Goblin Charbelcher. I flashback Cabal Therapy and take Goblin Charbelcher. I Force of Will a ritual to keep him off of 4 mana. He casts Ill-Gotten Gains and I am able to get back a Force of Will and a Brainstorm. I am able to get a Counterbalance into play, which blind flips to counter an LED. I eventually get the countertop lock with double Force of Will backup and we go to turns with me at 17 and my opponent at 12. Veteran Explorer and Creeping tar pit are able get me the win. (Win)

(1-1) (2-3)


Round 3 (Goblins)
Game 1: He wins the die roll and plays a Goblin Lackey. I don't have a Veteran Explorer (Green Sun's Zenith in hand) so a Goblin Warchief and Mogg War Marshal hit the board on turn 2. I go down to 5 life before stabilizing with a Deed. I play a Scavenging Ooze which gains me 8 life whlie becoming a 10/10. (Win)

In:
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Darkblast
1x Engineered Plague
1x Scavenging Ooze

Out:
4x Force of Will
2x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1x Cabal Therapy

Game 2: He keeps a 1 Wasteland and Aether Vial hand and again leads with a Goblin Lackey. This time I do have the Turn 1 Veteran Explorer which is bounced by a Stingscourger. I play two Veteran Explorers and am able to play and activate Deed. I cast Jace, fatesealing anything that isn't a land and cast another scavenging ooze which again grows to 10/10. (Win)

(2-1) (4-3)


Round 4 (Merfolk)
Game 1: He wins the die roll and leads with an Aether Vial which is met by a Force of Will. I stall with 2 Baleful Strix and force him to overcommit to the board. Since I drew creeping tar pit to provide blue mana, I am able to avoid fetching islands. Deed clears the board. Silvergill Adept allowed him to redevelop a board presence very quickly, but in the mean time I play a Vendilion Clique, Primeval Titan, and 2 Creeping Tar Pits in addition to a Cabal Therapy to reveal his hand prior to attacking for the win. (Win)

In:
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Darkblast
1x Engineered Plague
1x Scavenging Ooze

Out:
4x Force of Will
3x Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Game 2: I play a Carpet of Flowers on turn 1 and am able to avoid fetching Islands. I play Cabal Therapy and see Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, Daze, Phantasmal Image, Cavern of Souls, and an Island. I play two Baleful Strix, and face a board with Cursecatcher, Kira, and a Phantasmal Image copying a Strix. I Abrupt Decay the Kira and trade Baleful Strixes. Vendilion Clique and Creeping Tar Pit get there. (Win)

(3-1) (6-3)


Round 5 (4 Color Cascade)
Game 1: I don't remember this match very well. A Cabal Therapy revealed 2x Abrupt Decay, Shardless Agent, Tarmogoyf, Punishing Fire, Lightning Bolt, and Dark Confidant. A flashback later on reveals a Scavenging Ooze. I think I played a Scavenging Ooze and a Primeval Titan. (Win)

In:
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Scavenging Ooze
3x Carpet of Flowers

Out:
4x Force of Will
3x Veteran Explorer
1x Cabal Therapy

Game 2: We trade creatures and removal spells, ending up with him having a single Tarmogoyf in play. I play a Jace and bounce the Tarmogoyf and discard it with a Cabal Therapy. I start fatesealing with Jace, leaving lands on the top. I draw and cast a Thragtusk. Time is called with Jace at 8 loyalty. I leave a Tarmogoyf on top of his library which is blocked twice by Thragtusk and a beast token. I Abrupt Decay the Tarmogoyf. He draws a bolt and hits Jace at 12 loyalty to draw the game. (Draw)

(4-1) (7-3-1)


Round 6 (Esper Stoneblade) Feature Match!
Game 1: I realize that this is a terrible time to have my first match ever against Esper Stoneblade. Getting the Top Spell Pierced hurt. Misplays include missing a couple of Scavenging Ooze activations, activating the Deed too soon, and missing a Primeval Titan trigger. (Loss)

In:
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Engineered Plague
1x Scavenging Ooze
3x Counterbalance
3x Carpet of Flowers

Out:
4x Force of Will
3x Veteran Explorer
2x Cabal Therapy

Game 2: Misplays!
1. I should have fetched a blue source to cast Vendilion Clique on my 3rd turn to grab the Batterskull. Also, I meant to cast Vendilion Clique in response to the 2nd fetch to avoid Counterspell, but I was a bit confused about the shortcut (in addition to being nervous due to being on camera).
2. I should have drawn both the Cabal Therapy and the Veteran Explorer to try to shuffle away the Sensei's Divining Top or draw out a Force of Will.
3. I tapped my mana incorrectly and was unable to keep regeneration up for Thrun, which cost me 5 life.
4. I should have flashed back Cabal Therapy on Force of Will and played Maelstrom Pulse on the Stoneforge Mystics.
5. Not a misplay, but seeing all three Sensei's Divining Top is terrible. (Loss)

(4-2) (7-5-1)


