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Ive been testing a bit more of an Aggro version with an Elspeth and trying out 2 Mirran Crusaders thanks to the rise of BUG decks. So far I havent gotten elspeth out in any game that mattered, and the mirran crusaders have been awesome at beating BUG.
Played EsperBlade in a small local this weekend, to a rather dissapointing 3-2 finish, lost twice to Death and Taxes (what?). Beat Goblins (2-1), Bant Maverick (2-0) and Miracles (2-0). Played a rather standard list but with a Trinket Mage package (EE and Top in MD, Neelde and Nihil Spellbomb in the side). Some things that I noted during the day:
* Supreme Verdict is great, and should probably be represented two or three times in the 75. EE was not even half good at clearing the board from goblins with all the wonky mana costs, and having a WoG that can't be touched by blasts and pitches to FoW in a pinch is great. Two in the sideboard feels correct for me.
* EE, being underwhelming against Goblins, quickly regained its position as the favourite card in the deck against the Miracle deck. I played it with UUW in the cost and UUWW to dodge Counterbalance and then blow it up. My own Top did a lot of work as well, since both games were really grindy, I managed to beat him with Batterskull in game 1 and Jace him out in game 2 after he killed my first 11-loyalty Jace with three Angels, and Planeswalker uniqueness rule'd out the second one, I finally managed to get the third and last one to 13 before he could find an answer.
* Games against DnT were terrible, I lost the first match of the day first to Thalia doing a lot of work to keep me on the backfoot with mana development and then I lost the second game from having to mulligan while he got the old three-Wastelands-inf-Stoneforge hand. I used my Karakas to kill other Karakas (Karaki?) three times during the day. I lost the second match against DnT while at 2-1 (25 people, 5 round swiss, really wanted to win to draw in round 5), the first game to his like seven Stoneforge Mystic, the second on a mull to five. The match-up, however infrequent, seems difficult in any case.
I finished 9th on Tiebreakers, with two people on 3-2 in. Darn it.
What do you guys think about playing esperblade for Deathrite Shaman? A single Tropical Island is enough to have access to green mana for potential life gain, EE @4, and access to maindeck GY hate. I think this deck could benefit from the mana accel, extra reach, and additional utility provided by Deathrite. Here is what I have in mind:
Creatures (15)
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Vendilion Clique
Spells (23)
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Brainstorm
2 Spell Pierce
2 Counterspell
4 Force of Will
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Lands (22)
1 Academy Ruins
1 Karakas
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
2 Misty Rainforest
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
1 Tropical Island
2 Island
1 Plains
Sideboard (15)
4 Thoughtseize
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Path to Exile
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Engineered Plague
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Krosan Grip
1 Supreme Verdict
I have a few questions concerning Stoneblade in general:
Whats the best Sword of X and Y? I think SoFaF has the best synergy and utility but SoBaM is also very tempting.
Would 4 Deathrites warrant the inclusion of a SoXaY mainboard?
Why are some lists not playing 4 FoW mainboard?
Assuming I don't have space for all the utility lands, Karakas or Riptide Lab? Which one is better?
Are there any crucial SB cards I am missing?
Can this manabase be improved upon?
Thanks!
I have been thinking of DRS as well... My thoughts were to use Bayou as the green dual though, because the only time you would want to fetch it up is if you have DRS, and that way the single dual gives you access to either ability. It might be wrong, because then you must change your fetch lands numbers to compensate...
I like Sword of FaF right now, but have debated at a time of using Sword of BaM. Also LaS for the miracles MU, (No surprise angel blocking for you!). Or even WaP, to protect from REB and no angel blocks, along with a way to kill your opponent faster...
Edit: Got my first Tundra!
Right now, I actually like WaP better as a way to trump angels and removal in miracle matchup, as well as a way to have a edge in the mirror. It also helped me well in combo matchups as a faster clock. I tryed it thanks to justin Richardson's article on stoneblade (here : http://manadeprived.com/stoneblade-primer-pt-1/ Really good article, worth a read), and I have not been desapointed by it yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Megadeus
WaP does seems pretty sweet when you put it like that... I don't know how much I like the SB Meddling Mages. Anyone ever try them out?
