[Primer] BRx Griselbrand Reanimator

[marshalltj]

I've settled on 13 lands and 1 mox, as I worry about the same thing From Cairo mentioned.

I think if you're on mainboard brutality over unmask then 12/2 looks better.

[TheStalk]

I was impressed with Collective Brutality on many occaisions. However, I suspect that the main reason I was doing so well is that people forgot how much this deck warped the format. They assumed it was dead after they started playing a million surgicals. But they forgot the small things: how Exhume works, how Chancellor works, the broken starts we can have, etc.

In short, I have beaten a few surgicals and lost to a few surgicals. However, Deathrite was always one of the more annoying cards out of Delver decks, and the Brutalities maindeck have definitely covered that weakness for me.

My current record to now is 3 5-0s and 4 3-2s. That's 15+12 = 27 wins and 8 losses. 27/35 = 77%, and that's disgusting.

Out of curiosity, what made you put the Chancellors back in the deck? I remember a while back you were advocating for a more toolbox-y approach to the reanimation targets and had found some success with that plan.

[DNSolver]

The meta has changed a bit to make this deck very well-positioned. Before, Eldrazi decks were making Chancellor embarrassing because they could pay the cost or have Leyline on turn 0 that was awkward, so playing a slightly slower version that got value from having maindeck shroud creatures made sense. Not to mention that Chancellor didn't do anything against Eldrazi once in play, because it easily gets outraced, even with the Daze effect due to Cavern or just paying for it with so many sol lands.

This deck is great vs. Death and Taxes, all other combo decks, and (with the Brutalities I have been finding espeically so) good against BUG. It is decent against Miracles as long as you are willing to run Iona + Archetype (I even choose to have a Children of Korlis in the board). It has okay game against Delver with the Brutalities.

Edit: Also, just got another 5-0. Lost one game, in round 3.

R1: Dredge
R2: Storm
R3: Storm
R4: Red Stompy (had Rabblemasters, not sneaks)
R5: Grixis Delver

[Venomous72]

The meta has changed a bit to make this deck very well-positioned. Before, Eldrazi decks were making Chancellor embarrassing because they could pay the cost or have Leyline on turn 0 that was awkward, so playing a slightly slower version that got value from having maindeck shroud creatures made sense. Not to mention that Chancellor didn't do anything against Eldrazi once in play, because it easily gets outraced, even with the Daze effect due to Cavern or just paying for it with so many sol lands.

This deck is great vs. Death and Taxes, all other combo decks, and (with the Brutalities I have been finding espeically so) good against BUG. It is decent against Miracles as long as you are willing to run Iona + Archetype (I even choose to have a Children of Korlis in the board). It has okay game against Delver with the Brutalities.

Edit: Also, just got another 5-0. Lost one game, in round 3.

R1: Dredge
R2: Storm
R3: Storm
R4: Red Stompy (had Rabblemasters, not sneaks)
R5: Grixis Delver

Jesus man you are on a roll, nice work. Are you going to record any of these? Would love to see your mulligan choices and sideboarding.

[TheStalk]

The meta has changed a bit to make this deck very well-positioned. Before, Eldrazi decks were making Chancellor embarrassing because they could pay the cost or have Leyline on turn 0 that was awkward, so playing a slightly slower version that got value from having maindeck shroud creatures made sense. Not to mention that Chancellor didn't do anything against Eldrazi once in play, because it easily gets outraced, even with the Daze effect due to Cavern or just paying for it with so many sol lands.

This deck is great vs. Death and Taxes, all other combo decks, and (with the Brutalities I have been finding espeically so) good against BUG. It is decent against Miracles as long as you are willing to run Iona + Archetype (I even choose to have a Children of Korlis in the board). It has okay game against Delver with the Brutalities.

Edit: Also, just got another 5-0. Lost one game, in round 3.

R1: Dredge
R2: Storm
R3: Storm
R4: Red Stompy (had Rabblemasters, not sneaks)
R5: Grixis Delver

Yeah that makes sense. I'd also moved to something very close to your Chancellor-less 75, not so much due to Eldrazi (which I didn't happen to run into much), but just because Chancellor wasn't doing much against the hate decks were packing. It was good on the play vs FOW and it delayed DRS, and that was pretty much it. On the draw, opponents had wised up and kept up a mana to pay the tax on their FOW or Surgical, or they just played Leyline/Faerie Macabre. I haven't had a chance to play much recently but there seems to be less Leyline and Faerie in people's sideboards (although Surgical is still everywhere), so I guess now's a good time to remind everyone that playing fair decks comes with a price!

I also want to second Venomous72 - I learned a lot from watching the leagues you'd put on Erin's stream a few months back and would love to see you piloting your updated version :)

[Zooligan]

Edit: Also, just got another 5-0. Lost one game, in round 3

I'm having trouble with deathrite + blue counter decks. Any advice for playing against them pre and post sideboard? Wasn't Phyrexian obliterator the anti bug tech? Did that not pan out?

Oh, and please record and post your next 5-0 please! :)

[DNSolver]

I just recorded the replays of my last league:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44vI...cqV9o4&index=1

Obliterator was for *Delver.* It's completely useless against BUG IMO due to Toxic Deluge, Liliana, Jace bounce, Maelstrom Pulse, or Baleful Strix.

Delver decks with Deathrite should be a hard matchup. The best weapons are Chancellor of the Annex and Collective Brutality.

[TokenMaster]

Any thoughts on environments where mainboard Unmask vs Collective Brutality is better? Brutality felt sluggish in my testing pre-board even against Deathrite and Delver decks and I felt like Unmask was both an incredibly useful enabler as well as a "free" counter check or hand peek.

