[Deck] Turbo Depths

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Originally Posted by chaosjace

Thanks! Hopefully I can get some play testing in soon. I really like the way this deck goes together. This feels much safer than R/G lands. Do we just scoop if they extract depths or is go for beats the plan? Has a way to get a depths out of exile or back from graveyard been discussed ? you could use Faerie macabre to protect one but is it worth it?

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Depends on the matchup, board state, cards in opponents hand, and if you have some number of dorks in your hand to deploy. More often than not, a successful surgical extraction on depths dooms your chances of winning that game. I dont know if that warrants a dedicated sideboard strategy though. To even get to the point where surgical beats you, your opponent must either dispatch Marit Lage after you've comboed, or destroy depths before you can combo (not including corner cases like getting hymned for simplicity's sake). The destroying depths before combo situation can be prevented with tight play and not exposing it prematurely. The dispatching marit lage situation can be prevented with patience and using your discard and protection spells to out-tempo your opponent. If anything, that surgical extraction is one less card that can answer the combo.
Surgical schmurgical, it doesnt matter if the guy is dead. Punish that guy for playing stupid magic cards.

Is anyone else bringing depths to baltimore this coming weekend for the team event? I'll be playing my unorthodox list.

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Originally Posted by uncletiggy

Is anyone else bringing depths to baltimore this coming weekend for the team event? I'll be playing my unorthodox list.

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I'd be interested, but know very few people interested in playing the other two formats.

Played in the local yesterday - four rounds and I split in the finals with a 3-0-1 overall record. Here's what I faced:

R1: vs NO BUG [W: 2-1]
R2: vs UB Tezzerator [W: 2-1]
R3: vs Deathblade [W: 2-0]
R4: I.D.

Some notes from the tournament:

*Root Maze pulled big weight against Natural Order BUG. I was on the play game three, and upon dropping it turn one my opponent was put behind big with a multiple fetch start. I was able to get Dark Depths down and Hexmage. He had to double-fetch on the penultimate turn to reset his draw from a Brainstorm - but since his lands had entered the battlefield tapped and were locked down from a Needle, he was locked out of playing most of the spells in his hand and conceded.

*Sejiri Steppe pushed through lethal damage against UB Tezzerator's Thopter swarm before it mattered.

*I played Choke, and it wound up pulling some weight in a few games. I think it's pretty good and needs more testing, but Choke is Choke and is always solid.

been running pretty hot with leagues going 3 4-1s chasing the elusive 5-0. Lost to DT, Eldrazi, and White Stax. Got T2'd by Eldrazi :( that was gross

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Originally Posted by solnox

been running pretty hot with leagues going 3 4-1s chasing the elusive 5-0. Lost to DT, Eldrazi, and White Stax. Got T2'd by Eldrazi :( that was gross

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Nice. I wonder if we played the same Mono White Stax player this past week. That deck has some sick draws... He literally turn 1 Chaliced for 1, turn 2 Trinispehere'd me.... Then cast Armageddon in game 1... I did not win that game! In game three I saw wastelands, Crucible, multiple Ensnaring Bridges, Oblivion Ring, Geddon, etc. He nearly Ultimated an Elspeth on me with two bridges and wastes in play. Oblivion Ring on Needle was very annoying. It took the old fashioned method of Hexmage beats to get there after a Decay messed up a triple solider block and cleared his board. It is certainly not a match-up I'm hoping to run into often.

was it by name of Teve?

got rolled by nearly the same sequence

So unbelievably close to a 5-0 tonight. Got to love when your round 5 shardless player hits 4 topdecks in a row.

