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Thread: [Format] Martian Timewalk

  1. #1

    [Format] Martian Timewalk

    MARTIAN TIMEWALK
    Nerdy Martian engineering students are using remote sensing technology to obtain spoilers for Magic: the Gathering sets, one by one. The cards fascinate them, but the technology is finnicky, so each set takes time and effort to detect. Because of their otherworldly concept of time, the Martians can't detect sets in chronological order; instead, they detect sets at random. They use psycholinguistics to infer the up-to-date, comprehensive rules of Magic: the Gathering. They sit down to play, and a new format is born: Martian Timewalk.

    KEY INFO
    Format type: Constructed. Sets added to card pool in random order.
    Legal sets: Alpha/Beta, Lorwyn, Magic Origins, Mirage, Planar Chaos, War of the Spark
    Deck construction:
    > 60+ cards in maindeck.
    > Optional 15-card sideboard.
    > No more than 4 copies of a card, except basic lands.
    > Some cards cost points to include in a deck. No more than 7 points allowed between maindeck and sideboard.

    Cards that cost points (per copy):
    Ancestral Recall (3 pt)
    Sol Ring (3 pt)

    Black Lotus (2 pt)
    Time Walk (2 pt)

    Balance (1 pt)
    Channel (1 pt)
    Dark Ritual (1 pt)
    Demonic Tutor (1 pt)
    Karn, the Great Creator (1 pt)
    Lightning Bolt (1 pt)
    Mana Vault (1 pt)
    Mox Emerald (1 pt)
    Mox Jet (1 pt)
    Mox Pearl (1 pt)
    Mox Ruby (1 pt)
    Mox Sapphire (1 pt)
    Mystical Tutor (1 pt)
    Swords to Plowshares (1 pt)
    Taiga (1 pt)
    Time Vault (1 pt)
    Timetwister (1 pt)
    Wheel of Fortune (1 pt)

    Banned cards:


    Next update of point list: August 1, 2022
    Next set added: October 16, 2022

    DESCRIPTION
    (*) Martian Timewalk is meant to feel like a nascent Eternal format in an alternate reality; sets are released in a random walk instead of chronologically.
    (*) Sets will be added quickly at first and more slowly later on. This is because formats with deep card pools take longer to stabilize after being perturbed.
    (*) A point system is used instead of a banned list. An algorithm, applied periodically, is used to assign points to cards. (Cards that are both restricted in Vintage and banned in Legacy enter the format with one point.)

    HOW TO PARTICIPATE
    (*) Ask questions, post decks, or discuss any aspect of the format in this thread!
    (*) Send any outcomes of competitive play to me by PM. Prior to each automatic point adjustment, I collate all results of competitive play and feed them to the algorithm. Competitive play includes tournaments, but any isolated 1v1 match can also count as competitive play if both players so agree beforehand.
    Last edited by BirdsOfParadise; 07-03-2022 at 08:33 PM.

  2. #2

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    (reserved for possible future post about point algorithm)
    Last edited by BirdsOfParadise; 09-30-2021 at 02:47 PM.

  3. #3

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    This deck won my first test gauntlet.

    RUG Zoo

    // 26 Creature
    4 Mtenda Lion
    4 Granger Guildmage
    4 Quirion Elves
    1 Goblin Tinkerer
    4 Frenetic Efreet
    2 Searing Spear Askari
    4 Nettletooth Djinn
    2 Wildfire Emissary
    1 Emberwilde Caliph

    // 12 Other Spells
    4 Rampant Growth
    4 Incinerate
    1 Armor of Thorns
    1 Memory Lapse
    2 Kaervek's Torch

    // 22 Land
    4 Mountain Valley
    9 Forest
    4 Mountain
    5 Island

    SB: 3 Goblin Tinkerer
    SB: 2 Emberwilde Caliph
    SB: 1 Wildfire Emissary
    SB: 3 Mind Harness
    SB: 3 Memory Lapse
    SB: 3 Reign of Chaos

    Mtenda Lion, Granger Guildmage, Frenetic Efreet, and Nettletooth Djinn are all nice, efficient creatures. Incinerate is a must. Quirion Elves and Rampant Growth are necessary to cover three colors of mana. Kaervek's Torch is great at 2 or 3 copies when you're aggressive and have 8 ramp spells. Everything else is pretty much filler. (Emberwilde Caliph is probably a superstar or a disaster, depending on the situation.) The Goblin Tinkerers are there because I expect Reality Ripple + Phyrexian Dreadnought to be playable.
    Last edited by BirdsOfParadise; 09-30-2021 at 02:47 PM.