I have, but in my experience, they die to removal before they matter. In a deck like BANT or Maverick with a light blue splash, Sylvan Safekeeper and Mother of Runes can make them shine, but in Stoneblade, I have my doubts.Quote:
Originally Posted by Megadeus
I'm partial to Feast and Famine, but I'm only bringing it in against a control mirror. I can get behind the arguement for War and Peace as well.
Thoughts on Venser, Shaper Savant? I was watching Esper vs UW Miracles match on SCG last night, and Venser + Karakas was doing work. Is this a card worth thinking about in Esper, or is it better suited to Miracle decks?
I had them when I was playing the u/w version (reconverted to esper now because i was missing Lingering souls, basicaly, and because I wanted to shoot myself each time I had a spell snare in my hands). As far as they go, they are awesome in the combo matchups I used them in. They helped in the fact that they bring some tempo against those decks, because you are going to name what scares you the most at that exact moment, usually resulting in them having to reconsider their plan (sometimes even abandon their plan to attack you from another angle). in any case, this usually results in delaying them (thus, you are winning time to get more ressources, while he is setting up for his attempt), and in bonus you get to beat him down some. Besides the time and beatdown, they also allow you to bypass xantid swarm, and even buy time against that kind of annoying card (usually, your mage won't be enough, but time is the important ressource here. They are trying to sculpt their hand to go off no matter what you have, you are trying to hinder them just enough so they can't go off before your clock kills them). They also work very well with V Clique, and every other way to look at people's hand I guess. Also, a fellow Sourcer was telling me that the mage could also find uses in a matchup like miracles, but I never tested that, so I do not know.Quote:
Originally Posted by Megadeus
Now, I am not playing them anymore in my esper list, and the reason for that is the fact that Meddling mage has one problem (and this is strictly from my experience, so it might also not be true, but it is what i felt), and the problem is that you absolutely need to play 3 of them in your sideboard, or not play them at all. Each time I tryed to cut the number bellow that, the mages became very unrelyable, in general. You want them as fast as possible in play, and you don't want to spend 2 turns trying to find one desperately, just to never find one. So only having 1 in my side seemed useless, 2 wasn't that much better for my game plan, 3 seemed like a really good number, and 4 feels overkill, even tho I can see an argument to be made for the more beatdown lists (those running delvers and geists maindeck). so as such, I had to cut them completely because I did not have enough place for them in my sideboard (in the end, it is a card that only comes in for combo, so it stays 3 spot for limited uses), and don' want to be playing only 2, if I am to play them.
Thanks for reading my article!
Ya the meddling mages were not tested extensively and were a last minute addition based on the overmaster show and tell decks that had been popular at the time. I have cut them for red blasts since then as they were pretty much useless and would not play them again.
War and peace has been really good, feast and famine while fine has not been game breaking when compared to war and peace and I highly encourage everyone to try it out. I am probably going to try adding an elspeth in the sideboard to my list that I posted on the previous page, seems like it could be really good in a lot matchups and if there is a lot of nic fit or junk style decks in your meta I would recommend it
Since everyone is on Esper- or MiracleBlade now I'd like to share the BladeControl list me and my friend play in the Netherlands. He top4'ed the annual Dutch Legacy Championships with it and we have an awesome win-streak with it the past couple of months.
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Ponder
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Counterspell
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Spell Pierce
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Academy Ruins
1 Batterskull
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
7 Island
2 Spell Snare
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Plains
2 Marsh Flats
2 Tundra
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
Sideboard (mine):
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Timely Reinforcements
2 Flusterstorm
1 Pithing Needle
1 Back to Basics
1 Enlightened Tutor
2 Disenchant
2 Humility
1 Silence
1 Force of Will
2 Rest in Peace
Sideboard (my friends'):
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Terminus
2 Pithing Needle
2 Back to Basics
2 Disenchant
2 Humility
1 Silence
1 Force of Will
2 Rest in Peace
Firstly, the deck is built with the mindset that surprising opponents is a strong win-condition. When the opponent doesn't exactly know what to expect or expects cards and amounts of copies similar decks play that you don't, you have the advantage.