Round 7 (RUGw Tempo)
Game 1: I don't remember much about this game. A Cabal Therapy reveals 2x Lightning Bolt, Spell Pierce, Delver of Secrets, Wasteland, Ponder, and land. I think I played a Deed; Primeval Titan gets there. (Win)

In:
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Scavenging Ooze
3x Carpet of Flowers

Out:
4x Force of Will
3x Veteran Explorer
1x Cabal Therapy

Game 2: His Delver of Secrets doesn't flip for at least 5 turns. I play a Deed and start fatesealing with Jace. I also play an Ooze that hits 7/7. I ultimate Jace for the win. (Win)

(5-2) (9-5-1)


Round 8 (Punishing Jund)
Game 1: I play a Jace on an empty board and fateseal to prevent losing Jace to burn. I end up losing Jace to Punishing Fire and Bloodbraid Elf anyways. He plays a Liliana of the Veil and protects her with Punishing Fire. Liliana ultimates, leaving me with 3 lands and a deed (other pile was 4 lands). Punishing Fire alongside Deathrite Shaman burn gets him the win. (Loss)

In:
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Scavenging Ooze

Out:
4x Force of Will
1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Game 2: He plays Liliana with creature backup. I play Vendilion Clique in response to Liliana's Discard, shipping a Punishing Fire to the bottom and putting Liliana down to 1 loyalty. I play Cabal Therapy blind and hit two Bloodbraid Elves. 2 Deathrite Shamans and Punishing Fire get there. (Loss)

(5-3) (9-7-1)


Round 9 (Combo Elves)
Game 1: He casts a Glimpse of Nature on Turn 2 which is met by a Force of Will. I am attacked/Deathrite Shaman burned down to 3 life before I am able to stabilize with a deed. He bounces an elf and a Dryad Arbor in response and I cast an Eternal Witness, returning the Pernicious Deed. After the second Deed, I cast Jace and begin fatesealing, leaving lands on top. I ultimate Jace for the win. (Win)

In:
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Darkblast
1x Engineered Plague
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Scavenging Ooze

Out:
1x Primeval Titan
1x Thragtusk
1x Thrun, the Last Troll
4x Baleful Strix

Game 2: I keep a hand with a Maelstrom Pulse, 2 Abrupt Decays and a Wasteland while he mulligans down to 5 cards. He is able to get 2 elves, a dryad arbor and a Bayou into play. I cast Abrupt Decay and accidentally show him a Maelstrom Pulse (it looks so similar to Abrupt Decay). He casts Cabal Therapy naming Maelstrom Pulse and flashes it back to take the remaining Abrupt Decay. I Wasteland the Bayou and use Darkblast and a Pernicious Deed to clear the board. I land a Jace and start fatesealing away any lands. I draw a Scavenging Ooze, which quickly grows to an 8/8. (Win)

(6-3) (11-7-1), good enough for 44th




Overall Thoughts:
The deck is very strong against fast combo and tribal decks due to Force of Will and Pernicious Deed, respectively. I need to find room for a 4th copy of Pernicious Deed. I think 4 copies of Force of Will (either in the mainboard or sideboard) is correct, as the point of including it is to be more resilient against fast combo. This deck is also capable of hardcasting Force of Will in the late game.

I noticed I sided out Force of Will in 7 out of 9 rounds. While it was never terrible in game 1, it was much less efficient than 1 for 1 removal against creature decks. I'm not sure if it's correct to have Force of Will in the main or sideboard, since having it in the main improves the combo matchup significantly while only hurting the 'fair' matchups by a small amount.

The deck leans very heavily on the Pernicious Deed for removal and had problems dealing with fast value creatures (Dark Confidant and Deathrite Shaman) and efficient creatures (Stoneforge Mystic and Bloodbraid Elf) as by the time Deed becomes relevant I was already very far behind. In addition, the deck cannot afford to go 1 for 1 with Pernicious Deed. Abrupt Decay makes playing Deed against a GBx deck much more difficult as you should have enough mana to activate it on the same turn it's played.

Both Creeping Tar Pit and Vendilion Clique were great, pressuring planeswalkers and providing a clock. Vendilion Clique almost guarantees that you're able to get your next play to stick as well as having some synergy with Cabal Therapy.

Baleful Strix is both great and terrible against Tarmogoyf. If removed, the Strix usually grows the Tarmogoyf; between Baleful Strix, Pernicious Deed, and Jace, the Mind Sculptor, I was consistently being hit by 6/7 Goyfs and even seeing a 7/8 once.

The deck is very weak to discard. Since the deck's best threats cost at least 4, most of the time they're vulnerable in your hand unless you have a brainstorm for protection.

Deathrite Shaman is difficult to deal with, not so much for the Turn 2 Liliana, but more because of the T2 Wasteland + Hymn to Tourach play. Specifically in Jund, Deathrite Shaman and Dark Confidant punish waiting to have enough mana to both play deed and activate it, which plays straight into Abrupt Decay.

