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Thread: [Format] Martian Timewalk

  1. #81

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Here's a new list for All-In Black. I didn't really believe it was more than luck when it beat RUG Arcanist in an extended match (best of (Bo3, Bo3, Bo5)), but this list did it again: 0-2, 2-0, 3-0. I think this deck may be a real thing in the current rotation.

    All-In Black
    // Mana: 43
    4 Black Lotus
    4 Basalt Monolith
    3 Sol Ring
    4 Dark Ritual
    3 Shrouded Lore
    4 Simian Spirit Guide
    1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
    4 Badlands
    4 Crystal Vein
    12 Swamp

    // Bombs: 17
    2 God-Pharaoh's Statue
    3 Bolas's Citadel
    4 Karn, the Great Creator
    4 Ugin, the Ineffable
    4 Mind Twist

    // Sideboard: 15
    SB: 1 God-Pharaoh's Statue
    SB: 2 Illusionary Mask
    SB: 1 Meekstone
    SB: 1 Bolas's Citadel
    SB: 1 Lion's Eye Diamond
    SB: 1 Winter Orb
    SB: 4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
    SB: 2 Gloom
    SB: 2 Deathgrip

  2. #82

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    This deck won my latest gauntlet.

    RUG Arcanist (4 Ancestral + 3 Mystical = 7)
    \\ Core (19):
    4 Ancestral Recall
    4 Dreadhorde Arcanist
    4 Lightning Bolt
    3 Mystical Tutor
    4 Regrowth

    \\ Support (6):
    2 Piracy Charm
    2 Sapphire Charm
    2 Narset, Parter of Veils

    \\ Extra Control (10):
    4 Memory Lapse
    2 Counterspell
    1 Lazotep Plating
    1 Fury Charm
    1 Return to Nature
    1 Seeds of Innocence

    \\ Mana (25):
    4 Volcanic Island
    4 Taiga
    4 Tropical Island
    4 Mountain Valley
    4 Island
    4 Simian Spirit Guide
    1 Forest

    \\ Sideboard (15):
    4 Red Elemental Blast
    3 Blue Elemental Blast
    2 Seeds of Innocence
    3 Dwarven Miner
    2 Fork
    1 Lazotep Plating

    The plan is to cast Ancestral Recall lots of times and overwhelm the opponent with one-for-one trades. Simian Spirit Guide is the tech that enabled this deck to beat All-In Black. Sacrificing a bit of value for speed is a welcome exchange in that matchup, and this deck has value to spare. Simian Spirit Guide helps cast Memory Lapse, Fury Charm (pronounced "Shatter"), or Return to Nature on turn one. If this kind of build became the dominant one, you'd start seeing versions tuned for the mirror match, with less artifact removal and more copies of Narset, Parter of Veils or maindeck Red Elemental Blast; and then perhaps that kind of build would be weak to All-In Black.

    I'll replace that maindeck Lazotep Plating with a Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin to boost the threat density.

    The next step is to try to think of other strategies that can go toe-to-toe with Mono-Black TurboTwist, All-In Black, and RUG Arcanist...

  3. #83

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    The winner of my latest gauntlet:

    All-In Black

    // 15 Artifact (4 Lotus + 3 Sol Ring = 7)
    4 Black Lotus
    2 God-Pharaoh's Statue
    4 Basalt Monolith
    3 Sol Ring
    2 Bolas's Citadel

    // 4 Creature
    4 Simian Spirit Guide

    // 4 Instant
    4 Dark Ritual

    // 21 Land
    1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
    4 Badlands
    4 Crystal Vein
    12 Swamp

    // 9 Planeswalker
    4 Karn, the Great Creator
    4 Ugin, the Ineffable
    1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General

    // 7 Sorcery
    4 Mind Twist
    3 Shrouded Lore

    // 15 Sideboard
    SB: 1 God-Pharaoh's Statue
    SB: 2 Illusionary Mask
    SB: 1 Bolas's Citadel
    SB: 1 Lion's Eye Diamond
    SB: 1 Winter Orb
    SB: 3 Phyrexian Dreadnought
    SB: 1 Juggernaut
    SB: 1 The Elderspell
    SB: 4 Extirpate

    This deck beat RUG Arcanist (2-1, 2-1) and Mono-Black Discard (2-1, 1-2, 3-0). The key addition was Extirpate in the sideboard. When I first started this rotation, RUG Arcanist was the deck to beat; then I built and streamlined All-In Black, and it became the deck to beat; then I added Simian Spirit Guide to RUG Arcanist, giving it more ability to respond on turn 1, which pushed it ahead of All-In Black again; and now with Extirpate in the SB, All-In Black seems ahead once more. It's a really strong card against RUG Arcanist because that deck relies on getting way ahead by recurring Ancestral Recall and protecting the engine and key threats with countermagic. Extirpate crushes the engine and doesn't care about countermagic. My working theory is that this build of All-In Black is the best deck, and I'm looking for anything that will be favored against it.