The main reason why I play UW instead of UWb or UWr is because it gives me the most stable mana-base. The last year I found myself almost always just fetch basics. I was playing 4 Tundra at the time and was a bit afraid the situation would come up I wouldn't have access to U/W if I needed it. Later, I played 3 Tundra. My team suggested to test playing just 2 Tundra, because I only fetched them in case I really needed them. Me and my friend only play 3 non-basics now (!) and we reliably reach 5 mana without Wasteland pissing on our parade. 10 Fetchlands have been working well and 3 basic plains might seem a bit much, but increases the chance you hit W in the early turns immensely. Academy Ruins isn't there for Engineered Explosives (well, it works though), but mainly for recurring equipment. I think EE-lock is overrated, because it doesn't come up often. And when it does you usually want to draw business instead of answers. Usually opponents jump through major hoops to remove equipment. And when they succeed, you just fetch them back. Also, I'm surprised about the amount of times I get Cabal Therapied or Thoughtseized. And often it hits fetched equipment after Stoneforge Mystic. It would seem a bit iffy, but next to Qasali Pridemage this is usually the reason I lose my equipment.
In my experience, the countersuit results in awesome starting hands. Against combo you have a decent match-up pre-board. Spell Pierce is awesome in the meta-game right now. I was a bit sceptic about Spell Snare, but it has proven to be golden in a lot of match-ups. Countering opposing Stoneforge Mystics, Qasali Pridemage, Thalia, Counterbalance etc has been great. People think the Spell Snare has lost its power, and it has. But it's still really powerful.
3 Force of Will is enough back-up against potential blow-outs. The lone Counterspell seems a bit sketchy. I don't like it to have it in my opening 7, but it's a great top-deck throughout the game. The countersuit itself has been really satisfying.
Three Snapcaster Mage has been ideal for me. I used to play 4 of them and I love the card. But my friend pointed out there are often moments multiple Snapcaster Mage are just 2/1 flash guys.
I was also deeply in love with Vendilion Clique and used to play 2 mainboard, with 1 Karakas as potential soft lock.
My friend asked me to just play one tournament without them. At the end of that tournament I realized Clique is fantastic, but not necessary. I didn't really miss them.
I don't like Engineered Explosives that much, but it's great against Maverick and Combo. It's a versatile card and that's what I want; an all-round deck. Two Supreme Verdict punish opponents who overextend in the face of my Batterskull, like bad goblin-pilots (I've met a lot of people who underestimate playing that deck). All three cards are also great against Maverick and tempo-decks.
Four Jace is a lot. Drawing multiples does occur often. The reason we play 4 is because against blue decks the game depends on who has the most Jaces. The fourth Jace is one of the reasons we usually win against control decks, not just blue based control decks but other control decks as well. Usually players have to dedicate a lot of mana, cards and turns to remove Jace. When they do, you just play another one in the following turn.
And now, the joke of the deck; Tamiyo.
Who in his right mind would play the card?! Well, the whole team laughed when my friend start playing it in his sideboard and boarded it in almost every match during GP Brussels.
Opponents didn't mind the card until they lost because of it. It's underrated and for good reason; it seems underwhelming.
But think for a second how many times people just have one or two threats in play. The ultimate is horrifying and lays a lot of pressure on the opponent. Next to that, players usually get paranoid when a planeswalker hits the board, so it could result in a couple of fog-effects. As a nice bonus it can draw you cards if you want to.
Well these arguments didn't convince me. I started playing the card as a joke and I was surprised by it. You should just experience the way this card works in this deck. I won't say it's the absolute holy grail, but I'm happy with it.
The sideboard is pretty straight-forward except for some unusual cards.
Back to Basics just wrecks some decks, usually 3-colour midrange decks. BUG-tempo scoops to this as well as decks like MUD or other tier 2+ decks. I also bring them in against combo to raise the U-count.
Timely Reinforcements is great against tempo, burn, quick aggro decks or goblins. Humility is great (but not auto-win) against Goblins. But the reason we play two is also because of Show and Tell and Sneak Attack. Next to that, there are a lot of random decks which just auto-lose against a resolved Humility (like MUD for instance).
Pithing Needle is a really flexible answer to a lot of cards. Against SoXaY, planeswalkers, Sensei's Divining Top etc.
Silence is, like a lot of other cards in the deck, a card that surprises opponents. We use it as disruption against combo and to power out Jace or other win-conditions.
Let me know what you think and what your results are!
Tom
I have most of the cards for that list. I may try it out, but im not a huge fan of the lack of mishras factory...
