[Deck] GW/x Maverick

I'm almost inclined to say run Grafdigger's cage to combat the graveyards decks if you feel deathrite/scooze isn't enough. It may shut off Green Sun Zenith, but going back to Gaddock Teeg doing the same. Remember, what makes us so great in the fair matchups is that our guys are generally way bigger than theirs and I feel RIP eliminates that advantage. Plus it can be a turn one play, which is what we want in those matchups anyways. Another reason for 2 of scooze is that he battles Goyf and Deathrite incredibly well (especially with a mother to protect against the spot removal). I guess this might all be a moot point as we are now going to play containment priest as our graveyard answer with additional reach (without effecting Scooze, Deathrite and Knight).

I also don't run the Dark Depths combo so my opinion is based around that bias.

I'll be streaming on twitch with Punishing Dark Maverick (a list similar to the ones I've been posting) against UR delver under the name phlogisten today from 2:30pm-5pm eastern standard time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Strassbaw

I'll be streaming on twitch with Punishing Dark Maverick (a list similar to the ones I've been posting) against UR delver under the name phlogisten today from 2:30pm-5pm eastern standard time.

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Will it be rewatchable later? Would love to watch but can't at work :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Strassbaw

I'll be streaming on twitch with Punishing Dark Maverick (a list similar to the ones I've been posting) against UR delver under the name phlogisten today from 2:30pm-5pm eastern standard time.

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I'm also at work...because bills are a thing.
If it's not too much to ask, can you go over your list when streaming + provide your decision making as you go? I've learned a ton getting the pilot's rationale (regardless if they are wrong or right). Helps me think about things moving forward.

Hello, I'd like to share my list and ask your oppinion on what should be my 3rd equipment after the jitte and Sword of fire and ice.
Sword of war and peace, lightning greaves and Behemoth sledge are on the short-list. I don't like batterskull for being 5 cmc.

My local meta is a lot of burn and ur delver. Some dredge, lands, elves, storm, rock and homebrews. Haven't seen Miracles yet.

//Lands
1 Bayou
1 Dark Depths
1 Forest
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Karakas
1 Marsh Flats
1 Plains
3 Savannah
1 Scrubland
1 Thespian's Stage
3 Verdant Catacombs
4 Wasteland
4 Windswept Heath

//Spells
4 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 3rd equipment
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Sylvan Library
1 Umezawa's Jitte

//Creatures
1 Courser of Kruphix
3 Deathrite Shaman
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Gaddock Teeg
4 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Mother of Runes
2 Noble Hierarch
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Scavenging Ooze
3 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

//Sideboard
SB: 1 Council's Judgment
SB: 1 Gaddock Teeg
SB: 2 Surgical Extraction
SB: 2 Rest in Peace
SB: 1 Qasali Pridemage
SB: 2 Zealous Persecution
SB: 4 Leyline of Sanctity
SB: 1 Scavenging Ooze
SB: 1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

Batterskull only costs 5 CMC when you dont have an active Stoneforge Mystic out :P given your list however, Id recommend Sword of Light and Shadow instead since you only run 3 SFMs. On the other hand ... you could add the 4th SFM and easily run Batterskull since youre also not running Dark Confidant (which makes that higj cmc hurt)

I would always include Batterskull into any list running SFM. Mostly when it connects it takes over a game. I often had a win out of a game where i was danger close to losing. Especcially now with UR Delver being all over it is more important.

I would definitely run the skull in your meta. Sometimes they just have the smash to smithereenes, but most of the time if they cant kill SFM right away batterskull just takes over. Batterskull almost singlehandedly invalidated Zoo strategies back in the day, and UR is basically just a better veraion of Zoo. Also, the declining BG/x decks have fews ways to deal with the skull, and sometimes those matchups can be rough otherwise.

I'd say Batterskull was probably a large part of why Nate Sturm top 8'd eternal weekend as well. it was a great meta call and somewhat of an unconventional choice compared to previous punishing lists. You can rewatch the coverage to see how important Mom into SFM fetch batterskull was for him.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll try the batterskull the next time i play this deck.