    Shrouded Lore is mana acceleration on turn one, assuming you've led with Black Lotus or Dark Ritual. It's the first card in the deck that I'd cut, but there are no other burst mana cards that can be included instead, unless I've missed something.

    Lion's Eye Diamond in the SB is for the line where you don't think Phyrexian Dreadnought will work, so instead you go Karn, the Great Creator > Karn fetch LED > pass turn > next main phase, crack LED > Karn fetch God-Pharaoh's Statue or Bolas's Citadel. Sometimes LED will enable a turn-two Statue or Citadel in this way. Both artifacts have game-warping abilities, and having Karn animate either of them is a fast clock.

    Winter Orb is for Karn to fetch when the situation warrants it, and it's basically always GG if you have God-Pharaoh's Statue in play, which is why I've included it. Without Winter Orb, Statue sometimes just drags a game out and doesn't win the game. Winter Orb is also fun when you have Ugin, the Ineffable in play; you cast Karn for 2 mana, use Karn to fetch Winter Orb, cast Winter Orb for 0 mana, and now you have two planeswalkers ticking up while the lands aren't untapping.

    The Elderspell is a nod to other Karn decks, and maybe the right thing is to tune this deck for the mirror with more copies. Short of doing that, I think the best way to beat other Karn decks is to be the fastest Karn deck.

  4. #84
    Member

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    4,776

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    All-in black looks strong! I wonder if this is in part due to a meta with a lack of control. With Ancestral, Counterspell, Flood Plain and Mystical Tutor all downgraded there are a lot of blue options.


    RUG Channelball (4 Mystical + 3 Channel)

    //Mana: 23
    4 Mountain Valley
    4 Flood Plain
    4 Volcanic Island
    4 Tropical Island
    4 Taiga
    1 Mountain
    1 Forest
    1 Island

    //Spells: 33
    4 Lightning Bolt
    3 Mystical Tutor
    4 Channel
    4 Counterspell
    3 Incinerate
    2 Boomerang
    1 Regrowth
    1 Return to Nature
    1 Dissipate
    4 Power Sink
    4 Kaervek's Torch
    1 Fireball
    1 Finale of Revelation

    //Enchantments: 2
    2 Mana Flare

    //Artifacts: 2
    2 God-Pharaoh's Statue

    //Sideboard: 15
    3 Red Elemental Blast
    3 Blue Elemental Blast
    1 Seeds of Innocence
    1 Builder's Bane
    1 Tranquility
    1 Flashfires
    1 Volcanic Eruption
    1 Rough // Tumble
    1 Savage Twister
    1 Drain Power
    1 Library of Leng



    Bantcestral (4 Ancestral + 3 Mystical)

    //Lands: 24
    4 Flood Plain
    4 Grasslands
    4 Tundra
    4 Tropical Island
    4 Savannah
    2 Island
    1 Plains
    1 Forest

    //Spells: 26
    4 Ancestral Recall
    3 Mystical Tutor
    4 Regrowth
    4 Counterspell
    4 Dovin's Veto
    3 Memory Lapse
    1 Return to Nature
    1 Boomerang
    1 Wrath of God
    1 Commence the Endgame

    //Enchantments: 6
    3 Porphyry Nodes
    2 Prison Realm
    1 Sacred Mesa

    //Planeswalkers: 3
    3 Teferi, Time Raveler

    //Creatures: 1
    1 Crovax, Ascendant Hero

    //Rough Sideboard: 15
    3 Blue Elemental Blast
    3 Wrath of God
    2 Prison Realm
    2 Seeds of Innocence
    1 Tranquility
    1 Narset's Reversal
    1 Magical Hack
    1 Finale of Revelation
    1 Narset, Parter of Veils



