Solidarity - Former and Future Deck to Beat
Contents:
1) The deck
2) History + Decklists
3) Card Analysis
3.1) The Deck
3.2) The Sideboard
3.3) Other (possibly) playable Cards
3.4) Cards that didn't make it
4) How to play the Deck - Tips and Tricks
5) Matchup analysis
6) Sideboarding Plans
7) Opening Hand Samples
8) Credits
1) The Deck:
Solidarity plays a manabase of only Islands and Fetchlands and plans on producing huge amounts of mana with the combination of High Tide + Untap Effects in order to play lots of carddraw. When the Stormcount is high enough, the opponent's library is milled via Brain Freeze and he loses in his next drawstep or to a Stroke of Genius. What distinguishes Solidarity from just about any other deck in existence is the fact that only lands and instants are played. That means Solidarity doesn't necessarily win on its own turn (and because of the restriction of Reset it actually uses its opponent's turn more often than not).
2) History + Decklists:
All sort of useful information can be found at the old Solidarity thread, here. - NC
When speaking of Solidarity, one name has to be mentioned first: David Gearhart (Deep6er on TheSource). Before Type1 and 1.5 were seperated, Gearhart was more of a Type 2 - player who occasionally played 1.5 with borrowed decks from his friends. After some time, he decided that he wanted his own deck - preferably a cheap one - and the first prototype of Solidarity was built. Back then the deck didn't play High Tide or Reset, but according to Gearhart used green for Moment's Peace, Constant Mists and Early Harvest.
Because of all the Fog-Effects, it was rather strong against aggro and thanks to storm being a busted mechanic it had a shot against control as well, but both other combo - especially Dragon (which is referring to the deck using Animate Dead + Worldgorger Dragon for an infinite combo) - and decks that attacked its manabase were basically unbeatable. Because of that, Gearhart called his deck "Strictly worse then Dragon" at that time.
When Type 1.5 and Type 1 were seperated in 2004 though, Gearhart and his testpartners realized that the deck could be a strong contender in the new meta after some bannings and High Tide and Reset (and Meditate) were added to make it monoblue. This is a list from that time:
Some time later, Gearhart witnessed one of his friends (Matt Elgin - Spatulaoftheages) playing in a draft with White Weenie. With multiple 1 - toughness creatures in play it seemed like he was about to be wrecked by a Nausea but he had prepared for it by boarding a copy of Solidarity. They had a good laugh about it and the deck got the name of Solidarity as he still didn't take it all that serious.Quote:
20 Island
4 High Tide
4 Reset
4 Turnabout
4 Brainstorm
4 Words of Wisdom
4 Meditate
4 Impulse
4 Accumulated Knowledge
3 Flash of Insight
4 Brain Freeze
1 Chain of Vapor
As time passed, the list has changed and some other new cards have been included. Cunning Wish for added flexibility, Remand in order to slow opponents down and to be able to win on a lower stormcount and Force of Will to prevent devastating early plays were added resulting in the following list that even today should be considered the starting point for everybody new to Solidarity.
