Flusterstorm is way better against combo decks that run countermagic of their own like Hive Mind or Reanimator. Spell Pierce is more flexible, hitting a lot of random stuff like Stax, Enchantress and Planeswalkers.
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Flusterstorm is way better against combo decks that run countermagic of their own like Hive Mind or Reanimator. Spell Pierce is more flexible, hitting a lot of random stuff like Stax, Enchantress and Planeswalkers.
Speaking of counters, Would Rebuff the Wicked be any use in this deck? Is running counters to protect our permanents be of good use? No splash required.
Rebuff the Wicked
W
Instant
Counter target spell that targets a permanent you control.
Basically, it's Mother of Runes + Scryb Ranger. This deck doesn't want cards that are bad on their own; no space for such an instant.
I like Spell Pierce better than Flusterstorm due to it being able to hit Artifacts (Ensnaring Bridge), Enchantments (aka Enchantress), and Planeswalkers. Flusterstorm helps the combo matchup, but taxing :2: with Pierce is just as effective if used properly.
The same one that I played from KW, which is 73/75 the same as I played at Vegas.
That is to say, only SB changes are happening at this point.
I may have already mentioned this, but I really think 3 Path to Exile in the sideboard are a very efficient way to combat RUG Delver. Also, having the 2nd Scryb Ranger helps a lot here.
I totally agree on the Ranger. It helped a lot more once I realized the little guy actually has a useful protection too. lol
Hey guys
I'm brand new to this deck. I actually have the cards on order as I type this. Deck looks like a blast to pilot, I get how it works and how it wins but I have a few questions about the mana base:
What should your turns 1 and 2 look like (game 1 not knowing what your playing against, the safest bet)? They seem to be super important for this deck. How often do you burn a Zenith for Arbor? Nobel H? Bird of Paradise? The reason I ask is because the HUGE question mark seems to be the incredible volitility of the mana base. You have to go into every game assuming to see wasteland.. HAVE to. How often do you get screwed by wasteland? Also it seems like blood moon wrecks this deck, is that true? Do you want to fetch out the single plains or single forest every time as your first fetched land? How many mana producing cards should a keepable opening hand look like (not counting Zenith as a searcher for a mana criter)?
Blood moon: I play it in my other two decks and I've seen it win the game by itself time and time again. What do you do with this deck about blood moon? Especially with only running an average of two basics.
Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.
Against an unknown opponent, a hand with acceleration (GSZ, mana dorks), business (SFM, KotR, Wasteland), and removal (STP) or a playable combination of those is good. The deck operates best when it can generate 3-4 mana every turn and still continue to apply pressure. Hands without acceleration should be on a lower curve (lots of 2 drops) with aggressive creatures (Pridemage, Ooze) and possibly KotR to round out. Hands without much business but lots of mana can be made playable with GSZ for 2, 3 or 4 (depending on the matchup). I've often GSZ for a Noble Hierarch on turn 2 after playing one on turn 1 - but usually when I have the luxury of multiple GSZ in hand and a land-light hand.
Key point: try to get to 3-4 mana ASAP.
In an unknown matchup, I always fetch basics right away. They are the bread and butter of this deck. Against decks that don't disrupt manabases (Wasteland, Moons) find your duals whilynily, they won't impact your development.
Key point: have paranoia of Wasteland.
3 lands is the sweet spot for an opening hand. On principle, I don't play non-mana producing lands. I've been hosed a few times with Gaea's Cradle, but I've won more games using it to equip or power out GSZ more. I'd prefer to see more fetchlands in my hand than not, but it depends on how fast you need to develop the board.
Key point: Maze of Ith is cute, but rarely needed.
Blood Moon turn 1 is almost always scoopable. Equipment + Dryad Arbor makes it able to play through, but unlikely.
What did you cut for your 2nd Path?
I'm wondering if anyone has done any dedicated testing of Garruk Relentless in Elspeth's slots; he seems to have more of an impact on the mirror while offering strong game against (non-red) control decks.
Julian, if you have any advice to offer from overseas to the general forum, I'd thank you for it. And thank you for the informative PM.
Hey ruckus, I kind of disagree here. I have never lost a game to blood moon, I generally fetch for basic green and that is more enough to get the deck going: you just need a mana dork and you are set (GSZ helps immensely here). Sure, if you are on the draw and they play is a mess but that's not exactly common...
I'm so sure about that that I was thinking of putting Blood Moon in SB against RUG...
I'm really not worried about BM, maybe it's because I play GWr but it really doesn't have an effect on the deck.
Yeah I haven't had much difficulties with Blood Moon or Wasteland myself either (I play the GW version).
Once you get out a basic Forest, you have plenty of ways (Hierarch, GSZ for Hierarch) to generate white mana.
Regarding first turn plays:
Especially since Mental Misstep was banned, it has become easier to cast Noble Hierarch turn 1. I most often fetch for forest, as the deck is not nearly as dependent on a dual as other decks. I actually only tend to fetch for duals when I am 100% sure my opponent is not running Wastelands.