I should have tested the Esper Stoneblade match up. It was the only deck I was expecting to face that I haven't played against. I played against RUG Tempo a lot the week before and felt very confidant about playing around stifle, daze, and spell pierce.

My opponents were a lot of fun to play against. Thanks for making my first SCG Open such an enjoyable experience!


Possible changes to decklist:
-1 Thrun, the Last Troll (sideboard)
-1 Thragtusk (sideboard)
1x Pernicious Deed
1x Innocent Blood


I'm also working on another variant of BUg Nic Fit to try to have a better matchup against the midrange decks.

TLDR:
BUG Delver (0-2)
SI (2-1)
Goblins (2-0)
Merfolk (2-0)
4C Cascade (1-0)
Esper Stoneblade (0-2)
RUGw Tempo (2-0)
Punishing Jund (0-2)
Combo Elves (2-0)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DireNTropy

I was playing UGb Explorer in the 6th round feature match at SCG Milwaukee. It was my first big tournament (more than 5 rounds), so please excuse the misplays on camera :laugh:.

SCG Milwaukee Tournament Report

Decklist

Spells(24)
3x Sensei's Divining Top
4x Brainstorm
4x Force of Will
4x Cabal Therapy
3x Pernicious Deed
4x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2x Green Sun's Zenith

Creatures(15)
4x Baleful Strix
2x Vendilion Clique
4x Veteran Explorer
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Eternal Witness
1x Thrun, the Last Troll
1x Thragtusk
1x Primeval Titan

Lands(21)
1x Volrath's Stronghold
1x Wasteland
2x Creeping Tar Pit
1x Swamp
2x Forest
2x Island
1x Underground Sea
1x Bayou
2x Tropical Island
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Misty Rainforest

Sideboard
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Maelstrom Pulse
3x Counterbalance
3x Carpet of Flowers
1x Scavenging Ooze
2x Extirpate
1x Darkblast
1x Engineered Plague

I originally played GB Nic Fit (using Diabolic Intent), but after losing to T.E.S. and combo elves last December, I was determined to add Force of Will to the list and this is the current state of the deck. Last minute changes came from adding counterbalance to the sideboard and making the following changes to the main (+2 Vendilion Clique, +3 Sensei's Divining Top, -3 Liliana of the Veil, -2 Ponder). This helps the already stretched mana base of the deck, as Liliana was the only spell requiring double black mana.

Deck Notes:
-The deck revolves around protecting Jace, the Mind Sculptor through both Pernicious Deed and creatures.
-Plan B is to resolve a Primeval Titan, fetching a Volrath's Stronghold and a Creeping Tar Pit (or 2). The singleton wasteland is an out to Maze of Ith and just to provide general utility.
-Thrun was a last minute addition in order to fight Punishing Jund. I had cut him from my original list very early on but was having issues with the Jund matchup. I'm still unsure about this decision.
-Thragtusk is my hedge against Burn/Aggro decks and may be switched to the sideboard, as I usually would want to wait for Primeval Titan after hitting 6 mana with Green Sun's Zenith.
-I cut a Phyrexian Tower since it's subpar without the Veteran Explorer and leaves you vulnerable to wasteland while producing only colorless mana. It allows for explosive starts but I felt it hurt the consistency of the mana base too much and would have to take a spell slot rather than a land slot. In addition, I had cut all the spells requiring double black mana.
-I wanted at least 17 blue sources for Force of Will.
-I wanted to try to include the Counterbalance in the sideboard against combo/burn decks.
-I only included 2 Green Sun's Zenith since this deck includes 4 Brainstorm in addition to 3 Sensei's Divining Tops, allowing the Veteran Explorer to be found more easily.
-Vendilion Clique and Cabal Therapy have some synergy.
-I only ran 5 basics, as brainstorm can shuffle away extra Veteran Explorers.


Match Reports:
note: sideboarding and game notes are from memory; I only recorded life totals and cards in hand from Cabal Therapy/Vendilion Clique

Round 1 (BUG Delver)
Game 1: He wins the die roll and plays Deathrite Shaman into Hymn, hitting 2 lands. I can't get off of 2 lands and a 6/7 Tarmogoyf gets there. (Loss)

In:
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Maelstrom Pulse
3x Carpet of Flowers
1x Scavenging Ooze

Out:
4x Force of Will
3x Veteran Explorer
1x Cabal Therapy

Game 2: Deathrite Shaman into two Tombstalkers is bad for a deck relying on Deed and Abrupt Decay. (Loss)

(0-1) (0-2)


Round 2 (SI)
Game 1: He wins the die roll and tries to use fast mana to cast Infernal Contract, which meets a Force of Will. I play Cabal Therapy and see a hand of Ill-Gotten Gains, Infernal Contract, Elvish Spirit Guide, Infernal Tutor, and Summoner's Pact; the flashback takes the Summoner's Pact. I play Jace and fateseal away any mana sources. Creeping tar pit and Eternal Witness (returning Force of Will) attack for the win. (Win)

