Don't hate the player, hate the game..
Gratz on the great finish! Why did you decide against running a Fiery Islet in your manabase?
Don't hate the player, hate the game..
It's a shame this topic is barely active nowadays. Would love to discuss strategies and en tactics with other UR players. How to approach certain matchups, what are crucial cards, etcetera.
Played in a 5 round tournament today, ending in 2nd place. Lost round 1 to UW Miracles (eventual winner), got a bye round 2, then won 2-1 in the Mirror and vs Infect. Last round won 2-0 against TES. Made a few changes from my list a few posts back:
Main: -1 True Name Nemesis, -1 Young Pyromancer, +2 Bedlam Reveler
Side: -1 Tormod's Crypt, +1 Narset, Parter of Veils
Don't hate the player, hate the game..
To start a discussion: what is the best way to approach the following matchups: 1) UW Miracles, 2) 4c Control. What changes in playstyle do you make from the standard lines of play, what do you think is crucial in winning, what do you board in and out, and why?
I'll post my currrent SB plans and thoughts for both matchups later today.
Don't hate the player, hate the game..
Could you eloborate on your choice for the 3 TNN? Are certain decks more prevalent in your meta?
As promised here are my current plans for both matchups.
Against UW Miracles:
Out (P): -3 Force of Will, -1 Daze, -2 Wasteland, -1 Chain Lightning, -1 Lightning Bolt
Out (D): -1 Force of Will, -3 Daze, -2 Wasteland, -1 Chain Lightning, -1 Lightning Bolt
In: +3 Pyroblast, +1 Magmatic Sinkhole, +1 Flusterstorm, +2 Surgical Extraction, +1 Narset
General idea: remove Wastes (going down to 17) since they're almost dead cards and this improves my card quality. Depending on playing/drawing remove FoW/Daze. Add Magmatic Sinkhole to fight their planeswalkers and leave in some bolts for Mentor (which they bring in) as well. Surgical is meant for removal (Swords / Terminus) and Narset to shut down their cantrips.
Against 4c Control (with astrolabes/basics):
Out: -4 Force of Will, -2 Wasteland, -1 Chain Lightning, -1 Preordain
In: +3 Pyroblast, +1 Flusterstorm, +1 Pithing Needle, +1 Magmatic Sinkhole, +1 Izzet Staticaster, +1 Narset
Staticaster are there for Strix/Coatl. Needle + Sinkhole to combat Oko. Narset to shut down cantrips. Board out FoW because they have lots of 2v1 already and you don't want to play into that game. Pyroblast mainly for Oko/Strix/Coatl (preferably on the stack).
Looking forward to comments/critique/different plans.
Don't hate the player, hate the game..
[QUOTE=DKK;1080584]Could you eloborate on your choice for the 3 TNN? Are certain decks more prevalent in your meta?
My current meta is full of D & T, Miracle (and other oko Control) and 12 post. But in my testing young pyromancer was bad almost all the time. After 40 games me and my friends decided, that playing more tnn would be the best solution, because i dedicated to play 19 lands instead of 18
Btw i played Chalice of the void decks for years and for almost all of them TNN is the real problem
Interesting! Could you share your currrent list?
For me one of the lines to victory against chalice decks (especially 12post) was Young Pyromancer and then go wide by casting 1cmc spells into Chalice. TNN was good to push through the last points of damage, but earlier on you need to block as well to prevent being raced by a TKS or something similar.
Don't hate the player, hate the game..
In both of those matchups, I prioritize sticking a threat and getting in damage. True-Name is the best threat (I run four), and Young Pyromancer is probably the second best. Most Miracles builds are UWg or UWgr now for Oko, so countering Oko is usually the biggest priority preboard. Against UW, Counterbalance is something I want to counter, and I try not to overextend into a Terminus. After sideboarding, I bring in Sulfuric Vortex and Pyroblast. I trim on my Wastelands and flex slots. I like keeping Dazes on the play and trimming some on the draw.