Solidarity by David Gearhart
(1st at StarcityGames Duel for Duals on February 5th, 2006)
Back then Solidarity was one of three decks to beat together with Goblins and Threshold. With Counterbalance and Tarmogoyf being printed, the latter began to dominate the format and as it was a rather bad matchup, Solidarity got pushed down to tier 2 status. The card of Counterbalance itself is difficult to beat when coupled with Sensei's Divining Top and being put on a fast clock of Nimble Mongeese and Tarmogoyfs doesn't help much either. Still, Solidarity beats a lot of decks consistently and should thus still be considered a solid deckchoice nowadays. The problem of Counterbalance had to be adressed though. While Gearhart took the easy way out – If you can’t beat them, join them. – in creating his own deck with Counterbalance (It's the Fear). I tried to address the problem with the following list that included Cryptic Command in order to be able to answer permanents without need for a Cunning Wish:Quote:
4 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
12 Island
4 High Tide
4 Brainstorm
2 Opt
2 Peek
4 Reset
4 Impulse
4 Remand
2 Brain Freeze
1 Twincast
3 Meditate
3 Cunning Wish
3 Turnabout
4 Force of Will
2 Flash of Insight
SB:
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Meditate
1 Turnabout
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Twincast
1 Echoing Truth
1 Evacuation
4 Hydroblast
4 Disrupt
Solidarity by Simon Ritzka
(2nd at German Legacy Champs on August 31st, 2008)
When looking at both lists, note that the sideboard should always be tailored for your particular metagame, only Stroke of Genius, Meditate and Turnabout are mandatory for the wishboard and usually some bouncespells should be included as well.Quote:
3 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
12 Island
4 High Tide
4 Brainstorm
3 Opt
1 Peek
4 Reset
4 Impulse
3 Remand
2 Brain Freeze
3 Meditate
3 Cunning Wish
3 Turnabout
2 Cryptic Command
4 Force of Will
2 Flash of Insight
SB:
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Brain Freeze
1 Meditate
1 Turnabout
2 Wipe Away
3 Echoing Truth
2 Hydroblast
2 Twincast
1 Rebuild
1 Hurkyl's Recall
3) Card analysis:
3.1) The deck:
12 Island:
Islands are necessary for High Tide to work. Basic lands are unaffected by Wasteland, Blood Moon, Magus of the Moon and Back to Basics, which is why Solidarity can ignore most of the nonbasic hate in our modern meta. In a list with splash, one or two Island are replaced by the blue dual of the splashed color.
3 Flooded Strand, 3 Polluted Delta:
As Solidarity regularly sees more than half its deck, the thinning is actually useful here. In addition to that, fetchlands combine with Brainstorm to shuffle useless cards away. Up to 8 fetchlands could be played, this would increase the probability of being hurt by the lifeloss or Stifle though.
4 High Tide, 4 Reset:
The key parts of the decks manaengine. They make a kill on turn 3 realistic (turn 2 can theoretically happen with three High Tides and multiple untaps). The play-restriction of Reset is the reason why Solidarity more often than not tries to combo out on its opponent's turn.
3 Turnabout:
Another untap-effect with a higher cost that offers more flexibility. Can be use to tap lands or creatures an opponent controls and can also be used on your own turn.
4 Brainstorm:
The single best Cantrip in the history of the game. Digs three cards deep and with Fetchlands, Impulse, Flash of Insight or in some cases even Brain Freeze it is possible to get rid of the two cards put back.
4 Opt/Peek:
For an 18-land base to work, additional 1-CC cantrips are needed and Opt is better at digging, while Peek can provide crucial information. I run 3/1 because I never want to draw a second Peek, but 2/2 or 4/0 is fine as well.
4 Impulse:
The best card to ensure the third landdrop. Also digs 4 cards deep before and during the combo.
3 Remand:
Can slow down your opponent while drawing a card, protect your own spells from counters or cut the stormcount you need for Brain Freeze to be lethal in half. I play only 3 because they aren't very good against Threshold, because their Spells are cheap and they have Daze, running 4 is fine though.
3 Meditate:
Cheap blue carddraw. The skipped turn can be ignored when going for the combo, but it can also be used as a setup card especially after using Force of Will or when playing against discard.
3 Cunning Wish:
The flexible allround-spell. Can get any card from your sideboard, cards pitched to Force of Will and cards removed with Flash of Insight.
2 Flash of Insight:
Another way to provide actual cardadvantage. The bottom cards are stacked in the order you want, so they can be remembered for later use. Can also be used to turn Brain Freeze into a cantrip, that is risky though as you might mill all your winconditions.
2 Brain Freeze:
The card that actually wins. Usable as a cantrip in desperate situations.
2 Cryptic Command:
The swiss army knife among blue instants. Can deal with a spell, a permanent (read: Counterbalance or Chalice of the Void) or be a Fog while providing no card disadvantage as more often than not "Draw a card." will be one of the chosen modes. The three other combinations are also useful every now and then. By no means mandatory, but very useful nevertheless.
3.2) Sideboard:
1 Stroke of Genius:
Can kill the opponent if it isn't possible to wait for his next drawstep. Can also be wished for with lots of available mana which is why it is better than other choices for carddraw for the opponent.
1 Meditate:
Wishable carddraw.
1 Turnabout:
Wishable untap-effect.