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Originally Posted by solnox

was it by name of Teve?

got rolled by nearly the same sequence

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It was. I saw turn 1 chalice, assumed Eldrazi... turn 2 sphere prompted an eyebrow raise... the main deck Armageddon buried me that game and I was in for one of the grindier matches I've played in a long time. I just rewatched game 3 and shook my head. His turns on the play (relevant plays) were:

t1 - Tomb, chalice on 1
t2 - Wasteland, Trinisphere
t3 - Plains, Ensnaring Bridge
t4 - Wasteland #2
t5 - Ensnaring Bridge #2
t6 - Karakas, Elspeth K.E. start making tokens
t7 - Ghostly Prison
t8 - Factory
t10 - Oblivion Ring on my Needle
t12 - Wasteland #3
t13 - Crucible of Worlds
t17 - Armageddon

If the geddon comes any earlier, I probably just lose since my setup for a while was full combo plus Wasteland and Ghost Quarter. The Crucible would lock me out from there once my strip effects were gone. He got Elspeth to 8 counters before my second needle stopped her after the first was O-Ringed. Otherwise indestructible soldiers and bridges were game ending as well. Luckily, Hexmage only needed to get maybe four or 5 hits in thanks to Ancient Tomb activations.

I've been consistently going 4-1 and at least 3-2 for the past 6 leagues and the card that has over performed for me the most has been mishra's factory. Being able to be a plan B and fodder for edict effects and copyable by stage for the beats has been great.

3 Pithing Needle
4 Lotus Petal
3 Duress
4 Thoughtseize
4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Crop Rotation
1 Sylvan Library
4 Sylvan Scrying
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
1 Bayou
4 Blooming Marsh
4 Dark Depths
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Mishra's Factory
1 Snow-Covered Forest
1 Snow-Covered Swamp
4 Thespian's Stage
3 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Verdant Catacombs
3 Not of This World
2 Into the North
1 Bojuka Bog

SB:
2 Sphere of Resistance
4 Abrupt Decay
1 Choke
2 Dread of Night
1 Karakas
1 Sylvan Library
1 Pithing Needle
1 Mishra's Factory
2 Surgical Extraction

Negator77', he was streaming when you played him actually. You won an insane game two if I remember correctly, Hexmage beats! He made quite a few mistakes (most notably not playing out lands in hand with bridges in play). It was really fun to watch.

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Originally Posted by Whitefaces

Negator77', he was streaming when you played him actually. You won an insane game two if I remember correctly, Hexmage beats! He made quite a few mistakes (most notably not playing out lands in hand with bridges in play). It was really fun to watch.

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Yeah, that game was ridiculous. Is there a video of it somewhere? I'd love to fill in the gaps on his decision points that discard missed. There were like four legit Needle targets to choose from... Held that decay waiting for a 2nd decay or one of the Krosan Grips to hit the two Bridges and ended up decaying a soldier token of all things when other "better" targets included the two Bridges, Crucible, O Ring (on Needle), etc. I came very close to using a Hexmage to kill Elspeth at one point too, but let it get up to 8 counters instead trying to find another way out and got to a Needle. The turn where all the wastelands and factory all ended up in the graveyard for the three mana Crop Rotation into Bojuka Bog was huge too. All of that had to play out that way for me to even have a chance... and he had to play in a way that let me get there too. Granted, I doubt he was worried about dying to Hexmage when he was making a token per turn that were all about to become indestructible. Holding the lands didn't make too much sense to me, but maybe he was worried about me killing his crucible when he cast Armageddon or something like that.

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Originally Posted by Negator77'

Yeah, that game was ridiculous. Is there a video of it somewhere? I'd love to fill in the gaps on his decision points that discard missed. There were like four legit Needle targets to choose from... Held that decay waiting for a 2nd decay or one of the Krosan Grips to hit the two Bridges and ended up decaying a soldier token of all things when other "better" targets included the two Bridges, Crucible, O Ring (on Needle), etc. I came very close to using a Hexmage to kill Elspeth at one point too, but let it get up to 8 counters instead trying to find another way out and got to a Needle. The turn where all the wastelands and factory all ended up in the graveyard for the three mana Crop Rotation into Bojuka Bog was huge too. All of that had to play out that way for me to even have a chance... and he had to play in a way that let me get there too. Granted, I doubt he was worried about dying to Hexmage when he was making a token per turn that were all about to become indestructible. Holding the lands didn't make too much sense to me, but maybe he was worried about me killing his crucible when he cast Armageddon or something like that.