  4. #4

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    This deck won my second test gauntlet.

    UW RippleNought

    // 16 Combo & tutors
    4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
    4 Reality Ripple
    4 Mystical Tutor
    4 Enlightened Tutor

    // 3 Enlightened Tutor package
    1 Cursed Totem
    2 Pacifism

    // 4 Mystical Tutor package
    1 Meddle
    1 Afterlife
    1 Disenchant
    1 Boomerang

    // 14 Other
    2 Dream Fighter
    4 Memory Lapse
    4 Power Sink
    4 Dissipate

    // 23 Mana
    1 Sky Diamond
    7 Plains
    11 Island
    4 Flood Plain

    SB: 2 Cursed Totem
    SB: 2 Benevolent Unicorn
    SB: 2 Shimmer
    SB: 4 Mind Harness
    SB: 2 Mangara's Equity
    SB: 3 Disenchant

    Sorcery-speed removal is surprisingly weak against Reality Ripple because the Dreadnought is phased out while you are tapped out. When Dreadnought phases in, you're untapped, so you can protect it with counterspells.

    Goblin Tinkerer is good against this deck. GR(x) midrange decks can sideboard into a configuration with multiple copies each of Worldly Tutor and Goblin Tinkerer (and Mindbender Spores if they're willing to go there), and Cursed Totem and Mind Harness are good answers.
    Last edited by BirdsOfParadise; 09-30-2021 at 02:48 PM.

  5. #5

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    This deck won my third test gauntlet.

    UW PolyWave

    // 4 Artifact
    4 Marble Diamond

    // 2 Creature
    2 Spirit of the Night

    // 2 Enchantment
    2 Sacred Mesa

    // 23 Instant
    4 Memory Lapse
    4 Power Sink
    4 Dissipate
    4 Mystical Tutor
    4 Tidal Wave
    1 Afterlife
    1 Boomerang
    1 Disenchant

    // 7 Sorcery
    3 Dream Cache
    4 Polymorph

    // 22 Land
    4 Flood Plain
    6 Plains
    11 Island
    1 Crystal Vein

    SB: 2 Cursed Totem
    SB: 2 Shimmer
    SB: 4 Mind Harness
    SB: 2 Meddle
    SB: 3 Disenchant
    SB: 1 Boomerang
    SB: 1 open slot

    Plan A: Cast Tidal Wave at opponent's EOT so that the Wave token exists on your turn. On your turn, cast Polymorph on the Wave token, getting Spirit of the Night into play. Win with that plus some disruption.
    Plan B: Be a UW control deck and win with Sacred Mesa. Tidal Wave can be part of the control plan by eating an attacker instead of being a combo piece. The Sacred Mesa plan doesn't work too well against beatdown decks, but it can be the stronger plan against decks that don't fill the board with creatures. Sacred Mesa can also feed into the Polymorph plan in a pinch.

    Mystical Tutor can fetch either half of the combo. Dream Cache can tuck a Spirit of the Night that ends up in your hand.
    Last edited by BirdsOfParadise; 09-30-2021 at 02:48 PM.

  6. #6

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    This deck won my fourth test gauntlet.

    // UR Imp

    // 5 Artifact
    4 Fire Diamond
    1 Sky Diamond

    // 16 Creature
    4 Teferi's Imp
    4 Frenetic Efreet
    4 Goblin Tinkerer
    4 Dream Fighter

    // 8 Instant
    4 Incinerate
    4 Flare

    // 12 Sorcery
    4 Hammer of Bogardan
    4 Kaervek's Torch
    4 Stone Rain

    // 19 Land
    10 Mountain
    9 Island

    SB: 4 Mind Harness
    SB: 4 Boomerang
    SB: 3 Reign of Chaos
    SB: 4 Builder's Bane

    Teferi's Imp gives card draw (one card every other turn) if you can keep your hand empty to negate the discard trigger. Every card in the deck can be played proactively so that you can empty your hand. Another way to outlast opponents is Hammer of Bogardan. One weakness of this deck is Sacred Mesa.
    Last edited by BirdsOfParadise; 09-30-2021 at 02:49 PM.

