[Deck] GW/x Maverick

Hey everyone, looking for some general tips on playing against certain matchups, in particular Death & Taxes, Miracles, and Shardless. What should I be prioritizing/targeting with removal, how should the games generally play out, and what kind of openers am I looking for? I feel very comfortable piloting this style of deck but just have a lack of experience against a wide field and find myself falling short due to knowledge.

My current build is:

4 Mother of Runes
1 Noble Hierarch
4 Deathrite Shaman
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Qasali Pridemage
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Scryb Ranger
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sylvan Library
4 Windswept Heath
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Dark Depths
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Karakas
3 Wasteland
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Scrubland
2 Savannah
1 Bayou
1 Plains
2 Forest


2 Zealous Persecution
1 Bojuka Bog
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Pithing Needle
1 Choke
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
3 Thoughtseize
1 Gaddock Teeg
2 Containment Priest
1 Painful Truths


Thanks!

Hello everyone,
Last weekend I won a small local event with 20 participants going over 5 rounds.
I beat some kind of Junk, Painter, Elves, Goblins and Hypergenesis. 5:0 (10:3 in Rounds)
Surprisingly nobody played miracles, and I dodged the other blue decks.
I expected more decks like Affinity, Painter, and MUD so I wanted to test a single Kataki, which won me game 2 against painter.

Sideboard decisions: (some single decisions could be better, but it worked for me)
I didn`t board anything against the Junk Deck because in Game 1 the only cards I saw was a Trinisphere (w00t?!) and a Green Suns Zenith into Pridemage. Game 2 he was manascrewd. Was a easy game
Against Painter: IN: Kataki (won Game 2), Krosan Grip, Pithing Needle, Darkblast, 1 Toxic Deluge
OUT: 1 SFM + Sword of Fire and Ice, 1 Knight, Sigarda
Against Elves: IN: 2 Ethersworn Canonist, 2 ZPersecution, Darkblast, Toxic Deluge and Containment Priest
OUT: Sigarda, 2 Pridemage, 1 Library, 1 Knight, Sword of Fire & Ice, 1 Thalia
Against Goblins: IN: 2 Z.Persecution, Toxic Deluge, Darkblast, Pithing Needle, Containment Priest
OUT: 4 Thalia, Sigarda, 1 Library
Against Hypergenesis: IN: 2 Thoughtseize, 2 Ethersworn Canonist, 1 Gaddock Teeg, 1 Containment Priest
OUT: 2 Abrupt Decay, 2 Stoneforge Mystic, Jitte, Sword F/I

I think for the next tournament I will try an Aven Mindcensor / (Scrybranger) in the spot of Sigarda, we`ll see…
Kataki was good especially if protected with Mother of Runes against Painter.
Darkblast was insane in the creature matchups.

It was great to play against a lot of creature based decks so the Knights/Thalia/Wasteland and SFM Package could do their thing :cool:

Heres my 60:
1 Forrest
1 Plains
2 Savannah
2 Bayou
1 Scrubland
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Karakas
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Gaeas Cradle
4 Wasteland
4 Windswept Heath
2 Verdant Catacombs
1 Dryad Arbor
4 Mother of Runes
4 Deathrite Shaman
1 Noble Hierarch
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Qasal Pridemage
2 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Scavenging Ooze
4 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
4 Green Suns Zenith
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Sylvan Library
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawas Jitte

Sideboard:
2 Thoughtseize
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Containment Priest
2 Choke
2 Zealous Persecution
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Darkblast
1 Pithing Needle
1 Krosan Grip
1 Kataki, Wars Wage

I've been playing a lot of Bant Stoneblade but have had the urge to drop Thalia on people, so I've been testing this GWu depths version... super fun, seems pretty strong, good outs to combo.

4 noble hierarch
4 thalia, guardian of thraben
4 mother of runes
3 knight of the reliquary
2 scavenging ooze
2 stoneforge mystic
2 qasali pridemage
1 trygon predator
1 scryb ranger
1 courser of kruphix
1 eternal witness
1 dryad arbor

4 green sun's zenith
4 swords to plowshares
2 sylvan library
1 umezawa's jitte
1 sword of fire and ice

4 windswept heath
4 misty rainforest
4 wasteland
3 savannah
1 forest
1 plains
1 dark depths
1 thespian's stage
1 karakas
1 tropical island
1 tundra

2 meddling mage
2 containment priest
1 flusterstorm
1 envelop
1 krosan grip
1 pithing needle
1 garruk relentless
1 council's judgment
1 carpet of flowers
1 krosan grip
1 gaddock teeg
1 tormod's crypt
1 life from the loam