In:
3x Counterbalance
1x Maelstrom Pulse
2x Extirpate
1x Engineered Plague

Out:
1x Thragtusk
1x Primeval Titan
1x Thrun, the last troll
4x Baleful Strix

Game 2: I keep an initial 7 with Force of Will and Pernicious Deed. He mulligans to 5. I hit two land drops with a top in play and decide to let a Cabal Ritual and a Lotus Petal resolve since I should be able to handle an Empty the Warrens. He plays an EtW for 8 goblins and I Force of Will one (probably the incorrect play). A Cabal Therapy shows me a hand with Empty the Warrens, Goblin Charbelcher, and Cruel Bargain. I never get off of 2 lands even after brainstorm and top, which doesn't matter anyways since he is able to cast Cruel Bargain and drop a Charbelcher, activating it with an LED for the win. (Loss)

Game 3: I again open with a Force of Will (3 out of 3 games!) and keep. I play a Veteran Explorer and start swinging in for one every turn. He plays a Carpet of Flowers while I have two islands. I play Cabal Therapy and see a hand of Ill-Gotten Gains, Cabal Ritual, Cruel Bargain, and Goblin Charbelcher. I flashback Cabal Therapy and take Goblin Charbelcher. I Force of Will a ritual to keep him off of 4 mana. He casts Ill-Gotten Gains and I am able to get back a Force of Will and a Brainstorm. I am able to get a Counterbalance into play, which blind flips to counter an LED. I eventually get the countertop lock with double Force of Will backup and we go to turns with me at 17 and my opponent at 12. Veteran Explorer and Creeping tar pit are able get me the win. (Win)

(1-1) (2-3)


Round 3 (Goblins)
Game 1: He wins the die roll and plays a Goblin Lackey. I don't have a Veteran Explorer (Green Sun's Zenith in hand) so a Goblin Warchief and Mogg War Marshal hit the board on turn 2. I go down to 5 life before stabilizing with a Deed. I play a Scavenging Ooze which gains me 8 life whlie becoming a 10/10. (Win)

In:
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Darkblast
1x Engineered Plague
1x Scavenging Ooze

Out:
4x Force of Will
2x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1x Cabal Therapy

Game 2: He keeps a 1 Wasteland and Aether Vial hand and again leads with a Goblin Lackey. This time I do have the Turn 1 Veteran Explorer which is bounced by a Stingscourger. I play two Veteran Explorers and am able to play and activate Deed. I cast Jace, fatesealing anything that isn't a land and cast another scavenging ooze which again grows to 10/10. (Win)

(2-1) (4-3)


Round 4 (Merfolk)
Game 1: He wins the die roll and leads with an Aether Vial which is met by a Force of Will. I stall with 2 Baleful Strix and force him to overcommit to the board. Since I drew creeping tar pit to provide blue mana, I am able to avoid fetching islands. Deed clears the board. Silvergill Adept allowed him to redevelop a board presence very quickly, but in the mean time I play a Vendilion Clique, Primeval Titan, and 2 Creeping Tar Pits in addition to a Cabal Therapy to reveal his hand prior to attacking for the win. (Win)

In:
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Darkblast
1x Engineered Plague
1x Scavenging Ooze

Out:
4x Force of Will
3x Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Game 2: I play a Carpet of Flowers on turn 1 and am able to avoid fetching Islands. I play Cabal Therapy and see Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, Daze, Phantasmal Image, Cavern of Souls, and an Island. I play two Baleful Strix, and face a board with Cursecatcher, Kira, and a Phantasmal Image copying a Strix. I Abrupt Decay the Kira and trade Baleful Strixes. Vendilion Clique and Creeping Tar Pit get there. (Win)

(3-1) (6-3)


Round 5 (4 Color Cascade)
Game 1: I don't remember this match very well. A Cabal Therapy revealed 2x Abrupt Decay, Shardless Agent, Tarmogoyf, Punishing Fire, Lightning Bolt, and Dark Confidant. A flashback later on reveals a Scavenging Ooze. I think I played a Scavenging Ooze and a Primeval Titan. (Win)

In:
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Scavenging Ooze
3x Carpet of Flowers

Out:
4x Force of Will
3x Veteran Explorer
1x Cabal Therapy

Game 2: We trade creatures and removal spells, ending up with him having a single Tarmogoyf in play. I play a Jace and bounce the Tarmogoyf and discard it with a Cabal Therapy. I start fatesealing with Jace, leaving lands on the top. I draw and cast a Thragtusk. Time is called with Jace at 8 loyalty. I leave a Tarmogoyf on top of his library which is blocked twice by Thragtusk and a beast token. I Abrupt Decay the Tarmogoyf. He draws a bolt and hits Jace at 12 loyalty to draw the game. (Draw)

(4-1) (7-3-1)