3.3) Other (possibly) playable cards
a) Mainboard:
Twincast:
Twincast is a flexible spell, that is especially effective against counters and combo playing Orim's Chant. It does nothing without something to copy though, so one or maybe two could be played.
Think Twice:
Produces actual cardadvantage and is more or less uncounterable (at least with conventional counters). Unfortunately rather clunky (+1 card for five mana).
Spell Snare:
Answers Counterbalance and a lot of other annoying cards (Chalice/1, Meddling Mage, Dark Confidant, Hymn to Tourach, ...) before they resolve. Does nothing midcombo or if you draw it after the problemcard has resolved.
b) Sideboard:
Brain Freeze:
Makes the kill-card accessible via Cunning Wish. It is also possible to go up to four after sideboarding against blue decks, start counterwars and try to kill with multiple small Brain Freezes.
Wipe Away:
Thanks to Split Second the best blue (instant) solution to a resolved Counterbalance. Useful against any deck with annoying permanents and counters.
Echoing Truth:
The best solution to Empty the Warrens. Can also be boarded against annoying permanents like Chalice of the Void and can bounce multiple Zombie tokens from Bridge from Below.
Hydroblast:
Useful against Goblins, Burn, Goyf Sligh, basically any fast red aggro because they can sometimes be too fast. Better than Blue Elemental Blast because a red target isn't required, and thus it can be cast just to up the storm count.
Twincast:
Good against counters and decks that try to protect their combo with Orim's Chant.
Rebuild:
Solution for multiple artifacts. Better than Hurkyl's Recall because it isn't stopped by a Chalice of the Void with two counters.
Disrupt:
Useful against discard and sometimes combo.
Peer through Depths/ Three Wishes:
Can replace Meditate in the sideboard if four are played main.
Mystical Tutor:
Makes High Tide wishable. Unfortunately produces carddisadvantage and shows the tutored card to the opponent.
Krosan Grip:
Would require a green splash but is a permanent solution to Counterbalance.
3.4) Cards that didn't make it:
Thirst for Knowledge:
The effect is too weak for three mana. Either more digging or actual cardadvantage would be needed to make it good.
Fact or Fiction:
You'd have to reveal three useful cards for Fact or Fiction to be better than Impulse midcombo. Also shows the cards to your opponent and is bad at digging for initial landdrops.
Peer through Depths:
Worse than Impulse as it can't find land and reveals the taken card. Could see play in addition to Impulse
Venser, Shaper Savant:
Cryptic Command is better as the 2/2 body will never be relevant
Oona's Grace:
Doesn't do enough precombo and even midcombo it is only very rarely more useful than another Cantrip.
4) How to play the deck - Tips and Tricks:
The gameplan of Solidarity consists of two steps:
a) Setup:
At the beginning of the game you try to hit at least four landdrops (three can be sufficient) and to build a hand consisting of (at least) one High Tide, some carddraw, some untap effects and a way to play around counters if your opponent plays any. The options here are: Force of Will, Twincast or multiple copys of the spell you expect your opponent to counter.
Too fast starts of your opponent (Goblin Lackey, Tendrils of Agony) and spells that attack your resources (Hypnotic Specter, Devastating Dreams) have to be stopped and you also try to deal with any permanents that could disrupt the combo (Counterbalance, Chalice of the Void). The difference between Solidarity and any other deck is that the setup-phase doesn't end when you could potentially win, but only when your opponent forces you to act (be it with lethal damage, a Counterbalance or discard).
b) The Combo:
When going for the combo, ususally a High Tide is played first and then the stormcount is increased with untap-effects, carddraw and possibly more High Tides. When the stormcount is high enough the opponent is Brain Freezed and if necessary, killed with Stroke of Genius.
This gets more specific depending on the play situation.
How to play around counters?
As Solidarity isn't fast enough to win before an opponent can counter, the plan is to wait long for a good hand and a lot of lands in play (6 is a good number, the more the better). Either try to play right through their counters or get a counterwar started and end it with Brain Freeze for lethal.
Important for the preparation of your combo is that you can estimate how many counters your opponent actually has and plan accordingly. As Solidarity is better equipped to win stack wars than any other deck, the opponent can't really let High Tide resolve more often than not as the additional mana will help you more than him. When he counters your mana though, you can just set up for a new try with your remaining hand. Remanding your own spells can work wonders here. If you plan on doing this, don't wait until the very last turn.