Looks like Aether Vial Maverick finally got a top 16 in an American event (I always hoped this would be me, but what can you do):

http://sales.starcitygames.com//deck...p?DeckID=76026

List:

2 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Flickerwisp
3 Judge's Familiar
1 Mirran Crusader
4 Mother of Runes
1 Qasali Pridemage
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Spirit of the Labyrinth
1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
1 Gaddock Teeg
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

2 Plains
1 Cavern of Souls
4 Horizon Canopy
4 Rishadan Port
2 Savannah
4 Wasteland
2 Windswept Heath
3 Karakas

4 Aether Vial
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of War and Peace
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Umezawa's Jitte

Sideboard:

1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Rest in Peace
2 Choke
1 Banishing Light
1 Dismember
1 Path to Exile
1 Tower of the Magistrate
2 Wilt-Leaf Liege
2 Containment Priest
2 Ethersworn Canonist

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ironclad8690

Looks like Aether Vial Maverick finally got a top 16 in an American event (I always hoped this would be me, but what can you do):

http://sales.starcitygames.com//deck...p?DeckID=76026

List:

2 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Flickerwisp
3 Judge's Familiar
1 Mirran Crusader
4 Mother of Runes
1 Qasali Pridemage
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Spirit of the Labyrinth
1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
1 Gaddock Teeg
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

2 Plains
1 Cavern of Souls
4 Horizon Canopy
4 Rishadan Port
2 Savannah
4 Wasteland
2 Windswept Heath
3 Karakas

4 Aether Vial
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of War and Peace
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Umezawa's Jitte

Sideboard:

1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Rest in Peace
2 Choke
1 Banishing Light
1 Dismember
1 Path to Exile
1 Tower of the Magistrate
2 Wilt-Leaf Liege
2 Containment Priest
2 Ethersworn Canonist

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This honestly looks like a D&T variant more than Maverick. It's splashing for Teeg & 1 Pridemage, and SB Chokes. I don't think that's enough to be called Maverick.

I've been thinking about the metagame, and I think that we need to re-splash for Red and run 2-4 Lightning Bolts. Removal has always been a bit light in this deck, partly because we always outclassed most other threats from creature decks. Now with UR delver being the aggro deck, we need cheap (1 mana) removal for their Delvers, and plenty of it because they have Daze and Bolts. The alternative is perhaps playing Giant Spider so we can block their Delver and grind them out from the Swiftspears. Basically, start moving towards the Naya Zoo or Big Zoo roots again. The third alternative is to play the Punishing Fire builds, but those have always had spotty mana bases.

I have a funny question for you today. I'm testing it right now online, but I wanted to ask this to the forum anyways. The question is, has anyone tried to play a 61 cards list with maverick in the past here? Here's the thing, usually, I would not ask this kind of question, as I go by the rule where 61 cards are ok when you have ways to tutor that card. Where it gets hairy, if you want, is when I look at my manabase, and I see that with so many colorless/non-mana producers, I feel like it becomes harder to defend adding a card and risking mulliganing more hands for lack of mana producers. All this because I want to go to 2 sylvan libraries main deck.

When i'm at it, here's my list. I have been playing online to pretty good success in 2 mans and dailies. Now to say it's ready for NJ, I have no idea. the list in itself it pretty stock.

List:

1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Scryb Ranger
1 Noble Hierarch
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Deathrite Shaman
3 Mother of Runes
1 sylvan safekeeper
2 Qasali Pridemage
4 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 voice of resurgence

4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Sylvan Library

1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 batterskull

1 Dryad Arbor
1 Dark Depths
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Karakas
1 Plains
1 Thespian's Stage
1 scrubland
1 Bayou
2 Forest
2 Savannah
2 Verdant Catacombs
1 cavern of souls
1 marsh flats
3 Wasteland
4 Windswept Heath

Sideboard
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 gaddock teeg
1 council's jugement
1 Crop Rotation
2 Path to Exile
2 Zealous Persecution
3 Thoughtseize
1 Bojuka Bog
2 armageddon

Now, the difference is, I play voice of resurgence that I like a lot so far for it's work against delvers and the value in general against non-swords to plowshares deck, and the other difference, the cut of 1 sylvan library. Now, I used to play 2 at all times, but I feel like if I am to see a thousand delver decks, I prefer playing cards that impact the board instead of a card that will smooth my draw the next turn (especially that losing 4 lifes is usually a bad idea against them), and I expect to side them out a lot in that case. Now, what I am thinking about, is forcing the second library in as the card number 61, but I don't know how beneficial that really is. Other thought, I don't know how much cavern is needed. Could just become another dual. We'll see I guess.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ThediscoPower

I have a funny question for you today. I'm testing it right now online, but I wanted to ask this to the forum anyways. The question is, has anyone tried to play a 61 cards list with maverick in the past here? Here's the thing, usually, I would not ask this kind of question, as I go by the rule where 61 cards are ok when you have ways to tutor that card. Where it gets hairy, if you want, is when I look at my manabase, and I see that with so many colorless/non-mana producers, I feel like it becomes harder to defend adding a card and risking mulliganing more hands for lack of mana producers. All this because I want to go to 2 sylvan libraries main deck.