If I played Bant-colors, I would like to test Stifle. I've been blown out by clever use of Stifle too many times. Fetches, Wastelands, DRS activations, SFM triggers and whatnot. One mana ld hurts!
Need to go through my list tonight for tomorrows +50 people tournament. Expected decks probably include any usual tier 1-2 decks. Due my luck in my previous tourney, I expect to face many combo decks...:rolleyes:

I am only now starting to test Thrun for the Miracles matchup. With Karakas he seems absolutely devastating--what's the main problem with him I'm not seeing? Why don't I see more of him?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TMagpie

I am only now starting to test Thrun for the Miracles matchup. With Karakas he seems absolutely devastating--what's the main problem with him I'm not seeing? Why don't I see more of him?

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Unless you have your Karakas they can still answer him with Terminus or Council's Judgment. Now they can even block him more effectively with Monk tokens.

Uncounterability is strong but I'm not sure he makes the cut anymore. These days I prefer to play Elspeth, Garruk, or Armageddon.

To the Sigarda, BSK, and/or other bomb people. I was just getting ready to sell my Lotus Cobras.. Cobri? Cobrases?, saw his little 2/1 body and thought "Hmm.."

I immediately considered Stoneforge, equips, and the pain that can be BSK stuck in your hand; GSZ seeming to fit perfectly with his "you have way too much mana" abilities, and certainly Knight ramping you a net +2-3 mana is drool-worthy. I think he may actually be playable as a way to T3 cast-equip SoFaI or BSK, allowing BSK in the main without having to 4x Stoneforge (though you could..)

Given the fact you'd have even more ramp-age going on, it may start being feasible to look at the Thrun, Sigarda, BSK kinds of plans.

Certainly deck space is somewhat tight if you start going the Oath route; but I think this could be a good way of getting huge mana for those beloved cast-equip moments or solving the BSK problem.


I've repeated myself a bunch here; but I also figure that someone has tried this. Can anyone enlighten me why this is pure garbage so I can sell my cobras? Or say it's test worthy so we can brew? I have to assume someone has considered that ramping your equips and solving the hardcast BSK problem would've come by now, and that it's probably just bad (hence why it's not a thing), but.. I hold out hope.

I like the idea. I think he's a very powerful man. I mean you can play hierarch into him + stoneforge turn 2 into t3 cast and equip nicely. Also him plus knight is completely insane.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Megadeus

I like the idea. I think he's a very powerful man. I mean you can play hierarch into him + stoneforge turn 2 into t3 cast and equip nicely. Also him plus knight is completely insane.

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Oh wow, I hadn't considered what T1 ramp does to him:
T1 Land and GSZ/Hierarch/DRS
T2 Play Cobra, Fetch, Play SFM, Fetch BSK

They have to kill both or you can easily cast BSK or slide it into play. I could see some hands being a little awkward with all lands/rampers and no targets, but GSZ, KotR, and the Green-bombs/BSK seem enough to make it semi-reliable. Not sure how you fit him into the deck as I rarely am the type to run Thalia main'd (Junk/brew guy) but maybe instead of Moms you can fit him in, drop a couple lands, fit in oaths for 1-drops and stuff.

Also, T3 Sigarda from GSZ is easy:
T1 Land and GSZ/Hierarch/DRS
T2 Play Cobra and land. (?)
T3 Play a fetch (2), tap for 4, GSZ sigarda

-23-
4 DRS
4 Thalia
3 Lotus Cobra
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Gaddock Teeg
2 Qasali Pridemage
3 KotR
1 Thrun
1 Sigarda

-6-
1 Jitte
1 SoFaI
1 BSK
3 Oath of Nissa

-11-
4 GSZ
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Abrupt Decay

-20 lands- (1 Arbor)


Needs some adjusting from more Maverick-y pilots; but you get the idea. 10 hyper-aggressive bombs that are much easier to cast with Cobra; seems lower to the ground with Oaths. Personally, I'd run 21 lands with the Arbor, but I always run 61 (if I'm not running Brainstorm/Ponder)


As an aside, 4 Oath with 20 Lands and 4 DRS has been working great for me in Junk/Jund/4c brews, so I think it's very doable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tescrin

3 Oath of Nissa

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If you run 4x Thalia then Oath slow you down... and iam not sure if cobra help to fix it.
Oath alone doesnt look too much interesting for me, in my oppinion need some support like Flickerwisp ?
But still.. i rather play Sylvan library or top or i didnt catch a point of Oath, then can you help me to understand power of this card?

