I definitely suggest you work towards a standard Hogaak list, it sounds right up your alley.
Permanents I want to be able to deal with maindeck: Oko, Marit Lage, Batterskull, Chalice of the Void, Ensnaring Bridge, Dreadhorde Arcanist, Tarmogoyf. In g1 we really should only need a hiccup, a speed bump to outrace. G2-3 we are already pre-boarded (Borrower) for Leyline of the Void and we can focus on having better answers to other issues. That's what I posit anyways, will test and get back. I have always used the philosophy that maindeck cards need to be generally good while sideboard cards should be specifically good. That means Brazen Borrower maindeck, generally a good tempo play against any permanent, while having Abrupt Decay sideboard, specifically good against counterspells, Chalice of the Void, Rest in Peace, and Grafdigger's Cage.
One key part of tactics for this deck that I haven't explored yet is using Reanimate on my opponent's creatures; I simply haven't faced a matchup where that would be relevant (reanimator, show and tell.) Without removal I don't really see creatures in the graveyard from RUG Delver or Death and Taxes except maybe post-board. I think this needs to be explored a little more, with the intent of using discard/removal to enable stealing opponent's threats. Dismember is back on the testing schedule.
I also want to see if Darkblast can do some work, specifically in the Elves/Goblins/Death and Taxes matchups. It's less conditional than Sickening Dreams but doesn't deal with bigger creatures as well. With Borrower maindeck I might have room for Darkblast in the sideboard.
I have also found a way to worm in Force of Will, which is pretty huge considering the weak matchup against fast combo decks I have experienced so far (Storm specifically but Doomsday seems particularly bad.) Thoughtseize into Daze is decent, but the combo decks are so resilient now that having only 1-2 disruptions, one of them being Daze, isn't enough.
New list:
4x Putrid Imp
4x Death's Shadow
4x Street Wraith
4x Hollow One
4x Vengevine
3x Bloodghast
4x Prized Amalgam
2x Brazen Borrower
1x Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
4x Careful Study
4x Once Upon a Time
3x Thoughtseize
3x Daze
2x Reanimate
4x Polluted Delta
3x Misty Rainforest
2x Verdant Catacombs
3x Watery Grave
1x Breeding Pool
1x Bayou
Sideboard
4x Force of Will
1x Mindbreak Trap
2x Surgical Extraction
1x Cabal Therapy
2x Abrupt Decay
1x Nature's Claim
1x Karakas
1x Sylvan Library
2x Darkblast
Testing Darkblast over Sickening Dreams, which seems relevant specifically against D&T with their Wasteland/Port package. I may only have 1 land available and I need an instant-speed way to deal with threats when I get Port-ed. I'm also putting together a sideboard plan with this list specifically in mind, because I think it's pretty close to finished (for long-term testing that is, not finished in the final sense.) Land count is good, haven't really had problems with that. Disruption maindeck is better without sacrificing threat density. I have additional ways to utilize the graveyard outside of self-recurring creatures (Reanimate, Hogaak.) Finally, I have a sideboard that should work through most hate and present enough threats to power through.
Last edited by Mr. Safety; 10-23-2020 at 08:02 AM.
Brainstorm Realist
I close my eyes and sink within myself, relive the gift of precious memories, in need of a fix called innocence. - Chuck Shuldiner
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