This is the list I played a few weeks ago, but you can also find some recent tournament reports here (http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...House-1K-Top-4) and here (https://writtenbyjames.com/2019/11/1...jeremy-edwards).
4 Delver of Secrets
2 Young Pyromancer
4 True-Name Nemesis
2 Dreadhorde Arcanist
2 Brazen Borrower
1 Vapor Snag
1 Pyroblast
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Preordain
4 Force of Will
2 Force of Negation
3 Daze
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Volcanic Island
3 Island
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Flooded Strand
1 Prismatic Vista
4 Wasteland
Sideboard:
2 Surgical Extraction
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Price of Progress
1 Abrade
1 Null Rod
2 Venser, Shaper Savant
2 Pyroblast
I`ve been testing against Post and oko Control. The result is Play 4 tnn and 4 Dreadhorde and never Play Young pyromancer
Another tournament last weekend, another solid result. Played in the Legacy event of the Dutch Open Series. Attendance was about 50 players (due to extreme weather conditions (storm) and MCM Paris being in the same weekend turnout was lower than I had expected).
The changes
Since the last event I made some minor changes. Overall the list has been performing well, but I wanted to improve the control matchup and adjust for newly developed decks.
Maindeck:
-1 Bedlam Reveler, +1 True-Name Nemesis
Playing 2 Bedlam has sometimes felt clunky. Currently I think 1 is the correct number, as it's an incredible mid-game spell against Delver and Control decks. The extra True-Name was added due to the recommendations in this thread (and since I previously cut 1 for the Reveler).
-1 Preordain, +1 Pyroblast
With 19 lands and 11 cantrips I was on the (very) safe side of consistency compared to some other decks. The reason for maindeck Pyroblast was twofold, 1) I expected a heavy blue meta and 2) I wanted to make room in the sideboard without going down to 2 Pyroblast
Sideboard:
-1 Pyroblast, +1 Sulfuric Vortex
The Pyroblast moved to the maindeck, the Vortex is added as an additional hard-to-answer threat against control decks.
-1 Submerge, +1 Tormod's Crypt
I wanted sideboard cards to bring in against Breach decks. Submerge felt like a cuttable card, since I had not seen any Tarmogoyfs for a while. It does harm the Depths matchup a bit, but I expected Breach to be more prevalent.
-1 Flusterstorm, +1 Counterbalance
My testing group was pondering about answers to Breach decks and Counterbalance felt like a solid addition to the board that is usable in multiple matchups (als against control, TES and other Delver decks).
The decklist
These changes led to the following list:
Maindeck:
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Dreadhorde Arcanist
2 Young Pyromancer
2 True-Name Nemesis
2 Brazen Borrower
1 Bedlam Reveler
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
2 Preordain
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Chain Lightning
1 Spell Pierce
1 Pyroblast
4 Daze
1 Force of Negation
4 Force of Will
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Bloodstained Mire
3 Volcanic Island
3 Snow-Covered Island
1 Snow-Covered Mountain
4 Wasteland
Sideboard:
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Pithing Needle
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Pyroblast
1 Counterbalance
1 Null Rod
2 Abrade
1 Blood Moon
1 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Magmatic Sinkhole
The tournament
We play 6 rounds followed by a top 8.
Round 1: 2-1 vs BUG Delver
The first match I play after cutting Submerge is against a Goyf deck, guess that's no coincidence. Game 1 I have to mulligan but I am on the draw and can keep up with him. I answer a quick Goyf with Bolt, Arcanist -> Bolt and manage to ride the Arcanist cardadvantage to victory. Game 2 I drew too many lands after keeping a mediocre but keepable 7 and quickly die to his pressure. Game 3 I am on the play and have some well timed Dazes and Wastelands to keep him out of the game while applying Delver-pressure.