I've also been testing the Mentor SB plan a bit and I'm still a big fan. I've said this before but especially with reanimation spells it often puts you in the driver's seat in "fair" matchups even when they open well or manage to counter the Mentor on the initial cast. Only thing is whether the Mentor with the other stuff you get from a white splash is worth cutting Decays and Reverent Silences, which I think it very well may be in environments that aren't heavy on permanent-based hate.

[neuhier]

I just recorded the replays of my last league:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44vI...cqV9o4&index=1

Obliterator was for *Delver.* It's completely useless against BUG IMO due to Toxic Deluge, Liliana, Jace bounce, Maelstrom Pulse, or Baleful Strix.

Delver decks with Deathrite should be a hard matchup. The best weapons are Chancellor of the Annex and Collective Brutality.

Thanks a lot for the content DNSolver! Really appreciate it. The videos after round 2 are private. Is that intentionally? Would love to see the rest as well.

[Zooligan]

I just recorded the replays of my last league:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44vI...cqV9o4&index=1

♪♫Awesome!!♫♪

[Zooligan]

Delver decks with Deathrite should be a hard matchup. The best weapons are Chancellor of the Annex and Collective Brutality.

Is it worth fighting countermagic with something like Autumn's Veil in green or Dispel or Flusterstorm in blue?

I'm also considering adding a 1-of enchantment like Concordant Crossroads or Mass Hysteria to give reanimated creatures haste after you draw your deck (made possible by CoK) Tinfins style but without going all-in on the haste plan the way Shallow Grave and Goryo's Vengence make you do in that deck. Thoughts?

[Joe Eigo]

I'm also considering adding a 1-of enchantment like Concordant Crossroads or Mass Hysteria to give reanimated creatures haste after you draw your deck (made possible by CoK) Tinfins style but without going all-in on the haste plan the way Shallow Grave and Goryo's Vengence make you do in that deck. Thoughts?

You could go with a 1 of Anger. It can be tutored with Entomb and even better: thrown into Faithles Looting. Needs Badlands in play though.

[Zooligan]

You could go with a 1 of Anger. It can be tutored with Entomb and even better: thrown into Faithles Looting. Needs Badlands in play though.

I like that idea a lot! Having BL in play isn't really very difficult. If it didn't get Wastelanded before your turn it's probably safe during your turn.

[menloe]

Any suggestions for a replacement for Unmask? They are a touch expensive online and I need something to run in their place until I can afford them. The slots are currently filled by Collective Brutality.

I run Unmask in the paper version of this deck so I know there's not an actual replacement, I just need something to use in a pinch or confirmation from the collective wisdom of this forum that Collective Brutality is the way to go for now.

I thought I'd ask for comments before I begin scouring magiccards.info and testing ridiculous shit in the tournament practice room.

Dank je wel friendos.

[Zooligan]

Any suggestions for a replacement for Unmask?

Solver has been having luck with 4 Collective Brutality/4 Thoughtseize. There's always Cabal Therapy I guess.

[Venomous72]

Any suggestions for a replacement for Unmask? They are a touch expensive online and I need something to run in their place until I can afford them. The slots are currently filled by Collective Brutality.

I run Unmask in the paper version of this deck so I know there's not an actual replacement, I just need something to use in a pinch or confirmation from the collective wisdom of this forum that Collective Brutality is the way to go for now.

I thought I'd ask for comments before I begin scouring magiccards.info and testing ridiculous shit in the tournament practice room.

Dank je wel friendos.

DNSolver is currently shitting all over MTGO with 4x Thoughtseize and 4x Collective Brutality, so I think CB is a great option. DNS has four 5-0's in the last week or two I think.

[menloe]

DNSolver is currently shitting all over MTGO with 4x Thoughtseize and 4x Collective Brutality, so I think CB is a great option. DNS has four 5-0's in the last week or two I think.

Solver has been having luck with 4 Collective Brutality/4 Thoughtseize. There's always Cabal Therapy I guess.

Beautiful, thanks. I am going to watch the videos he posted earlier as I catalog some books.

I got my list from an MTGO 5-0 league in early January that also ran x4 Collective Brutality over x4 Unmask. I think this was a concession to Unmask's high price/general scarcity at the time*, but it's good to know DNSolver has been successful lately with a comparable list.

(*I can't recall the user's name - I think it was tapedecky? - and don't know whether or not they read the forum or else I'd ask for their rationale.)

Cheers!

[Zooligan]

CBru is a very versatile card. Really it's only drawback is that it costs 1B. It's so good with being able to discard a fatty, yank a spell and kill a 2 or less power creature or gain 2 life which is sometimes relevant with fetches/thoughtseizes/reanimate life loss/g-pappy activations (or for that matter being able to discard 2 fatties and kill a 2 or less power creature AND gain 2 life).

[Venomous72]

CBru is a very versatile card. Really it's only drawback is that it costs 1B. It's so good with being able to discard a fatty, yank a spell and kill a 2 or less power creature or gain 2 life which is sometimes relevant with fetches/thoughtseizes/reanimate life loss/g-pappy activations (or for that matter being able to discard 2 fatties and kill a 2 or less power creature AND gain 2 life).

I run it as a 1-of in UB Reanimator, and last night it won me two matches. One by pitching Elesh and taking a Force, and another by duressing Blasphemous Act (lol) out of my friends hand where it would have killed me if he untapped. It is a fantastic card.

[Venomous72]

Um BR Reanimator had three 5-0's yesterday....

Jesus.