[deck]

Now, the difference is, I play voice of resurgence that I like a lot so far for it's work against delvers and the value in general against non-swords to plowshares deck, and the other difference, the cut of 1 sylvan library. Now, I used to play 2 at all times, but I feel like if I am to see a thousand delver decks, I prefer playing cards that impact the board instead of a card that will smooth my draw the next turn (especially that losing 4 lifes is usually a bad idea against them), and I expect to side them out a lot in that case. Now, what I am thinking about, is forcing the second library in as the card number 61, but I don't know how beneficial that really is. Other thought, I don't know how much cavern is needed. Could just become another dual. We'll see I guess.

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I've routinely played 61 cards in Legacy, and especially in Maverick. However, I only do so when I feel that the land base with 60 cards is a bit short. Thus, it's mostly just to give me a slightly better ratio on the lands, rather than needing to add in another non-land card.

Example:
Maze of Ith as the 61st card.
Gitaxian Probe as the 61st card (in combo).

@koby

Would you run Thalia alongside Lightning Bolt? Or rather be more like the punishing builds and cut Thalia to make your removal more efficient.

I'm inclined to think that a Punishing build is the single best reason to run red in the first place, but I can see the merit behind running Bolt so you can keep Thalia in the main. I think those are the only two real options though ... PFire and Thalia don't play well together, and splashing for Bolt and losing Thalia just feels like it would make your deck underpowered.

@ThediscoPower: I ran 61 this past weekend. It has its merits. I find it useful when wanting "all the things". I tried a tweaked my list to run 4 equipment in a room full of miracles/control. Wanted to see how it would go. I went a horrible 1-4-0 but sometimes you need to crash and burn to tell your subconscious deckbuilding brain an idea sucks lol.

Honestly, I think 2x Sylvan Library is mandatory. Even against Delver, it's a must-counter card for them. Letting you manipulate draws to find removal and/or relevant things is a big deal. I tested a handful of game 1's and post-SB games against Delver and can't help but feel Sylvan made just as much of a difference as Thalia.

Equipment: For the GP, I have to decide on 1 Sword of Fire and Ice + 1 Umezawa's Jitte + [something]. Batterskull is the home-run play. It can win games. But it's also a very real liability if you can't churn it onto the field for 1W. Light and Shadow for its color protection and cost have me thinking that's the better call.

Against the field right now, I think Eternal Witness is a really important card nobody is running. I'm losing attrition wars left and right. If the game is remotely grindy, I feel I shoot my load just trying to keep pace...only to be top-decking while the opponent stabilizes better than me. I had this feeling against Jund Combo Loam (ew), Elves post-board wipe, and Miracles (obviously). Often, there's some game-winning card in the grave I need again.

I have been dabbling with Nic Fit lately and I have to admit buying back any card in your yard AND zenithable at that is really awesome. Also way less deathrite shaman in the format now, increasing the value of witness.

Played a 5 round event yesterday. Went 3-0-2 into top 8 and won the Quarter Finals before we split. I played with the following list:

4x Deathrite Shaman
4x Knight of the Reliquary
4x Mother of Runes
4x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2x Qasali Pridemage
2x Scavenging Ooze
2x Stoneforge Mystic
1x Gaddock Teeg

4x Green Sun's Zenith
4x Swords to Plowshare
3x Abrupt Decay
1x Sylvan Library
1x Sword of Fire and Ice
1x Umezawa's Jitte

4x Wasteland
3x Verdant Catacombs
3x Windswept Heath
2x Bayou
2x Marsh Flats
2x Savannah
1x Dryad Arbor
1x Forest
1x Maze of Ith
1x Karakas
1x Plains
1x Scubland
1x Swamp

SIDEBOARD
3x Duress
2x Containment Priest
2x Ethersworn Canonist
2x Toxic Deluge
1x Armageddon
1x Chains of Mephistopheles
1x Choke
1x Circle of Protection: Red
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Sigarda, Host of Herons

A couple of notes before my report - The 3 mainboard aburpt decays were clutch. In play testing and in the tournament, the meta is so fast that creature removal is so important. Also, being uncounterable makes it so much better. Maze of Ith has also been a key card in my land base. At times, not being able to draw removal can be a problem for flyers (aka flipped Delver) and being able to grab it with Knight of the Reliquary has saved me numerous games. It also has combat tricks that allow you to really put a beating on them. Losing life to thoughtseize is really bad right now. So I opted for Duress and it has been doing really well for me. I'm not too scared of discarding creatures now because of containment priest. I also want a discard to board into burn and duress seems better than Inquisition of Kozilek. I really want to find room for a 2nd Library in my sideboard for the grindy matchups. I'm considering taking out Enlightened Tutor for it. 2 Library in the main doesn't seem right to combat against the speed of the format so I want 1 main and 1 side. I took Bobs out because once again the format is too quick right now and losing life just isn't good. I haven't been able to use Armageddon yet against miracles and I eager to see how it interacts. I'm not going to take it out though because it destroys Lands and 12-Post also which are difficult decks to stay ahead of.