Round 6 (Esper Stoneblade) Feature Match!
Game 1: I realize that this is a terrible time to have my first match ever against Esper Stoneblade. Getting the Top Spell Pierced hurt. Misplays include missing a couple of Scavenging Ooze activations, activating the Deed too soon, and missing a Primeval Titan trigger. (Loss)

In:
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Engineered Plague
1x Scavenging Ooze
3x Counterbalance
3x Carpet of Flowers

Out:
4x Force of Will
3x Veteran Explorer
2x Cabal Therapy

Game 2: Misplays!
1. I should have fetched a blue source to cast Vendilion Clique on my 3rd turn to grab the Batterskull. Also, I meant to cast Vendilion Clique in response to the 2nd fetch to avoid Counterspell, but I was a bit confused about the shortcut (in addition to being nervous due to being on camera).
2. I should have drawn both the Cabal Therapy and the Veteran Explorer to try to shuffle away the Sensei's Divining Top or draw out a Force of Will.
3. I tapped my mana incorrectly and was unable to keep regeneration up for Thrun, which cost me 5 life.
4. I should have flashed back Cabal Therapy on Force of Will and played Maelstrom Pulse on the Stoneforge Mystics.
5. Not a misplay, but seeing all three Sensei's Divining Top is terrible. (Loss)

(4-2) (7-5-1)


Round 7 (RUGw Tempo)
Game 1: I don't remember much about this game. A Cabal Therapy reveals 2x Lightning Bolt, Spell Pierce, Delver of Secrets, Wasteland, Ponder, and land. I think I played a Deed; Primeval Titan gets there. (Win)

In:
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Scavenging Ooze
3x Carpet of Flowers

Out:
4x Force of Will
3x Veteran Explorer
1x Cabal Therapy

Game 2: His Delver of Secrets doesn't flip for at least 5 turns. I play a Deed and start fatesealing with Jace. I also play an Ooze that hits 7/7. I ultimate Jace for the win. (Win)

(5-2) (9-5-1)


Round 8 (Punishing Jund)
Game 1: I play a Jace on an empty board and fateseal to prevent losing Jace to burn. I end up losing Jace to Punishing Fire and Bloodbraid Elf anyways. He plays a Liliana of the Veil and protects her with Punishing Fire. Liliana ultimates, leaving me with 3 lands and a deed (other pile was 4 lands). Punishing Fire alongside Deathrite Shaman burn gets him the win. (Loss)

In:
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Scavenging Ooze

Out:
4x Force of Will
1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Game 2: He plays Liliana with creature backup. I play Vendilion Clique in response to Liliana's Discard, shipping a Punishing Fire to the bottom and putting Liliana down to 1 loyalty. I play Cabal Therapy blind and hit two Bloodbraid Elves. 2 Deathrite Shamans and Punishing Fire get there. (Loss)

(5-3) (9-7-1)


Round 9 (Combo Elves)
Game 1: He casts a Glimpse of Nature on Turn 2 which is met by a Force of Will. I am attacked/Deathrite Shaman burned down to 3 life before I am able to stabilize with a deed. He bounces an elf and a Dryad Arbor in response and I cast an Eternal Witness, returning the Pernicious Deed. After the second Deed, I cast Jace and begin fatesealing, leaving lands on top. I ultimate Jace for the win. (Win)

In:
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Darkblast
1x Engineered Plague
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Scavenging Ooze

Out:
1x Primeval Titan
1x Thragtusk
1x Thrun, the Last Troll
4x Baleful Strix

Game 2: I keep a hand with a Maelstrom Pulse, 2 Abrupt Decays and a Wasteland while he mulligans down to 5 cards. He is able to get 2 elves, a dryad arbor and a Bayou into play. I cast Abrupt Decay and accidentally show him a Maelstrom Pulse (it looks so similar to Abrupt Decay). He casts Cabal Therapy naming Maelstrom Pulse and flashes it back to take the remaining Abrupt Decay. I Wasteland the Bayou and use Darkblast and a Pernicious Deed to clear the board. I land a Jace and start fatesealing away any lands. I draw a Scavenging Ooze, which quickly grows to an 8/8. (Win)

(6-3) (11-7-1), good enough for 44th




Overall Thoughts:
The deck is very strong against fast combo and tribal decks due to Force of Will and Pernicious Deed, respectively. I need to find room for a 4th copy of Pernicious Deed. I think 4 copies of Force of Will (either in the mainboard or sideboard) is correct, as the point of including it is to be more resilient against fast combo. This deck is also capable of hardcasting Force of Will in the late game.

I noticed I sided out Force of Will in 7 out of 9 rounds. While it was never terrible in game 1, it was much less efficient than 1 for 1 removal against creature decks. I'm not sure if it's correct to have Force of Will in the main or sideboard, since having it in the main improves the combo matchup significantly while only hurting the 'fair' matchups by a small amount.