About lotus cobra iam rly interesting if it works. The downside is that if u r mana screwed, cobra absolutly cant help u... but if you have enough mana? Then you have just ... more mana.
On the other hand if it goes well, then you can zenith sigarda/thrun very soon :).

Concerning Lotus Cobra: That's all very nice, but you still have to keep in mind Daze is a card and so are Lightning Bolt/Abrupt Decay/any other random creature removal spell.

By the time you're able to safely drop it on the board, odds are you need to topdeck a land to trigger its Landfall, severely diminishing its worth. Also, not cracking fetches so you might gain some value out of them with a Cobra you cast later seems kinda backwards (but those are the lines you open yourself up to).

If you want to ramp, just run Nic Fit. Lotus Cobra is a beautiful concept but the execution is unfortunately rather awkward when it comes to sequencing.

I think a 3/2 or 2/3 split (or 2/2/1) split of Noble/DRS/BOP is enough ramp, since you also have GSZ on 0 as well as a line. I don't think you need a ton more.

-Matt

Hello Maverickers. I've played this deck off and on since 2012 (mostly off). Normally I play storm-combo but I tend to gravitate back towards some kind of thalia.deck every now and again. I record matches from magic online (again, mostly storm), and recently decided to play a bunch of matches with Maverick and record them. It was a lot of fun and I ended up winning way more than I expected - these are pay-to-play matches so I was expecting at least some level of opposition.

Anyway, check out the videos if you feel like it. The sound level ratio of intro-music to voice is slightly off in some of them so I hope you can bear with me. That will be fixed for future vids. Hope you enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...mSGWiB4pavFCzY

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nevilshute

Anyway, check out the videos if you feel like it. The sound level ratio of intro-music to voice is slightly off in some of them so I hope you can bear with me. That will be fixed for future vids. Hope you enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...mSGWiB4pavFCzY

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Hi nevilshute,

why are you playing Gaea's cradle, when your most expensive card is on 3mana? I expect some trun,sigarda or ... or batterskul as next part of mystic's toolkit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nargoron

Hi nevilshute,

why are you playing Gaea's cradle, when your most expensive card is on 3mana? I expect some trun,sigarda or ... or batterskul as next part of mystic's toolkit.

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Hey there Nargoron. It just seems strong enough as a cast-and-equip SoFaI and Jitte to a lesser extent, plus Ooze can get crazy with it as well. That said I'm not married to the notion. What would you have in its place? :smile:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nargoron

If you run 4x Thalia then Oath slows you down...

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This also counts for Green Sun's Zenith, yet Zenith has been the core of this deck for a long time.

Besides, Oath can be cast on turn one, curving nicely into Thalia (or any other hate bear you might find with it). Oath of Nissa should be viewed as a Ponder for Maverick. I think it should fot the deck really nicely. Right now I am trying out a list with 3-4x Oath, 3x Zenith and 0x Dryad Arbor, since Zenith->Arbor is our saddest turn one play anyway, and drawing Arbor naturally is usually just bad.

Comparing Oath of Nissa to Sylvan Library makes sense, so let's do that.
Here are the pro's & con's for each card, as I see them. (Be sure to suggest additions!)

Oath of Nissa:
+ Cheaper (G)
+ Immidiate effect when you cast it
+ Replaces itself (almost guaranteed in this deck)
(+ Makes it easy to splash off colour planeswalkers)
- No card advantage
- No continuous card selection

Sylvan Library:
+ Card advantage against control decks (when C/A matters)
+ Continuous card selection
- More expensive to cast (1G)
- No immidiate effect when cast
- Doesn't replace itself when low on life

So the cards do pretty different things for us. Oath of Nissa seems to be best when cast early. It's cheap and has immidiate effect, so we can use it to improve our early game. This is important against Combo and aggressive decks, since we need our early game to be optimal to not lose games against them. Against control decks we are allowed more time to build up and we lose to bombs and card advantage engines, so Sylvan Library has more impact in those matchups. Oath of Nissa is still a good card there, just not as good.

But... Oath of Nissa helps us splash off colour planeswalkers. I mentioned this on a side note in my pro's and con's analysis, since most won't see any importance in this feature, yet think about it: who would ever destroy an Oath? It doesn't really do anything. Except for allowing me to find and then easily cast Kiora, Master of the Depths or Liliana of the Veil. Cards like these can be great assets in grindy games. If we want to play planeswalkers anyway, in an effort to improve our game against control decks, the impact Oath of Nissa can make will improve.