    Big Red (4 Lotus + 3 Sol Ring)

    //Lands: 20
    1 Karn's Bastion
    19 Mountain

    //Artifacts: 12
    4 Black Lotus
    3 Sol Ring
    3 Fire Diamond
    2 Gauntlet of Might

    //Creatures: 8
    4 Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion
    4 Akroma, Angel of Fury

    //Planeswalkers: 13
    4 Karn, the Great Creator
    4 Chandra, Fire Artisan
    3 Sarkhan the Masterless
    2 Ugin, the Ineffable

    //Spells: 7
    4 Lightning Bolt
    3 Hammer of Bogardan

    //Sideboard: 15
    1 God-Pharaoh's Statue
    1 Lion's Eye Diamond
    1 Juggernaut
    1 Library of Leng
    4 Red Elemental Blast
    2 Detritivore
    2 Dwarven Miner
    2 Goblin Tinkerer
    1 Earthquake
    Last edited by FTW; 02-08-2022 at 02:00 PM.

  5. #85

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Sweeeeet. Can't wait to try them out!

  6. #86

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    My latest gauntlet was won by FTW's Big Red list! (See two posts above.)

    Here's what happened.

    Round of 8
    Pure MUD vs All-In Black

    M1.G1: It was trench warfare between Spirit tokens as Ugin, the Ineffable stared down Ugin, the Ineffable. MUD ended up using Blast Zone to destroy both Ugins so that it could play another Ugin, all while locking All-In Black under the Winter Orb + Icy Manipulator combo. 1:0 for MUD
    M1.G2: All-In Black cast a seven-point Mind Twist on turn two and a Liliana, Dreadhorde General on turn three. Tied at 1:1
    M1.G3: All-In Black had a quick Ugin, the Ineffable, while MUD had a quick Karn, the Great Creator. Soon a Phyrexian Dreadnought trampled over everything, destroyed Ugin, and won the first Bo3 for MUD. Matches 1:0 for MUD
    M2.G1: All-In Black had a blistering start: Ugin, the Ineffable on turn one, then a Karn, the Great Creator on turn two, shutting down multiple mana rocks for MUD. 1:0 for All-In Black (matches 1:0 for MUD)
    M2.G2: It was a perfect hand for All-In Black against a reasonable five-card mulligan for MUD. No contest. Matches tied 1:1
    M3.G1: All-In Black's Karn, the Great Creator defeated MUD's Juggernaut by animating a Basalt Monolith and throwing it in its path; then Ugin, the Ineffable teamed up with Karn and MUD couldn't keep up. 1:0 for All-In Black (matches tied 1:1)
    M3.G2: All-In Black won with Karn, the Great Creator into Phyrexian Dreadnought. 2:0 for All-In Black (matches tied 1:1)
    M3.G3: MUD weathered a quick Karn opening from All-In Black by destroying a Phyrexian Dreadnought with a Blast Zone, destroying Karn with a Mobilized District, and casting a Karn of its own. 2:1 for All-In Black (matches tied 1:1)
    M3.G4: All-In Black had a first-turn Karn and a second-turn God-Pharaoh's Statue (courtesy of Lion's Eye Diamond), which Karn animated into a 6/6 --- that's a three-turn clock with the life-draining ability. MUD had Blast Zone against the possible Phyrexian Dreadnought, but against this play MUD never even got to cast a spell. All-In Black advances to Ro4
    I didn't explicitly mention it, but in several games Icy Manipulator was a useful card for MUD.
    Here I realized I didn't have time for Bo(Bo3,Bo3,Bo5) in each match --- switching to Bo3

    Big Red vs UWG Control
    G1: UWG stumbled on mana after three lands, and by the time it resumed mana development, Big Red had it against the ropes. Sarkhan the Masterless flew in for exact lethal damage before UWG could stabilize. Hammer of Bogardan was indispensable in this game. 1:0 for Big Red
    G2: Big Red nearly broke through the wall of countermagic, but a late-game topdeck led to a turn in which UWG cast multiples of Ancestral Recall and Regrowth, replenishing its countermagic and closing out the game quickly with a 14/14 Zombie Army token built up by Commence the Endgame. Tied at 1:1
    G3: A Dwarven Miner did grave damage to UWG's mana while Big Red pulled ahead with Gauntlet of Might. The Dwarven Miner eventually died to a Blue Elemental Blast, but by that time Big Red was playing with three copies of Hammer of Bogardan and nearly endless mana. Big Red advances to Ro4