The deck leans very heavily on the Pernicious Deed for removal and had problems dealing with fast value creatures (Dark Confidant and Deathrite Shaman) and efficient creatures (Stoneforge Mystic and Bloodbraid Elf) as by the time Deed becomes relevant I was already very far behind. In addition, the deck cannot afford to go 1 for 1 with Pernicious Deed. Abrupt Decay makes playing Deed against a GBx deck much more difficult as you should have enough mana to activate it on the same turn it's played.

Both Creeping Tar Pit and Vendilion Clique were great, pressuring planeswalkers and providing a clock. Vendilion Clique almost guarantees that you're able to get your next play to stick as well as having some synergy with Cabal Therapy.

Baleful Strix is both great and terrible against Tarmogoyf. If removed, the Strix usually grows the Tarmogoyf; between Baleful Strix, Pernicious Deed, and Jace, the Mind Sculptor, I was consistently being hit by 6/7 Goyfs and even seeing a 7/8 once.

The deck is very weak to discard. Since the deck's best threats cost at least 4, most of the time they're vulnerable in your hand unless you have a brainstorm for protection.

Deathrite Shaman is difficult to deal with, not so much for the Turn 2 Liliana, but more because of the T2 Wasteland + Hymn to Tourach play. Specifically in Jund, Deathrite Shaman and Dark Confidant punish waiting to have enough mana to both play deed and activate it, which plays straight into Abrupt Decay.

I should have tested the Esper Stoneblade match up. It was the only deck I was expecting to face that I haven't played against. I played against RUG Tempo a lot the week before and felt very confidant about playing around stifle, daze, and spell pierce.

My opponents were a lot of fun to play against. Thanks for making my first SCG Open such an enjoyable experience!


Possible changes to decklist:
-1 Thrun, the Last Troll (sideboard)
-1 Thragtusk (sideboard)
1x Pernicious Deed
1x Innocent Blood


I'm also working on another variant of BUg Nic Fit to try to have a better matchup against the midrange decks.

TLDR:
BUG Delver (0-2)
SI (2-1)
Goblins (2-0)
Merfolk (2-0)
4C Cascade (1-0)
Esper Stoneblade (0-2)
RUGw Tempo (2-0)
Punishing Jund (0-2)
Combo Elves (2-0)

---

I love stoneblade and i've been playing it for ages, but BUG fit is awesome and I want to let you know that I was rooting for you the entire feature match! 44th ain't bad either, so well done!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DireNTropy

Overall Thoughts:

---

Congrats to the result. You can look into my signature list for ideas.

- Force of Will: Don't play Force of Will maindeck. It is only good against Combo and absolutely terrible against everything else. So siding it out 7 out of 9 games is pretty normal.
- Removal: I think having 4 Abrupt Decay in the maindeck is the right choice at the moment. Deathrite Shamans, Dark Confidant, Goyfs, Delvers, Counterbalances, Sylvan Libraries and Stoneforge Mystics are everywhere. For the mass removal I like a 3/2 split between Damnation and Deed. Damnation is great if you face Tombstalker or Mother of Runes + Phyrexian Revoker (they know to name Deed).
- Discard: Playing a lot of removal helps. If you kill your opponent's threats and you both go into topdeck mode you are the favorite.
- Green Sun's Zenith: GSZ is the second best card in the deck after Brainstorm and you should play 4. Great in the opening hand, great topdeck later on. Do not cut Thrun and Thragtusk, that is the wrong approach.
- Don't play Volrath's Stronghold. A second Tar Pit is a much better choice. Stronghold sounds nice in theory but it just doesn't ever do anthing. I had it far too long in test lists until I realized that I haven't actually returned anything with it in a hundred games or so.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tao

Congrats to the result. You can look into my signature list for ideas.

- Force of Will: Don't play Force of Will maindeck. It is only good against Combo and absolutely terrible against everything else. So siding it out 7 out of 9 games is pretty normal.
- Removal: I think having 4 Abrupt Decay in the maindeck is the right choice at the moment. Deathrite Shamans, Dark Confidant, Goyfs, Delvers, Counterbalances, Sylvan Libraries and Stoneforge Mystics are everywhere. For the mass removal I like a 3/2 split between Damnation and Deed. Damnation is great if you face Tombstalker or Mother of Runes + Phyrexian Revoker (they know to name Deed).
- Discard: Playing a lot of removal helps. If you kill your opponent's threats and you both go into topdeck mode you are the favorite.
- Green Sun's Zenith: GSZ is the second best card in the deck after Brainstorm and you should play 4. Great in the opening hand, great topdeck later on. Do not cut Thrun and Thragtusk, that is the wrong approach.
- Don't play Volrath's Stronghold. A second Tar Pit is a much better choice. Stronghold sounds nice in theory but it just doesn't ever do anthing. I had it far too long in test lists until I realized that I haven't actually returned anything with it in a hundred games or so.

---

I played a GP in Strassbourg this weekend and wished I would have had a FOW many times in my first game. It is very frustrating to be on the draw and being killed before I could even do a thing. Even if you have to sideboard it I still think it deserves a MB spot in the current Combo heavy meta. Maybe different meta at your end?