  7. #7

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Format update: September 15, 2021

    Automatic point adjustments:
    Memory Lapse and Mind Harness each cost 1 point (up from 0).

    Next automatic point adjustment: October 1, 2021
    Next random set added: October 1, 2021

    See OP for complete info.
    Last edited by BirdsOfParadise; 09-30-2021 at 02:50 PM.

  8. #8

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Format update: October 1, 2021

    Random set added: Planar Chaos is legal.

    Automatic point adjustments:
    Memory Lapse now costs 0 pt (down from 1 pt).
    Power Sink now costs 1 pt (up from 0 pt).
    Mind Harness now costs 2 pt (up from 1 pt).

    Next automatic point adjustment: October 15, 2021
    Next random set added: November 15, 2021

    See OP for complete info.

    ***

    UW PolyWave won my fifth test gauntlet, and UR Imp won my sixth test gauntlet (the last one before Planar Chaos enters the format).

  9. #9

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    This deck won my first test gauntlet in the Mirage + Planar Chaos format.

    GR Keen Sense

    // 26 Creatures
    4 Granger Guildmage
    3 Firefright Mage
    1 Village Elder
    4 Mire Boa
    2 Radha, Heir to Keld
    1 Brushwagg
    2 Prodigal Pyromancer
    4 Nettletooth Djinn
    4 Quirion Elves
    1 Goblin Tinkerer

    // 12 Other Spells
    4 Keen Sense
    4 Incinerate
    4 Harmonize

    // 22 Lands
    4 Mountain Valley
    10 Forest
    8 Mountain

    SB: 3 Goblin Tinkerer
    SB: 3 Sand Golem
    SB: 3 Mindbender Spores
    SB: 3 Sulfur Elemental
    SB: 1 Chaosphere
    SB: 2 Reign of Chaos

    My idea was that Keen Sense would be good with cheap pingers (Granger Guildmage) and regenerators (Mire Boa), but it was actually Harmonize that pushed the deck to victory over removal-filled decks running Damnation and Hammer of Bogardan. There are some bad/cute cards in this list, but I think a more optimized Harmonize deck will be a force in the Mirage + Planar Chaos format.

  10. #10
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    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Since the creatures are so terrible in Mirage, a more spell-oriented midrange/control deck might be good.

    BG Midrange


    //Spells: 20
    4 Rampant Growth
    4 Stupor
    4 Dark Banishing
    4 Damnation
    4 Harmonize

    //Creatures: 15
    3 Wall of Roots
    2 Ana Battlemage
    4 Nettletooth Djinn
    2 Harbinger of Night
    3 Deadwood Treefolk
    1 Jedit Ojanen of Efrava

    //Lands: 25
    1 Island
    4 Bad River
    12 Forest
    6 Swamp
    2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

    //Rough Sideboard: 15
    2 Sand Golem
    2 Extirpate
    1 Seeds of Innocence
    3 Seal of Primordium
    2 Roots of Life
    2 Tropical Storm
    1 Cursed Totem
    1 Amber Prison
    1 Vorosh, the Hunter


    Stupor, Harmonize and Damnation are card advantage and above the average card quality in these sets.

    Harbinger of Night removes all these pesky X/1s and X/2s.
    Kicked Ana Battlemage seems very good against other control decks (blue counters, Harmonize, etc)
    Wall of Roots helps ramp while also blocking early attackers.
    Deadwood Treefolk creates a recursion engine. The 2nd makes a loop.
    Nettletooth and Jedit for beatdown just because most other creatures are terrible (Mirri the Cursed is a contender for this slot but pairs up badly vs enemy Djinns)

    In the SB
    Extirpate deals with graveyard recursion like Hammer of Bogardan or combo/control decks with few win conditions
    Sand Golem is for black discard mirrors
    Disenchant effects attack Dreadnought decks and artifact ramp
    Cursed Totem shuts off pingers and other annoying abilities

    Edit: Cut Withering Boon, added Roots of Life & Tropical Storm
    Last edited by FTW; 10-05-2021 at 01:32 PM.