Playing at a large tournament this upcoming weekend. Here is the maindeck and sideboard I will be taking. I would love any thoughts or criticisms, especially with the siding guide.
ESPER STONEBLADE:
CREATURES: [9]
2 Vendilion Clique
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Snapcaster Mage
INSTANTS [14]
4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Counterspell
1 Intuition
PLANESWALKERS [3]
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
ARTIFACTS [5]
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Engineered Explosives
SORCERIES [6]
1 Thoughtseize
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Lingering Souls
LAND [23]
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Tundra
3 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
4 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh Flats
1 Karakas
1 Dust Bowl
1 Academy Ruins
SIDEBOARD [15]
1 Moat
1 Humility
1 Enlightened Tutor
2 Supreme Verdict
1 COP: Red
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Spell Pierce
2 Flusterstorm
1 Disenchant
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Merfolk:
OUT:
4x Force of Will
IN:
1x Moat
2x Supreme Verdict
1x Humility
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Goblins:
OUT:
4x Force of Will
1x Counterspell
IN:
1x Moat
2x Supreme Verdict
1x Humility
1x Circle of Protection: Red
+++++++++++++++++++++++
RUG:
OUT:
1x Thoughtseize
IN:
1x Nihil Spellbomb
+++++++++++++++++++++++
BUG Aggro:
???
+++++++++++++++++++++++
BUG Control:
OUT:
???
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Maverick:
OUT:
4x Force of Will
1x Vendilion Clique
IN:
1x Moat
2x Supreme Verdict
1x Humility
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
+++++++++++++++++++++++
JUNK, Loam, ETC:
Out:
4x Force of Will
In:
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Disenchant
1x Moat
1x Humility
+++++++++++++++++++++++
U/W Miracles:
OUT:
1x Umezawa's Jitte
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
IN:
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
2x Spell Pierce
+++++++++++++++++++++++
U/W or Esper Stoneblade
OUT:
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
IN:
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Disenchant
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Reanimator:
OUT:
2x Engineered Explosives
3x Lingering Souls
IN:
2x Spell Pierce
2x Surgical Extraction
1x Nihil Spellbomb
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Show and Tell:
OUT:
2x Engineered Explosives
3x Lingering Souls
IN:
1x Humility
1x Enlightened Tutor
2x Spell Pierce
1x Disenchant
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Dredge:
OUT:
4x Force of Will
1x Counterspell
IN:
2x Surgical Extraction
1x Nihil Spellbomb
1x Moat
1x Enlightened Tutor
+++++++++++++++++++++++
ANT/Fetchland Tendrils/Belcher decks:
OUT:
1x Umezawa's Jitte
4x Swords to Plowshares
IN:
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
2x Spell Pierce
2x Flusterstorm
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Nic-Fit:
???
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Affinity:
OUT:
1x Force of Will
2x Vendilion Clique
1x Counterspell
1x Jace, the Mind Scultpor
IN:
2x Supreme Verdict
1x Disenchant
2x Spell Pierce
+++++++++++++++++++++++
BIG Affinity (Tezz builds)
???
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Mono-Red (RDW):
OUT:
2x Vendilion Clique
1x Thoughtseize
1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
IN:
1x Circle of Protection: Red
1x Enlightened Tutor
2x Spell Pierce
+++++++++++++++++++++++
U/R Delver:
OUT:
1x Thoughtseize
1x Vendilion Clique
IN:
2x Spell Pierce
I tied for first place at a local tournament using Blade Control for the first time, the list I used is posted above (Deathrite Shaman). I took down BGw Nic Fit with Rector, Burn, and BUG Control. I lost to Goblins as we timed for G1 and took lethal after having dug 35 cards deep in my library for my remaining 3 StP and 1 Verdict (I was missing an EE so played 1 main Verdict instead). I finally found Verdict after a 3 Brainstorm turn involving a snapcasters and stoneforges for shuffle effects and couldnt cast it as I was on 3 lands and a fetch with 0 lands left in my deck. I think that if I had the chance to bring in the sideboard, I would have won quite easely.
Speaking of sideboard, Engineered Plague or Zealous Persecution?
What would be a good Esperblade manabase to support DRS? Is a Bayou worth it? How about a basic Swamp?