    Mono-Red Aggro vs RUG Arcanist
    Not close. With all the Ancestral Recalls it could cast, RUG Arcanist was playing a whole different format than Mono-Red Aggro. RUG Arcanist advances to Ro4

    RUG ChannelBall vs Mono-Black Discard
    G1: Mono-Black was on the play with a turn-one Mind Twist for 5, with Hypnotic Specter, Sinkhole, and another Hypnotic Specter on the next three turns. 1:0 for Mono-Black Discard
    G2: RUG's mana was wobbly, and Mono-Black pressed its advantage with a Sinkhole. RUG had lots of spells trapped in its hand for Stupor and Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage to take away. Karn, the Great Creator fetched an Illusionary Mask before dying to a Lightning Bolt, and then another Karn closed out the game and the match. Mono-Black Discard advances to Ro4

    Round of 4
    Big Red vs RUG Arcanist

    G1: RUG mulliganed to four cards, but they were the best four: land, land, Ancestral Recall, Mystical Tutor. Big Red had a Sol Ring opener, and RUG couldn't scramble for answers fast enough, despite the card draw. 1:0 for Big Red
    G2: RUG used Fury Charm to turn another promising Sol Ring opener into a dud for Big Red, then drew and cast an avalanche of cards. Tied at 1:1
    G3: A hand full of artifact mana enabled Big Red to suspend a Detritivore for X=4 on the second turn, nearly preventing RUG from having any mana at all; on the third turn, Big Red cast Ugin, the Ineffable, which destroyed a Dreadhorde Arcanist before it could gain value. Big Red advances to finals

    All-In Black vs Mono-Black Discard
    G1: It was All-In Black that fired off the first Mind Twist, but it was Mono-Black Discard that cast Dreadhorde Invasion when both sides were low on cards. 1:0 for Mono-Black Discard
    G2: All-In Black's second-turn Ugin, the Ineffable might have been enough before sideboarding, but in this game Mono-Black Discard topdecked The Elderspell. A Spirit token and two Simian Spirit Guides weren't enough to sustain All-In Black's hopes. Mono-Black Discard advances to finals

    Finals
    Mono-Black Discard vs Big Red

    G1: Mono-Black kept Swamp x3, Stupor, Mind Twist, Sinkhole x2 on the play. Big Red cast a first-turn Sarkhan the Masterless. That thing is a three-turn clock! 1:0 for Big Red
    G2: Mono-Black Discard shredded Big Red's hand, but not before Big Red could cast a Gauntlet of Might off of a Black Lotus. Everything becomes a good topdeck with a Gauntlet in play, and even though Black had The Elderspell for the first planeswalker and Extirpate for Hammer of Bogardan, the next couple of red planeswalkers were too much. Big Red wins the gauntlet!

  7. #87

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Format update: February 16, 2022

    Automatic point adjustments:
    Black Lotus now costs 2 pt (UP from 1 pt)
    Sol Ring now costs 2 pt (UP from 1 pt)
    Karn, the Great Creator now costs 1 pt (UP from 0 pt)
    Dark Ritual now costs 1 pt (UP from 0 pt)

    Mind Harness now costs 0 pt (DOWN from 1 pt)

    Next automatic point adjustment: April 1, 2022
    Next random set added: April 1, 2022

    See OP for complete info.

  8. #88

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    The winner of my first gauntlet of War of the Spark's second rotation:

    BURG Arcanist (4 Ancestral + 3 Mystical = 7)
    \\ Core (19):
    4 Ancestral Recall
    4 Dreadhorde Arcanist
    4 Lightning Bolt
    3 Mystical Tutor
    4 Regrowth

    \\ Other Spells (17):
    2 Extirpate
    4 Narset, Parter of Veils
    2 Memory Lapse
    1 Imp’s Mischief
    4 Red Elemental Blast
    2 Dwarven Miner
    2 Angrath’s Rampage

    \\ Mana (24):
    4 Volcanic Island
    4 Taiga
    4 Tropical Island
    4 Underground Sea
    4 Mountain Valley
    1 Rocky Tar Pit
    2 Badlands
    1 Bayou

    \\ Sideboard (15):
    4 Blue Elemental Blast
    1 Return to Nature
    1 Lazotep Plating
    1 Tranquility
    2 Narset’s Reversal
    1 Extirpate
    1 Imp’s Mischief
    1 Angrath’s Rampage
    1 Flashfires
    2 Counterspell

    Right now, I assume that blue is the best color, Ancestral Recall is the best card, and casting multiples of Ancestral Recall is the best strategy. This deck is meant to play that strategy while beating anything like a mirror match. I wonder if there are any viable decks against which this mirror-match focus cedes too much ground. Such a deck might prey on this one and help round out the meta. I can't yet imagine what it might look like, though.