Apart from that I agree with all your other points.

@DireNTropy Of course congratz on great result and thanks for the report

Hey guys,

Long time not been here
Went to Strasbourg and ended 6W-2L-1D, and missed D2 by nothing, playing a "dangerous cool thing" that is viable if you ever wonder.

Quote:

---

60 MAIN DECK

2 Bayou
1 Savannah
2 Phyrexian Tower
1 Dryad Arbor
2 Swamp
1 Plains
4 Forest
4 Verdant Catacomb
4 Windswept Heath

3 Sensei's Divining Top

4 Veteran Explorer
4 Academy Rector
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Eternal Witness
1 Fierce Empath
1 Starved Rusalka

3 Abrupt Decay
2 Pernicious Deed

1 Pattern of Rebirth
4 Green Sun's Zenith
3 Diabolic Intent


4 Cabal Therapy
3 Inquisition of Kozilek

2 Garruk Relentless

1 Emrakul the Aeons Torn
1 Omniscience


SIDEBOARD 15

SB: 1 Krosan Grip
SB: 1 Maelstrom Pulse
SB: 1 Damnation
SB: 1 Surgical Extraction
SB: 1 Nihil Spellbomb
SB: 1 Relic of Progenitus
SB: 1 Faith's Fetter
SB: 4 Mindbreak Trap
SB: 2 Carpet of Flowers
SB: 2 Leyline of Sanctity

---

I am not quite sure about the Relic as the 15th card, but whatever...

Lost to TES round 1, drew vs BUG R2, and lost to BUG R8 when the deck literally abandoned me (no lands on G1, no creature on G2 although I had Top...). Such a shame when I know the MU vs BUG is favorable to me.
Won vs Pox, UWb Rector, Esper, BUG, ANT and UW Rip/Helm (no Miracles there, but Misthollow Griffins weirdo...)

About my list, Gaddock was metagame call, as I expected a lot of Storm. I used to play 3 GSZ and 4 Decay, which seemed better to me. I wonder if I should be playing a 4th Top...
Need to get ready for Bazaar of Moxen !

FYI there was a GB Nic Fit list ending 68th, playing Helm/Leyline fo the Void*4 MD

@Notion Thief: Dirty dirty little boy :D makes me wanna play BUG
@Arianrhod: you forgot Future Sight the enchant list!, personally I would try the Doubling Season stuff with PWs.

I'm not going to quote everyone's results because this page is already enormous, but congratulations to all =)

Only ended up 2-2 at my local last night -- got paired vs Reanimator (almost unwinnable) and my 12post list (deck abandoned me). However, I had a blast vs Reanimator, because I got to reanimate several of his things and at least made the matchup interesting; and more importantly, I finally figured out that goddamn open slot: Chameleon Colossus.

Yes, it doesn't have trample. I acknowledge that. However, it's an incredibly, insanely fast clock which also happens to play nicely with the tons-of-lands style of the deck. Multiple times on the night I had a Cham swinging for 16; once I could have hit 32 but opted to do something main2 because it was getting chumped anyway. It demands answers, in a deck full of things that demand answers. It also can make blocking incredibly awkward for people, especially when there's something that they really want to kill, like a Huntmaster, which is swinging alongside it. Pro-black was relevant on the night as well, because of the resurgence of popularity of Maelstrom Pulse as people are realizing that Abrupt Decay doesn't kill everything. Pro-black also won me a game because my opponent's Batterskull germ couldn't block (black creature). Absolute worst case, it's a Zenithable Abyss. Coupled with Deeds, though, it's usually much better. Definitely planning on testing it more going forward.

I also got in some testing with the Greater Good package, and, as feared, it ended up being vastly too derpy. When it went, it fucking WENT -- but it just wasn't stable enough, and it did nothing to fix the problems that Rector is having. Onward to brewing with Doubling Season, I guess.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by learntolove6

I love stoneblade and i've been playing it for ages, but BUG fit is awesome and I want to let you know that I was rooting for you the entire feature match! 44th ain't bad either, so well done!

---

Thanks! It was definitely a great first tournament and the deck was really fun to play.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tao

Congrats to the result. You can look into my signature list for ideas.

---

I was just thinking that Wurmcoil Engine would be amazing against both Jund and Esperblade. How have the 2 copies been performing? Do you have issues with drawing too many 6 drops?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cire_dk

I played a GP in Strassbourg this weekend and wished I would have had a FOW many times in my first game. It is very frustrating to be on the draw and being killed before I could even do a thing. Even if you have to sideboard it I still think it deserves a MB spot in the current Combo heavy meta. Maybe different meta at your end?

---

Force of Will:
I agree with Tao. While Force of Will probably won me two game 1's (one against SI and one against Combo Elves), against all the other decks it was probably the worst card on my list. Having 6-7 mainboard discard, other disruption (Vendilion Clique, Liliana of the Veil, or Jace, the Mind Sculptor), and a fast clock gives BUg Nic Fit a decent chance to take game 1. And in games 2 and 3, you can sideboard in 4 Force of Will, 3 Negate (or other blue disruption); at which point the games should be in your favor.