Round 1: 2-1 Miracles
Game 1 the 3 mainboard abrupt decays won me the match. I was able to destroy his top when he went to put top on top to counter a deathrite. I also was able to stay on top of his counterbalances. Game 2 he got too far head when he locked me out and stared fate sealing with Jace. He had about 4 more turns until he won, but I scooped because time is of the essence against that deck. Game 3 I hard locked him with choke and Thalia.

Round 2: 2-0 Storm
Played Randolph who recently topped 4 at SCG Oakland. Game 1 I got super lucky. Mulligan down to 6 on the draw. He turn 1 probes saw: Deathrite, Knight, Swords to plowshare and some lands and passes turn. I draw Sofi play deathrite and pass. He then probes me again and saw SOFI and cabal therapy out my knight. Then I drew gaddock teeg and he auto scooped. Had I not mulliganed down to 6 and had that hand He would have seen the teeg and cabal therapy it out instead. Super lucky. Game 2 I was able to turn 1 mom, turn 2 thalia, turn 3 gaddock teeg. He tried going off, but was short mana (due to thalia) after his tutor, he grabbed karakas and bounce gaddock teeg and passed turn. I waste landed him and played teeg and he scooped.

Round 3: Bug Delver 2-0
Once again, the mainboard abrupt decays won me games one. Just removed any threat he played with 2 decays and 2 swords. At one point he played a decent sized goyf, but I was able to drop a bigger knight and swing with it then Maze of Ith after combat damage to activate at his end step to increase Knight's size. Once I green sun for a 2nd Knight it was over. Game 2 Maze was really clutch. I didn't draw too much of my removal, but I drop a maze turn 2 to keep his flipped delver from getting in there and kept spot removing his deathrite. Which kept him down on mana. I then turn 3 played Library and from there was able to sculpt my hand to victory.

Round 4: Elves 0-0-3 (Intentional Draw)
Was super lucky to dodge and we both ID to assure top 8. I'm a little bummed because I wanted to test containment priest. But obviously I need to assure top 8.

Round 5: Death and Taxes (Intentional Draw)

Top 8 Quarter Finals: Punishing Jund 2-1
I'm 2nd overall seed and was on the play. Game one he was able to get ahead with Lily and Bobs. Game 2 I play mother of runes turn one which is killer for jund because they don't have a 1 drop kill spell (maybe after board, but very few) spot removed his deathrite kept wastelanding his grove of the burnwillows and ate his punishing fires out of his graveyard with my deathrite. After resolving a thalia and him being on 3 lands with no deathrite, he was unable to do much on his turns and I grinded out the victory. Game 3 was much more grindry. I was at a state where he had a 6/7 goyf and Liliana at 4. I had 4 card in my hands (Green Sun, Scooze, Karakas and Verdant Catacomb). I play the verdant and scooze to bait his Liliana sac. Which he did and from there I ate another lily in his graveyard and the engineered plague in his graveyard (both were discarded to Lily to grow goyf). That dropped his goyf to a 4/5 (instant, land, sorcery and creature). I then played karakas and green sun for a sigarada. From there he was at 20 health and I was at 9, but was able to kill him because he couldn't swing into sigarda because of goyf's size and hexproof. I could also ignore Lily because I was already in top deck mode and both her -2 and -6 don't do anything to me. So I would then swing with Sigarda, karakas her to my hand and recast her. After two turns of doing that he finally drew the wasteland he needed to kill Karakas. However, he stop upticking Lily and I had a Sofi in my hand that I was able to cast and equip which did a total of 10 damage. Thus winning the race.

Remaining Top 8: We split at top 4 because most of us had work in the morning. The rest allowed me to be the victor because I am literally 16 planeswalker points from getting a bye for Jersey.

I'm pretty set on this list for Jersey. Like i said I may cut Enlightened tutor for a second Library. But I really like essentially having "2" of all my enchantments for their relevant matches. I also have learned in my testing that Gaddock Teeg, although good against treasure cruise, is much like RIP were it isn't right to have them in against the treasure cruise decks. I find that have 7 mainboard removal (with 2 deluge on the side) is enough to keep their threats off the table and just having larger creatures is just too much for them. They don't have enough burn to kill us with that alone. Jitte is an allstar and having 1 of each basic is important for postboard games because they board in blood moon.

Good Luck to anyone playing in Jersey!

I've been quite curious to try AD next to QPM/GSZ. Glad to hear it's working for you. Maybe I'll try it from the Junk point of view soon.

EDIT: 61 cards is fine; don't give it a second thought.

@Warden
I've been loving SoLaS. Closing out games with White decks quickly is quite handy; the life gain can be nice for Burn. The raise dead trigger misses a lot in Legacy from Plow/DRS/Combo though.