  9. #89

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    This deck won my second gauntlet of the second chapter of War of the Spark:

    RG Anti-Blue

    (4 Mana Vault + 3 Mox Ruby = 7)
    4 Taiga
    4 Mountain Valley
    3 Mox Ruby
    7 Mountain
    2 Mobilized District
    4 Mana Vault

    4 Red Elemental Blast
    4 Lightning Bolt
    4 Dwarven Miner
    3 Moss Diamond
    2 Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
    3 Hammer of Bogardan
    4 Simian Spirit Guide
    2 Chandra, Fire Artisan
    4 Tsunami
    2 Sarkhan the Masterless
    3 Detritivore
    1 Fork

    \\ Sideboard: 8
    3 Flashfires
    1 Fork
    4 Black Vise

    The rest of the gauntlet is heavy on 3- and 4-color blue decks that wield the power of 4x Ancestral Recall. This deck was built to test the possibility that a deck without 4x Ancestral Recall can consistently beat decks with 4x Ancestral Recall. This deck can. Obviously, it's very easy to build a deck that can prey on this one, but the question is whether one can build a deck that is favored against this *and* against those unfair blue decks. I'm thinking of RGU Anti-Blue that uses Birds of Paradise and Simic Guildgate to cast Ancestral Recall while still having access to Tsunami.

  10. #90

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Format update: April 1, 2022

    New set legal: Magic Origins

    Automatic point adjustments:
    Ancestral Recall now costs 2 pt (UP from 1 pt)
    Time Walk now costs 2 pt (UP from 1 pt)
    Lightning Bolt now costs 1 pt (UP from 0 pt)
    Taiga now costs 1 pt (UP from 0 pt)

    Bad River now costs 0 pt (DOWN from 1 pt)
    Nevinyrral's Disk now costs 0 pt (DOWN from 1 pt)

    New policy: In rotation periods when insufficient playtesting data is collected, the results of the algorithm will be supplemented by adjusting the points list toward the average of Australian Highlander and Canadian Highlander. This is to avoid letting sampling bias govern the direction of Martian Timewalk.


    Next automatic point adjustment: May 1, 2022
    Next random set added: July 1, 2022

    See OP for complete info.

  11. #91

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Format update: May 1, 2022 (Okay, it's May 21 --- bad BirdsOfParadise)

    Automatic point adjustments:
    Ancestral Recall now costs 3 pt (UP from 2 pt)
    Sol Ring now costs 3 pt (UP from 2 pt)
    Enlightened Tutor now costs 0 pt (DOWN from 1 pt)
    Sand Golem now costs 0 pt (DOWN from 1 pt) (Yay Sand Golem!)

    Next automatic point adjustment: July 1, 2022
    Next random set added: July 1, 2022

    See OP for complete info.

  12. #92

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Format update: July 1, 2022

    New set added: Lorwyn

    Automatic point adjustments:
    No modifications to the points list.
    I'm not satisfied with my previous solution to the no-playtesting-data issue, which was to let the points list move in the direction of an average between Canadian and Australian Highlanders. This feels to me increasingly like a kludge, since Martian Timewalk is its own format. That solution also involves additional tedious spreadsheet usage. Going forward I will simply freeze the points list in the absence of playtesting data.

    Next automatic point adjustment: August 1, 2022
    Next random set added: October 16, 2022

    See OP for complete info.

  13. #93

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Because of time limitations, I won’t be updating Martian Timewalk until further notice.

    It has been a fun experiment. I’d recommend this type of format to anyone who’s enthusiastic about Constructed but looking for something fresh. The combination of random sets and a point system worked just as I’d hoped, but I just have no time to play test anymore.

    The amount of play in just a single set (Mirage) was surprising to me.

    Cheers.

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