  11. #11

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    I think that list looks pretty strong, FTW, and I was mildly surprised when it didn't win my second Planar Chaos gauntlet. The deck that won (and knocked out the BG Midrange deck) was this:

    Mono-Black Control

    // 11 Creature
    2 Wall of Corpses
    4 Tainted Specter
    1 Spirit of the Night
    2 Mirri the Cursed
    2 Magus of the Coffers

    // 22 Other Stuff
    1 Enfeeblement
    1 Enslave
    4 Dark Banishing
    4 Stupor
    4 Choking Sands
    4 Drain Life
    4 Damnation

    // 27 Mana
    4 Dark Ritual
    4 Charcoal Diamond
    19 Swamp

    SB: 3 Sand Golem
    SB: 1 Big Game Hunter
    SB: 4 Dunerider Outlaw
    SB: 1 Enslave
    SB: 4 Soul Rend
    SB: 2 Reign of Terror

    Obviously, small sample sizes and my own play mistakes can have a big role in my test gauntlets. The games between BG Midrange and Mono-Black Control were long, so there were plenty of chances to mistime a Damnation, and I definitely erred by playing a land while mana flooded instead of holding back to protect real cards from a topdecked Stupor (which proved relevant). If there were any real factors that favored MBC, they were these:
    (*) MBC has 27 mana cards, while BG Midrange has 33. BG Midrange was prone to flooding, and lost after drawing no gas off Harmonize.
    (*) Drain Life is really, really good in mono-black in these long games, and doubly so when Magus of the Coffers is involved.

    Second place was UW Polymorph, which gained some consistency with Akroma, Angel of Fury (it works as both the front end and the back end of the Polymorph, so it's never trapped in your hand like other big creatures would be).

    Quote Originally Posted by FTW View Post
    Mirri the Cursed is a contender for this slot but pairs up badly vs enemy Djinns
    This is the only bit I didn't follow. Mirri outraces Nettletooth Djinn from any life total, even if Djinn is played first. And outside a racing situation, Mirri's vampire ability is upside while Djinn's life loss is downside.

    Quote Originally Posted by FTW View Post
    One of my decks had this and it was a lot worse than I'd hoped. The effect is not flexible and the life loss mattered. I can see how it's filling a specific role here, but I'd try Wall of Corpses or Soul Rend.
    Last edited by BirdsOfParadise; 10-04-2021 at 06:17 PM.

  12. #12
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    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Quote Originally Posted by BirdsOfParadise View Post
    This is the only bit I didn't follow. Mirri outraces Nettletooth Djinn from any life total, even if Djinn is played first. And outside a racing situation, Mirri's vampire ability is upside while Djinn's life loss is downside.
    If the opponent has a beatdown deck with Djinns, your own Djinn will stop it but Mirri will not (Mirri dies to Djinn). Against beatdown you need to stabilize more often than race and Mirri fails there. It was mainly for defending against aggressive green decks using Djinn. Djinn is one of the best beaters in the format and was in multiple of your decks, so I wanted a creature that answers it. 0/5 Wall of Roots blocks it and Djinn trades with enemy Djinn. Seemed good.

    I didn't consider the scenario of a control mirror between Mirri & Djinn. In that case, racing is viable, Djinn can't stop Mirri, and Mirri wins the race.

    Quote Originally Posted by BirdsOfParadise View Post
    I think that list looks pretty strong, FTW, and I was mildly surprised when it didn't win my second Planar Chaos gauntlet. The deck that won (and knocked out the BG Midrange deck) was this:
    Mono-Black Control
    I'm not surprised. That looks like an abysmal matchup.

    My BG's ground defenses (0/5, 4/4, 3/6, 5/5) are good at defending against most of the format's ground beaters and surviving burn spells & pingers, but are useless against those black flyers. Dark Banishing doesn't even hit them because they're black. The only answers are Damnation and Harbinger. Harmonize has little to dig into, even if you hit non-mana. Ritual/Diamond into fast Mirri can threaten to race with almost nothing to answer it.

    Drain Life is also a big advantage in long games. Even more if you have to board in Withering Boon to fight black creatures. I thought about including a couple Drain Lifes in BG (with 3-4 Urborg). It seemed greedy for multicolor, but maybe it's still worth it.

    The BG deck needs to be adjusted to have more diverse answers.

    Soul Reap looks good as cheap removal that hits black creatures.