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I don't know I'm afraid. I'd never seen him stream before, but saw 'white stax' and was in :tongue:

I'll have a look about, please let me know if you find it too! It was cool to see all these mistakes converge and let you win, I think there were 10+ decisions he made that if he'd done something else you lose. But it didn't come across as if he was playing especially badly or punting, if that makes sense? They were all very subtle.

He was holding the lands to keep 4 cards in hand to attack with a solider token with +3+3 from Elspeth, but never did it.

I'm going to be bringing the updated list to Mythic Games' Monthly 2K tomorrow. I'm still tweaking some things, but anticipate a report and additional information to come.

Went 4-1 in my local beating eldrazi '2-1, UWR tempo 2-0 lost to miracle but might have played better 1-2, beat omnishow 2-0 then miracle 2-0.
Was playing the following : Back to some red tech to beat death and taxes.


// 60 Maindeck
// 8 Artifact
4 Expedition Map
4 Pithing Needle

// 4 Creature
4 Vampire Hexmage

// 4 Enchantment
4 Sylvan Library

// 7 Instant
4 Crop Rotation
3 Abrupt Decay

// 23 Land
4 Mana Confluence
4 Thespian's Stage
4 Dark Depths
4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Forest
1 Blooming Marsh
1 Swamp
2 Khalni Garden

// 14 Sorcery
4 Sylvan Scrying
3 Duress
3 Gitaxian Probe
4 Cabal Therapy


// 15 Sideboard
// 5 Instant
SB: 3 Ancient Grudge
SB: 2 Surgical Extraction

// 2 Land
SB: 1 Bojuka Bog
SB: 1 Maze of Ith

// 8 Sorcery
SB: 3 Massacre
SB: 3 Pyroclasm
SB: 2 Lost Legacy

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Originally Posted by adrieng

Was playing the following : Back to some red tech to beat death and taxes.

// 15 Sideboard
// 5 Instant
SB: 3 Ancient Grudge
SB: 2 Surgical Extraction

// 2 Land
SB: 1 Bojuka Bog
SB: 1 Maze of Ith

// 8 Sorcery
SB: 3 Massacre
SB: 3 Pyroclasm
SB: 2 Lost Legacy

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If youre on a red splash for sideboardcards, wouldnt Slaughter Games be better than Lost Legacy?

slaughter games is four mana while lost legacy is 3cc so it is better versus deck like storm/show and tell.
slaughter games is too slow even against miracle uncounterable stuff is good but I prefer the one mana reduced casting cost.

Wouldn't you rather have Toxic Deluge or Massacre (don't have to splash) or Kozilek's Return (if splashing) before Pyroclasm in the D+T matchup?

Edit: Wait, you have 3 Massacre AND more sweepers??? At that point putting some Not of This Worlds or Steely Resolves in your sideboard to help you actually win seems like a better plan IMO.

How do you guys deal with Blazing Archon? I've encountered it twice already and it sucks. We have no answers (other than to Surgical it before it hits the table or Decay the Animate Dead).

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Originally Posted by Doneval

How do you guys deal with Blazing Archon? I've encountered it twice already and it sucks. We have no answers (other than to Surgical it before it hits the table or Decay the Animate Dead).

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I used to run Chain of Vapor (with the blue splash) in the sideboard as a catchall to problems like that, but eventually abandoned it. I've played Reanimator decks maybe 40-50 times over the past year+ and have had Archon hit the field once against me. A ton of versions don't even run it in the 75. If you think it's becoming more common, there are easy answers like Diabolic Edict... but most of them straight up lose to other targets like Griselbrand. I prefer to keep the fight to preventing them from reanimating in the first place with discruption like Crop/Bog, Surgicals, discard, etc.