[Deck] Vial Affinity

[Xero]

First, I realize that there are other threads about Affinity; however, none of them really discusses the version of the deck that has had the most success. Anyways, here is a list:

Vial Affinity:

Creatures:
4x Archbound Ravager
4x Frogmite
4x Myr Enforcer
4x Disciple of the Vault
3x Atog
3x Ornithopter
3x Archbound Worker

Spells:
4x Aether Vial
4x Chromatic Star
4x Thoughtcast
3x Cranial Plating
3x Fling

Land:
4x Seat of the Synod
4x Vault of Whispers
4x Great Furnace
2x Darksteel Citadel
2x Blinkmoth Nexus
1x Glimmervoid

Sideboard;
3x Tormod’s Crypt
3x Pithing Needle
3x Engineered Plague
4x Cabal Therapy
2x Sphere of Resistance

Card Choices:
Vial vs. Paradise Mantle: Vial is just better. It helps immensely versus Aggro-Control decks like Gro and Madness, against Control decks, and as a way of surprising opponents. There’s nothing like Vialing in a disciple in response to Akroma’s Vengeance for the win. Mantle, on the other hand, smoothes out the mana-base. With only 14 colored spells, 7 of which are easily castable via vial, Mantle in not that great.

4 Myr Enforcers: Arguably the slowest card in the deck, Enforcers can still come down on turns 3-4 with ease. They are extremely good against Gro and Madness, and help with the Goblin match-up too. One big thing in Enforcers favor is that they fight through some of the common hate brought against Affinity: Pernicious Deed will almost never be big enough to kill them, and Null Rod does nothing to a resolved Enforcer.

Fling vs. Berserk: Fling allows you to win at instant speed, without attacking. Furthermore, running Berserk virtually guarantees that you will be cutting blue, which means no Thoughtcast. That’s a mistake, Thougtcast is necessary for refilling your hand after a big turn. Fling also allows you to kill creatures if absolutely necesseary. Kataki or Goblin Welder can kill you: fling gives Affinity a way to get rid of those creatures.

Match-ups:

Gro: Favorable. The red version is generally easier to beat than the white one. Affinity brings creatures out far faster than gro, and Enforcer/Ravager are often the biggest things on the table. First turn vial is extremely good, as it allows you to bring in your most dangerous creatures without worrying about counters.

Goblins: Depends highly on version. RW is slightly unfavorable, mono-red is about even in my experience. Again, Enforcers and ravagers are often the biggest critters around. Both decks are very fast, so going all out might not be a bad idea. Sideboarding helps. Obviously, the match-up gets much harder if Goblins are running multiple Tinkers or Disenchant.

Solidarity: Bad. Sometimes, you get the 3-4 turn win and they don’t have counters. Otherwise, you loose. Cabal Therapy out of the sideboard helps some.

Other Aggro-control (Madness/Fish/etc.) Favorable. These decks usually have trouble with large creatures on the board.


Playing the deck: Affinity can play as straight aggro or as aggro-combo. Early in the game, Frogmites, Myr Enforcers, and Archbound Workers can knock your opponents life total down enough for a lethal strike via Atog/Ravager + Fling (/Disciple). Cranial Plating can also cause combo kills. For instance: attacking with worker, frogmite, frogmite (cranial plating + vault of whipers +glimmervoid in play) against werebear, nimble mongoose. Your opponent will most likely block the two frogmites; allowing you to attach the plating at instant speed to the worker and hit for 6. Plating + Fling is a strong combo. Attack with a plated creature, and then fling after damage has been dealt.

Turns 2-3 are the most important for Affinity, especially with vial. By turn 2, you should be able to cast Frogmites for 0-1, play thoughtcast, or cast Ravager/Atog/Cranial Plating. By turn 3, Myr Enforcer should cost 0-3, Cranial Plating can be cast + equipped, and extra artifacts (ornithopter, chromatic star) can be turned into fuel for ravager/atog.

The optimal opening hand is something like: artifact land, vial, ornithopter. With a turn 2 arti. land, Fromgites are free and Thoughtcast costs U. Workers and Disciples are uncounterable and can be played at instant speed through vial. Two counters on vial turn three means that Atogs and Ravagers can be played through vial, and Enforcers are cheap/free.


Fighting Hate: There's plenty of strong hate for Affinity. Somethings you might face:

Pernicious Deed: Pre-sideboard, this card can kill your lands and severly stunt development. However, Fromgites and especially Myr Enfocers are out of Deed range until the late game (if your opponent is able to deed away enforcers, you've probably aleady lost anyway). If your opponent is playing B/G, hold back at least one land. Needle on Deed obviously helps immensely. If there are many deeds in your environment, consider maindecking Needles and increasing the amount of Darksteel Citadels.

Energy Flux: Arguably the best card against Affinity. If this hits play on turns 2-3, your probably done. Your best chance is to try and keep one big creature (probably Ravager) alive while saccing everything else. If your opponent is playing this, it should be the thing Therapy names.

Null Rod: This kills large portions of your deck. It does nothing against resolved Frogmites, Myr Enforcers, or Disciples however, so play agressively against decks packing Null Rod.

Blood Moon: Shuts down your articfact lands. This is difficult but not impossible to play around. If you suspect Blood Moon, hold onto Chromatic Stars for important colered spells like Thougtcast and Disciple.




Finally, (fully recognizing that this might be an inappropriate place to do so) I think that Vial Affinity should be considered a DTB. It has top 8’d in multiple large and diverse tournaments (8 or so tournaments with over 50 people) and has a reasonably well-established list.