How to play against Counterbalance?
Coupled with Sensei's Divining Top, Counterbalance can be enough to defeat Solidarity. Thus it should usually be Force of Willed when possible. Once a Counterbalance hits play, it can be bounced via Wipe Away or Cryptic Command. If that doesn't work either, the only thing left is brute force - playing through Counterbalance.
Without Top in play, you just run a testspell and wait for your opponent to reveal the top card. Once you know it, you just combo without using spells with that converted manacost. With a Sensei's Divining Top, this gets a lot harder. Then, the only way to win is usually to hope that they either don't have something for two, and combo out without High Tide, or, to hope that they don't have something for one. Then you start with a High Tide and he will probably respond by putting his Top on top. You can respond to this with another High Tide, then let the ability of Top resolve and then combo out without fear of the Counterbalance.
How to play around Gaea's Blessing?
Even nowadays, many people believe they have an autowin against Solidarity if they sideboard Gaea's Blessing. They are wrong, as Gaea's Blessing triggers when it is milled and you can respond with another Brain Freeze (possibly by using Remand on the first one) and a lethal Stroke of Genius. In fact, Gaea's Blessing is not very good against Solidarity, as you can play around it late in the combo when your hand is filled with good cards, as opposed to cards like Chalice of the Void or Meddling Mage which try to stop the combo before it begins.
When should I go for the combo?
a) In your opponent's drawstep: This is the earliest time Reset can be played. Is used when another landdrop could help your opponent to play more disruption (Example: A Goblin player that could play a Rishadan Port).
Side note: Mana gained in the Upkeep can be used in the draw step. It might often be a good idea to try to resolve a Tide and a Meditate in the upkeep, since it might cut your opponent off the counter they were about to draw in their draw step. You can then continue to combo without Reset or just go to the draw step if you need to use Reset.
b) In your opponent's begin of combat step: The last time you can tap your opponent's creatures. Is used when your opponent has lethal damage onboard or could bring you into burn range.
c) The opponent's end of turn step: The last time in your opponent's turn when you can play something. Is used if you want your opponent to raise the stormcount beforehand. Also they likely can't do anything after they are milled.
d) At any other time: There can be a reason to go off at any point of the game.
c) General Advice and Tricks:
The single most important thing to know when playing Solidarity is that you don't need to act, but you react. Your opponent will make their plays and you can then make yours depending on what is necessary in your current situation. It is not like our plan is "find 4 lands, High Tide, Reset, Meditate and combo out on turn four." in any given game like in other decks. In being able to adjust your own plays to just about any imaginable situation, Solidarity offers the ultimate flexibility to the player. This flexibility has its price in making the deck very complicated to play because every single turn poses quite a number of questions to the player and while there are sometimes multiple correct answers, a single wrong answer will usually mean a lost game. This should always be kept in mind when playing the deck.
Brainstorm:
The second best card in the deck - if that can be said at all - also offers the greatest possibilities for mistakes. Brainstorm should always be played as late as possible. Example: if you are searching for land, don't play the Brainstorm at end of turn but rather wait until your own turn so you get to see one more card. Of course there are exceptions to that rule like having to find a Force of Will in response to a Lackey or something similarly threatening.
Rule of thumb: Having no reason against playing Brainstorm is not enough. You need an actual reason for playing Brainstorm.
Remand:
Possible uses of Remand:
- Remanding a spell to slow your opponent down or even Time Walk them
- Remanding your own spell in response to a counter
- Remanding your own spell to draw a card (emergency cantrip)
- Remanding your Brain Freeze to get double use out of storm.
- Remanding your opponent's counter (rare, usually Remanding your own spell is better)
Brain Freeze:
The main purpose of Brain Freeze is the use as winoption to mill your opponent. But if you have no carddraw in hand, Brain Freeze can be played on yourself in order to mill Flash of Insight, flashback that and stack your library (Flash of Insight allows you to choose the order of the cards on bottom). A rare tertiary use is milling few cards in the early turns of the game either to get rid of two bad cards from a Brainstorm or of a card which your opponent got with a topdeck Tutor.