Round 2: 2-0 vs TES
After acquiring LED's I've been testing TES at home quite a bit. This gives me a good grasp of what's important in the matchup. Game 1 he has to mulligan while I resolve an early Young Pyromancer to apply pressure while preventing him from going off with my countermagic. Game 2 I resolve a turn 2 Counterbalance. In his turn he plays a cantrip (CB trigger reveals a land) followed by Burning Wish for Empty. The next turn I let him go off as I have an Izzet Staticaster in hand to answer his Goblins and a Surgical Extraction to remove the other Empty the Warrens from his deck. When I respond to his following Burning Wish with Brainstorm->reveal Null Rod to CB he extends his hand.
Round 3: 2-0 vs Wgb Eldrazi
I'm paired against a good friend of mine who plays a hybrid between regular Eldrazi decks (TSK, Reality Smasher) and D&T (Thalia, Stoneforge), with Plague Engineers. It's always a bummer to get paired against a good friend (early) in the tournament. From testing I believe he has the better odds in the matchup. Game 1 I keep a land heavy hand and manage to trick him into using Wasteland to target my Volcanic Island (used for a cantrip in my turn). This slowed him down while sculpting my hand. I follow it up with a Delver and then I use my Wasteland on his 2nd land drop and drop another Delver. They bring the game home. Game 2 I let a turn 2 Chalice of the Void resolve while having FoW in hand because I want to counter his threats and can deal with Chalice later through Borrower (had it in hand) or Abrade. I counter his threat while resolving my own shortly afterwards (Dreadhorde). At one point he resolves a Batterskull, which I can double Bolt to stall and then later on deal with through Null Rod (preventing the return to hand) and Abrade. Eventually Arcanist cardadvantage combined with Delver beats seal the deal.
Round 4: 2-1 vs Food Chain
Game 1 I open with Delver, he opens with Thoughtseize and I reveal my hand of 2 Delver, Ponder, land and Bolt. He is not happy to see this and takes the Ponder to prevent me from securing a quick double flip. The other Delvers soon join the table and I manage to kill him before he can set up his combo, having Bolt for both his Baleful Strixes. Game 2 I have to mulligan and quickly fall behind as he casts a manipulate fate for Eternal Scourge, double Mishthollow Griffin to apply pressure. Game 3 I can keep him off his green mana (Bolt-> Bird, Wasteland on Tropical) and manage to kill him before he gets his combo online. Overall I was very glad to win this match, since I think we're unfavored here.
Round 5: ID
There are 3 players on 4-0 after four rounds. Luckily I am not downpaired and can ID with my opponent to lock in top8.
Round 6: ID
I can ID again (with my eventual top8 opponent as it turns out) and end up 4th in the swiss.
Top 8: 1-2 vs Red Eldrazi
I know what each of the top8 players brought and think this was my worst matchup. His decklist seems designed to prey on Delver decks (solid choice for this day given the field) and can be found here: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2755063
Because of my Swiss finish I can play first and keep a solid hand of Island, Delver, FoW, Pierce, triple Ponder/Preordain. I open with Delver and Force his t1 Chalice (off Ancient Tomb). On my upkeep I flip Delver (so don't draw a land), beat him to 15 and keep up blue mana for Spell Pierce for a lockpiece (in retrospect I believe I should've played a cantrip here). He plays a TKS and I regret not playing the cantrip. I beat him to 10, play a cantrip and find no land but do find a FoW. He attacks me down to 16 and tries to Punishing Fire my Delver (cast of Grove of the Burnwillows), which I Force. I attack him down to 7 and do not find a land. He resolves Eldrazi Obligator, uses his Ancient Tomb for the ability stealing my Delver and beats me down to 7, threatening lethal next turn. I draw a mountain, cast a cantrip, finding one of my 5 bolts and attack + bolt for the win. Game 2 I have to mulligan and have no answer to his 2nd turn Chalice for 1, followed by some big monsters. Game 3 we both mulligan. My 7 is FoW, Delver, Bolt, Wasteland, Volcanic, Island, Fetch. I put one of the lands on the bottom and lead with Delver (I have to apply pressure to stand a chance, since he has too many threats for me to counter them all). He leads with Tomb, Chrome Mox (imprinting Punishing Fire), Trinisphere. I don't flip Delver, but Waste his Tomb hoping to lock him under his own Trinisphere. Unfortunately this does not work as he hits his land drops the next turns and deploys threats in the form of Reality Smasher, Thought-Knot Seer and hardcast Simian Spirit Guide. I trade my Young Pyromancer for his Simian (as I'm not able to generate many tokens through the sphere anyway) and hope to get there with my flier while sucking up his damage with Dreadhorde Arcanist x2. There are some very complex decisions involved when to block and what to cast under Trinisphere. The game ends with me going down from 4 to 2 (Smasher blocked by Arcanist) and having 1 draw step to find a Bolt (one of the 4, as I boarded out Chain Lightning) but I do not and he finishes me. This was a hard but very interesting match and my opponent played very tight as well and had a solid list so he deserved the win.