    Wall of Corpses also seems strong with Deadwood Treefolk recursion. I could probably cut a land and some Wall of Roots, to avoid mana flood.

    Edit: The blue splash for Ana Battlemage is greedy and vulnerable to LD strategies. It's an easy cut. Tainted Specter could attack the hand instead.


    //Spells: 22
    4 Rampant Growth
    4 Stupor
    4 Dark Banishing
    4 Damnation
    4 Harmonize
    2 Drain Life

    //Creatures: 14
    3 Wall of Corpses
    2 Marsh Boa
    2 Tainted Specter
    2 Harbinger of Night
    2 Mirri the Cursed
    3 Deadwood Treefolk

    //Lands: 24
    4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
    12 Forest
    8 Swamp

    //Sideboard: 15
    3 Sand Golem
    3 Seal of Primordium
    1 Seeds of Innocence
    2 Extirpate
    2 Tropical Storm
    3 Roots of Life
    1 Amber Prison


    Wall of Corpses gives another way to fight ground beaters so Djinn isn't necessary.
    Dirtwater Wraith could be funny tech with Urborg giving the opponent Swamps, but maybe this is better as Mirri.
    Last edited by FTW; 10-10-2021 at 05:23 PM.

  13. #13
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    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    How did you update Polymorph with the new set? I wonder if UB for black is better because black has such good spells.

    You lose the Sacred Mesa plan, but you gain Damnation and Dark Banishing and can hardcast Spirit of the Night. There's also EOT Treacherous Urge as an enabler. It works as a stand-alone card too.


    //Spells: 32
    4 Mystical Tutor
    4 Memory Lapse
    4 Dissipate
    3 Dark Banishing
    3 Dream Cache
    3 Tidal Wave
    4 Polymorph
    4 Damnation
    1 Treacherous Urge
    2 Venarian Glimmer

    //Creatures: 2
    2 Akroma, Angel of Fury

    //Artifacts: 4
    2 Charcoal Diamond
    2 Sky Diamond

    //Lands: 22
    4 Bad River
    9 Island
    9 Swamp

    //Sideboard: 15
    3 Mind Harness
    1 Venarian Glimmer
    1 Reign of Terror
    1 Extirpate
    1 Ashen Powder
    1 Boomerang
    1 Imp's Mischief
    1 Pongify
    1 Soul Rend
    1 Ray of Command
    1 Infernal Contract
    2 Spirit of the Night
    Last edited by FTW; 10-05-2021 at 01:02 PM.

  14. #14

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    BG has so many options. I could see both builds being good against different things. Will test more.

    I like the Tropical Storm in the SB, as my UR Imp deck evolved into a UR Flying deck with Frenetic Efreet, Chronozoa, and Serra Sphinx. A green deck might as well have Tropical Storm with that deck in the meta.

    For Polymorph, here's my current UW list:

    // 18 Things For Winning
    2 Akroma, Angel of Fury
    2 Spirit of the Night
    4 Mystical Tutor
    4 Tidal Wave
    2 Sacred Mesa
    4 Polymorph

    // 16 Support Things
    4 Memory Lapse
    1 Power Sink
    4 Dissipate
    1 Disenchant
    1 Ray of Command
    1 Piracy Charm
    1 Saltblast
    3 Dream Cache

    // 26 Mana
    4 Flood Plain
    4 Marble Diamond
    6 Plains
    11 Island
    1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

    SB: 1 Shimmer
    SB: 3 Mind Harness
    SB: 1 Sacred Mesa
    SB: 3 Disenchant
    SB: 2 Boomerang
    SB: 1 Piracy Charm
    SB: 1 Afterlife
    SB: 3 Sunlance

    Nice find on Venarian Glimmer. I'll add it somehow.

    About the black version, my gut says that nothing can replace what Sacred Mesa brings to the deck, but I will add the black version to my gauntlet and give it a go. Damnation is good, and I really like the tricky spells you found (Treacherous Urge, Ashen Powder, Imp's Mischief) that I'd overlooked.

    Edit: One thing I'm sure of is that we have to max out on Mind Harness in the SB (so, 3 copies while they are each worth 2 pt), since Mind Harness -> Polymorph is brutal. (Incidentally, Mind Harness is a one-mana (or net zero-mana) kill spell against a full-health Wall of Roots! Take the wall and activate it every turn. The wall will pay for the upkeep of Harness one time, and on your next upkeep you make the wall die with the harness trigger on the stack.)