I like using Counterbalance in the sideboard as it allows you to interact with discard, counterspells, and permanents. Combo decks are able to fight counterspells (Silence effects, discard), discard (Brainstorm, Ponder, etc), and permanents (bounce, Abrupt Decay), but may have a more difficult time dealing with multiple types.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DireNTropy

Force of Will:
I agree with Tao. While Force of Will probably won me two game 1's (one against SI and one against Combo Elves), against all the other decks it was probably the worst card on my list. Having 6-7 mainboard discard, other disruption (Vendilion Clique, Liliana of the Veil, or Jace, the Mind Sculptor), and a fast clock gives BUg Nic Fit a decent chance to take game 1. And in games 2 and 3, you can sideboard in 4 Force of Will, 3 Negate (or other blue disruption); at which point the games should be in your favor.

---

Isn't it worth it to be better against combo and G1 and slightly worse against 'fair' decks if the matchup against fair decks is still good enough to win? Which is what your report suggests. G1 the deck is good enough to beat non-combo even with the not-so-great FoW in the deck. That seems to say that it's not worth it to take out the FoW. Why improve a matchup you're already going to win if doing so means weakening a matchup that needs every edge it can get?

Re-sleeved BUG this week after a long break. I have been on a streak of Landstill and Stoneblade for the past couple months and after facing Jund 3 rounds in a row at my last event, I decided to go back to my roots.

The list:


Creatures (10)
4 Veteran Explorer
2 Eternal Witness
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Thragtusk
1 Primeval Titan

Spells (27)
4 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Brainstorm
4 Abrupt Decay

4 Pernicious Deed
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Lands (23)
1 Wasteland
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Creeping Tar Pit
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Bayou
2 Tropical Island
1 Underground Sea
2 Forest
2 Island
2 Swamp

Sideboard (15)
1 Selkie Hedge-Mage
2 Thoughtseize
4 Surgical Extraction
4 Negate
4 Force of Will


R1: 2-1 vs. Merfolk
no sideboard

Tough matchup as always with BUG. Avoid Islands at all costs, and if you resolve a Deed you win.

R2: 2-0 vs. UWrb Counterbalance/Thopter Control with Entreat
-4 Therapy, -4 Explorer, +4 FoW, +4 Negate

Played a tight G1 and completely crushed G2 in the Jace/Counter war

R3: 0-2 vs. UBr Tempo
-1 Witness, +1 Selkie

Lost to 3 Tombstalker swings both games. I failed to find Jace/GSZ/Selkie/Deed@8. We played a couple of games before the tournament and I won them all so I will blame it on chance.

R4: 2-1 vs. BGw Pod Fit
-3 Explorer, -1 Deed, -4 Decay, +4 FoW, +4 Negate

Lost G1 to Recurring Nightmare/Thragtusk loop due to a misplay. Took G2 and G3 convincingly with Ooze/Jace with counter backup.

Finished 2nd.

Overall I am very pleased with the addition of Gitaxian Probe. It streamlines the deck quite a lot, gives me loads of information and is generally a blowout with Therapy. Paying 2-6 life for Probes is a non-issue because it allows me to make the best choices under pressure which usually leads to less life loss.

@Slikwilly

FoW main is not a bad idea because it is realistically hard-cast-able but the issue is with the blue count. It is currently impossible to have as much domination over fair decks when you have to include cards like Counterspell, Coiling Oracle, or Baleful Stryx when the deck could clearly support better options.

A few people who have me on Facebook already know that I've come to this decision, but I figured I'd post here as well and just make it nice and official. After grappling with the problem of Rector's obsolescence for the past couple months privately, and week/two publicly, I've decided that Rector, as I play it and enjoy it, is not relevant to the metagame moving forward -- Scapewish is better in at least 85% of situations. I built a Doubling Season list, but to incorporate the maindeck planeswalkers and their attending packages, I had to cut almost everything about the deck that gives the deck its core identity in my mind. To me, the Soul of Rector, so to speak, is best summarized by something that I did an opponent at Jupiter last fall: I passed Eternal Witness through Nightmare loops sufficiently that I vindicated every red source in his deck, and was moving on to the black sources (my opponent was playing 4c Superfriends....so slow, but powerful). Those kinds of shenanigans are no longer possible in competitive legacy, I feel -- and even if they may one day be better, I still can't come up with a good enough rationalization for why I SHOULD rather run Rector, as opposed to why I would WANT to run Rector.

As such, I am personally suspending development on Rector as an archetype. You guys are of course more than welcome to continue on your own, and feel free to ask me questions about things I've tried in the past and so forth -- but I'll be focusing on going deep with Scapewish.

I'll miss you, baby =(

So how do we make Scapewish better? I think 2 areas to evaluate are the ramp dudes and the midrange creatures. Are 3 huntmasters correct? What about Thrun or Ooze?