I'm not trying to say we should all play Oath, but it's a VERY interesting option. :smile:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nevilshute

Hey there Nargoron. It just seems strong enough as a cast-and-equip SoFaI and Jitte to a lesser extent, plus Ooze can get crazy with it as well. That said I'm not married to the notion. What would you have in its place? :smile:

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eh.. no replace, i love cradle.. and its fine with equipments ... i agree, but if you are playing one piece... then i wanna play-maybe?- thrun or add batterskul... which has nice synergy with library, you can draw as a madman... and both - thrun and batterskul are thorn in the ass for miracles :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Asthereal

This also counts for Green Sun's Zenith, yet Zenith has been the core of this deck for a long time.

Besides, Oath can be cast on turn one, curving nicely into Thalia (or any other hate bear you might find with it). Oath of Nissa should be viewed as a Ponder for Maverick. I think it should fot the deck really nicely. Right now I am trying out a list with 3-4x Oath, 3x Zenith and 0x Dryad Arbor, since Zenith->Arbor is our saddest turn one play anyway, and drawing Arbor naturally is usually just bad.

Comparing Oath of Nissa to Sylvan Library makes sense, so let's do that.
Here are the pro's & con's for each card, as I see them. (Be sure to suggest additions!)

Oath of Nissa:
+ Cheaper (G)
+ Immidiate effect when you cast it
+ Replaces itself (almost guaranteed in this deck)
(+ Makes it easy to splash off colour planeswalkers)
- No card advantage
- No continuous card selection

Sylvan Library:
+ Card advantage against control decks (when C/A matters)
+ Continuous card selection
- More expensive to cast (1G)
- No immidiate effect when cast
- Doesn't replace itself when low on life

So the cards do pretty different things for us. Oath of Nissa seems to be best when cast early. It's cheap and has immidiate effect, so we can use it to improve our early game. This is important against Combo and aggressive decks, since we need our early game to be optimal to not lose games against them. Against control decks we are allowed more time to build up and we lose to bombs and card advantage engines, so Sylvan Library has more impact in those matchups. Oath of Nissa is still a good card there, just not as good.

But... Oath of Nissa helps us splash off colour planeswalkers. I mentioned this on a side note in my pro's and con's analysis, since most won't see any importance in this feature, yet think about it: who would ever destroy an Oath? It doesn't really do anything. Except for allowing me to find and then easily cast Kiora, Master of the Depths or Liliana of the Veil. Cards like these can be great assets in grindy games. If we want to play planeswalkers anyway, in an effort to improve our game against control decks, the impact Oath of Nissa can make will improve.

I'm not trying to say we should all play Oath, but it's a VERY interesting option. :smile:

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but still... i think that 1x sylvan library is must in maverick...
but you dont wanna have multiple copies in your hand, then i can imagine somthing like 1x library 2x oath ?
Oath can be a nice with library, library show you some bad cards, you cant draw them with paying live, so you put them throw them out with oath... as example.
Cose the biggist issue with maverick i had was RNG with topdeck, you dont have brainstorm, top or ponder... and consistency is a key for good result.
And as you mention oath has instant speed-- thats the biggist disadvantage of library -> too slow.

Then if u r talking about planeswalker, lili isnt lady for maverick, maybe for punishing maverick... but you have 0 card to discard and use it as removal is just too expensive. Then i suggest Elspeth, Knight-Errant or Sorin, Solemn Visitor. They could be nice against fair decks...

ok,why not try it

If you want to improve your topdecks, try a Courser of Kruphix with a shitload of shuffle effects.

Works like a charm.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Echelon

If you want to improve your topdecks, try a Courser of Kruphix with a shitload of shuffle effects.

Works like a charm.

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Totaly agree.
Unfortunatly his mnc 3 - you have very often just better option (knigh for example). I like Kruphix, but his effect came too late.
But still i want him in maverick...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nevilshute

Batterskull just seems less desirable when running less than the full set of mystics. And, unlike D&T, we have knight to gum up the ground and pound face. I might be up for trying Thrun though. Sunning for him after a terminus is great.

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Yea, i was running 3x mystic when i was playing batterskul , if u r running two of them, batterskul rly dont worth it.

But when there was discusion about oath of nissa, then gaeas cradle should be nice when u play some 4cmc planeswalker :)

Batterskull just seems less desirable when running less than the full set of mystics. And, unlike D&T, we have knight to gum up the ground and pound face. I might be up for trying Thrun though. Sunning for him after a terminus is great.