    Edit2: Soul Rend is legal, not Soul Reap. My bad.

  15. #15
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    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Venarian Glimmer seems strong for protecting combo decks, better than Power Sink because you can cast it the turn before instead of needing XU on top of the other spell.

    Sacred Mesa does look strong as an alternate wincon. Maybe an Esper version is possible, using Flood Plain and Bad River for color fixing.

    Soul Rend is much worse than Soul Reap, so black still has trouble killing other black creatures. Melancholy?

    Edit: Roots of Life seems very strong against blue control and black control, even better with 4x Urborg in the deck giving opponent all swamps. It basically counters every Drain Life, punishes Power Sink, and makes it hard for small 2/x flyers to meaningfully race. Adding 2 copies to the BG deck. Maybe even 3.

  16. #16
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    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Because there are so many powerful 4+ mana cards and such bad mana-fixing, land destruction could be a viable strategy. Do you have that in your Gauntlet?

    RB Ponza


    //Mana: 28
    4 Dark Ritual
    4 Simian Spirit Guide
    4 Rocky Tar Pit
    8 Mountain
    8 Swamp

    //Spells: 16
    4 Incinerate
    4 Stone Rain
    4 Choking Sands
    2 Boom // Bust
    2 Phyrexian Purge

    //Creatures: 16
    4 Shadow Guildmage
    4 Skulking Ghost
    2 Blood Knight
    2 Goblin Elite Infantry
    4 Shivan Wumpus

    //Sideboard: 15
    3 Dunerider Outlaw
    3 Goblin Tinkerer
    2 Reign of Chaos
    1 Shauku's Minion
    4 Stupor
    2 Big Game Hunter



    Or maybe mono R



    //Mana: 26
    4 Simian Spirit Guide
    4 Rocky Tar Pit
    18 Mountain

    //Spells: 15
    4 Incinerate
    4 Boom // Bust
    4 Stone Rain
    2 Hammer of Bogardan
    1 Kaervek's Torch

    //Creatures: 19
    4 Blood Knight
    4 Keldon Marauders
    4 Skirk Shaman
    3 Lavacore Elemental
    4 Shivan Wumpus

    //Sideboard: 15
    3 Goblin Tinkerer
    3 Stingscourger
    2 Sulfur Elemental
    2 Reign of Chaos
    2 Volcano Hellion
    2 Burning Palm Efreet
    1 Builder's Bane
    Last edited by FTW; 10-07-2021 at 10:04 PM.

  17. #17

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    I'd thought of BR Ponza, but didn't have the available brainpower to build a list. I'm hyped to include these lists in my gauntlet.

    Edit: Boom + sac Tar Pit in response, I like it. Good to see Shadow Guildmage employed, too.

  18. #18
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    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Quote Originally Posted by BirdsOfParadise View Post
    I'd thought of BR Ponza, but didn't have the available brainpower to build a list. I'm hyped to include these lists in my gauntlet.

    Edit: Boom + sac Tar Pit in response, I like it. Good to see Shadow Guildmage employed, too.
    I'm curious how well they do.

    The biggest downside to the BR list is the lack of good 2 drops to curve into 3 mana LD. I don't love the creatures I chose, but there wasn't much better. Blood Knight and Dunerider Outlaw are probably the best 2 drops but double color is hard. Instead I chose creatures that are more consistent to cast, but they're also less threatening.

    Mono R has more consistent mana but loses the good black cards. Instead it tries to tempo the opponent with creatures that are unfair for their cost, especially ones that can keep time counters on Lavacore Elemental.

    I think Reign of Chaos could be an insane SB card vs blue and white decks, especially ones trying to hit big mana. Burning Palm Efreet also picks off all these small flyers.