I think you might want to bring in supreme verdict againt rug, and take out all copies of force of will in that match. Also, I think humility might also be good in that matchup too. I don't have time to look at you plan in detail right now, but that's what stuck out to me the most at quick glanceQuote:
Originally Posted by mini1337s
As a Goblin player I will say that COP:red really isn't that good vs us. We are attacking with a bunch of small guys rather than than 1 or 2 big guys and it really ties up your mana. Also, if the goblin player is playing green you can be 99% sure they're bringing in K Grips so it kind of gets caught in the crossfire anyway. I might replace it with a D Sphere because the thing I fear the most in this matchup is losing my vial.
How have you guys been liking Supreme Verdict? I found myself playing as I normally would if I didn't have them in the deck because I didn't want to rely on drawing a 1 or 2-of Wrath to get me out of certain situations so I would play to not get myself in those situations were it would be good so I found it to be a little unnecessary for the most part and most of the time would just sit in my hand. I know that is probably just me, I have just found with tight play you don't need cards like Verdict or Lingering Souls to bail you out of sticky situations that a lot of other players find themselves in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mini1337s
Overall, I like your board plans. I ran a 1 of humilty at the last SCG LA for maverick, elves, Show and Tell, and Reanimator, but it never came up; how has it been for you?
I've played a lot at my local store against Omnishow and other combo decks, and I've found that Flusterstorm is the MVP. Against Omnishow especially, it comes down to a big turn where you have a counter-battle over a S&T. I would take out 2x StP for 2x Flusterstorm because it dominates all counterbattles. I often bring it in against hymn to tourach decks as well because it acts like an "uncounterable" spell pierce.
Surgical Extraction is good against show and tell (and other combo) as well. It opens up the nuts play of T1 discard their S&T (or other critical piece), Surgical S&T. I know this is a corner case, but Surgical is good late to mid-game when you can grab a cantrip from their yard and peek at their hand to see if it's time to resolve a Jace or humility. I'd take out 2x StP for 2x surgical.
If you're looking for something against BUG delver, I suggest perish. Affinity and Stacks are huge at my store and I always have 1-2 hurkyl's recall in the board, but I don't think this is the right call for a bigger event like SCG.
Good luck at your tournament, if you're going to LA, I hope to see you there.
I have a one of humility but I also have never drawn it yet... I kind of would like to up it to 2 of them though. I need to get some flusterstorms for my board as well. What do you guys suggest for a very GB heavy meta? Last Wednesday I played against GB Nic Fit and Junk. I know at least one other guy was playing Junk and another playing Maverick i think. A lot of GBW decks around. BTW I am on just UW not Esper sadly...
Also I play Supreme Verdict as a 2 of. It is just a good spell in most MU's. The uncounterability is pretty relevant as well. Only issue I have had is when my opponent has a Thrun on board but that is such a corner case I think it is negligible...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Megadeus
best cards I have found against GBx decks are Planeswalkers like elspeth or tamiyo, they get around abrupt decay and can deal with big threats on their own
The one-of Humility is absolutely nuts! With Lingering Souls, I just outclass creatures decks by a mile. They have to draw enchantment removal, and aside from Krosan Grip, I still have the potential to counter it.Quote:
Originally Posted by iriisnes
I actually cut one of the two Flusterstorms when testing at my local last night. I added in a single Elspeth, Knight-Errant in, which I was very happy with. I brought it in versus Miracles and was very impressed with its performance. It forced him to find a Detention Sphere, but by the time he had, it had still applied 12 points of damage and forced a V-Clique to chump. Being able to force dudes on the table even after board wipes is huge, and it didn't disappoint.
I'm tempted to run Perish, but I've been really happy with my Supreme Verdicts (3x Souls, an Elspeth, creatures with ETB abilities so I still get value). I'm not anticipating much Maverick, but I am anticipating BUG control, so I'll bring my Perishes, just incase my mind changes before the event.
The tourney itself is a team event with a triple power payout (Timetwister doesn't count as power!) for first. I'm on legacy, and my teammates are playing Spirit Jund (Modern) and RUG (Standard). There should be about 60-70 people there (unless there is a freak snowstorm), so I'm really metagaming versus 20-25 legacy decks. I know a few deck choices in the room, but most people will opt for control builds. I'll do a report and let you guys know how it goes!