The reflection
I was very happy with how the deck performed. Given another opponent in top8 (the other 6 players had blue decks) I might have even gotten a higher finish, who knows. I was happy with the changes I made to the decklist and would not directly make any others. However, I'm thinking about possible options for the sideboard to bring in against the big colorless Eldrazi.
Since the beginning of december I played in 4 tournaments with UR Delver (slight changes in between) and had a good finish each time (1st place in a local tournament, top8 at Eternal Weekend, 2nd at a local tournament, top8 at this event). I prefer the manabase of UR Delver over Grixis variants, although sometimes I'm a bit jealous at their broader sideboard options.
Don't hate the player, hate the game..
The red eldrazi deck is a hard MU. Against big Eldrazi i have 1 Ghost quarter, 1 Null Rod and 2 Shenanigans . It was not even close. I won 10 out of 11 games. And the one i lost was turn 3 Ulamog, because i had no interaction
I won a 19 Player Tournament.
2-0 Cephalid Breakfest
2-1 UR Delver
2-0 UW Show and Tell
ID
ID
2-0 BUG OKO
2-0 LAnds
2-1 Miracle oko
List is following
Izzet Delver
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Dreadhorde Arcanist
4 True Name Nemesis
2 Brazen Borrower 14
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Chain Lightning
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
1 Force of Negation
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
2 Preordain 25
2 Spellpierce 27 Blue 31
1 Fiery Islet
3 Volcanic Island
3 Snow covered Island
1 Snow covered Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Wasteland
3 Flooded Strand 19
SB:
4 Surgical Extraction
2 Narset Parter of Veils
2 REB
2 Pyroblast
2 Shenanigans
1 Null Rod
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Flusterstorm
First of all, congrats on the finish! Interesting list, have you ever missed YP? Also, how has the Fiery Islet been for you? I'm interested in how often you use it for mana (losing life) before you draw a card. Isn't it awkward every now and then when you have an opener with just the Islet, but also Cantrip (or Delver) + Daze?
Also how have the Shenanigans been for you? I take it you prefer the recurrance over the flexibility of Abrade, which is useful in a broader range of matchups (Mirror, Elves, etc)
What does not add up to me is how you say Blood Moon is too slow on the one hand, but at the same time say the answer is another 3cc card. They serve different roles: against colorless Eldrazi Blood Moon stops the your opponent from deploying any further threats (at least most of them) after you've hopefully countered or Bolted the first. Against the Red variant it is less value, but still can keep them of colorless mana and thus Smasher/TKS. TNN stops threats that are on the board already, although you it does not stop Reality Smasher by itself. Also, Ghost Quarter lets them search for a basic Wastes (colorless deck) or Mountain (Red Eldrazi) while costing you a turn and a land, so effectively it might slow you more than it does to them.
That depends on which turn it comes down. Turn 1 it's a must-counter most of the time, but afterwards it's sometimes just a 3-mana draw 1 for them instead of deploying a threat.
Don't hate the player, hate the game..
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