  19. #19

    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    I just finished my third Planar Chaos gauntlet, and first place went again to GR Aggro. The list is different enough that I'll include it again:

    GR Aggro

    // 23 Creature
    4 Granger Guildmage
    4 Mire Boa
    2 Radha, Heir to Keld
    1 Brushwagg
    4 Nettletooth Djinn
    4 Quirion Elves
    4 Mtenda Lion

    // 3 Enchantment
    3 Keen Sense
    4 Incinerate
    4 Harmonize
    2 Dead // Gone
    2 Hammer of Bogardan

    // 22 Land
    4 Mountain Valley
    10 Forest
    8 Mountain

    SB: 3 Sand Golem
    SB: 3 Sulfur Elemental
    SB: 3 Seal of Primordium
    SB: 2 Reign of Chaos
    SB: 2 Dead // Gone
    SB: 2 empty slots

    As I said before, Harmonize is great, but the new discovery for me is that Dead // Gone is terrific too. In this run it was crucial against Spirit of the Night, Dunerider Outlaw, and Mirri the Cursed. Everything came together in the right proportions: mana, threats, card draw, and removal. Partly it was luck, but partly it's just that the deck is straightforward like that.

    I'll mention the outcomes for decks that have been dscussed:
    Mono-Black Control was dismantled by second-place Mono-Black Aggro.
    UW Polymorph won a weird, weird match against BG Midrange. I haven't worked out the right mix of threats in BG. Roots of Life from the SB gained lots of life, and in the deciding game, BG decked itself with ~150--200 life and a Mirri the Cursed with double-digit P/T (I stopped keeping count) against a board full of Pegasus tokens that kept coming back after sweepers.
    UB Polymorph and UW Polymorph were knocked out by the winner, GR Aggro. Dead // Gone shut down the main combo, Sulfur Elemental shut down Sacred Mesa, and the quick board pressure forced the combo decks into awkward positions. Mtenda Lion was a weak link against blue, but not too bad.

    Changes to GR Aggro: I'm finally over Brushwagg. It could be Sulfur Elemental. Quirion Elves is too midrange and not enough aggro, but I don't know what would be better. Maybe I should try Simian Spirit Guide?

    Quote Originally Posted by FTW View Post
    The biggest downside to the BR list is the lack of good 2 drops to curve into 3 mana LD. I don't love the creatures I chose, but there wasn't much better. Blood Knight and Dunerider Outlaw are probably the best 2 drops but double color is hard. Instead I chose creatures that are more consistent to cast, but they're also less threatening.
    You said it. If you squint hard enough, Dwarven Miner seems like it could blow up a tapped fetch land or an Urborg once in a while.

    Quote Originally Posted by FTW View Post
    I think Reign of Chaos could be an insane SB card vs blue and white decks, especially ones trying to hit big mana. Burning Palm Efreet also picks off all these small flyers.
    Reign of Chaos is devastating. I think its biggest weakness is that for now there aren't too many white and blue creatures worth including in decks :D
    I haven't tried Burning Palm Efreet.

    The format gets an automated point adjustment on Oct 15. I think I'll fit in one more gauntlet before then. I'll be updating UW RippleNought for Planar Chaos (how have I not done this yet?), building G/U/R(?) Ramp, and adding FTW's mono-R and BR Ponza decks. If I had unlimited time, I'd want to have a crack at Reckless Wurm + Lion's Eye Diamond and Necrotic Sliver + Purgatory :-D

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    Re: [Format] Martian Timewalk

    Quote Originally Posted by BirdsOfParadise View Post
    UW Polymorph won a weird, weird match against BG Midrange. I haven't worked out the right mix of threats in BG. Roots of Life from the SB gained lots of life, and in the deciding game, BG decked itself with ~150--200 life and a Mirri the Cursed with double-digit P/T (I stopped keeping count) against a board full of Pegasus tokens that kept coming back after sweepers.
    Interesting match. Sacred Mesa sounds very strong in control mirrors, a big advantage of the UW build over UB. Was Seal of Primordium/Extirpate not able to handle it?

    If BG felt threat-light, it may want some Mire Boa. Boa is good on defense (regenerate) and then good offensively in the late game, since Urborg will give all players Swamps.


    Quote Originally Posted by BirdsOfParadise View Post
    Dead // Gone shut down the main combo
    I overlooked the power of Dead // Gone. Shock on its own is quite good in this format, without other 1 cmc burn and with small P/T creatures. Having a 2nd mode to beat combo fatties is even better.

    The Ponza lists need some copies in the 75.

    How good has Hammer been? Do the decks regularly reach high enough mana to recur it? I remember that card being very strong back in the day but have now played so much "modern era Magic" that the mana cost feels unreasonable except vs control.

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