I find Grixis Delver super favorable, and I rarely if ever lose to it unless they do something like double delver daze, force, double bolt like they did last time. But otherwise I'm happy to see the volc/underground combo on their side.Originally Posted by aspsnake
Same with BUG. My losses to all versions of it are few and far between.
Show and Tell is a bit weirder. The more red they are the deader they are. I've lost maybe 1-2 matches versus Sneak and Show in the past 2-3 years while I've only beaten mono-blue omnishow 3-4 times in that same time span. For the most part, if they lean on sneak attack I find the match almost a bye.
As for the UW decks, counterbalance was never the issue and they are still Terminus decks. Not much has changed in that matchup post-top.
EDIT
Spacing fix for clarity.
http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=15687&d=295920&f=LE
4x stoneforge maverick, still something i am thinking sometimes too
23 LANDS
1 Bayou
1 Dryad Arbor
2 Forest
1 Karakas
1 Maze of Ith
1 Plains
2 Savannah
2 Scrubland
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Wasteland
4 Windswept Heath
24 CREATURES
4 Deathrite Shaman
1 Gaddock Teeg
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Mother of Runes
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Scryb Ranger
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
9 INSTANTS and SORC.
1 Abrupt Decay
4 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 OTHER SPELLS
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sylvan Library
1 Umezawa's Jitte
i will probably try something similar
replacing 1 thalia e 1 decay for 2 mirri's guile so 4xzenith + 4xstoneforge + 8 fetches + knights will be used at best (power-shufflling!)
or maybe 4 thalia with 61 cards since with mirri + library u can avoid drawing the second thalia if not needed
and probably 1 equip into the side, like light and shadow or gusari
1 question :
4xmothers or 3x with 1x safekeeper?
it's always my doubt
After messing around with a lot of weird takes on various decks I decided to go back to basics and played this g/w list (or very nearly this list) to a 4-1 finish in a league tonight:
lost to new miracles, beat DnT, aluren, new miracles, bug delver.
one difference between the list i played and what's posted was having a 2nd pridemage over the scryb ranger. I missed the ranger and added it back after the league but I also won a game wholly on the back of canopy'ing into a pridemage on the last possible turn to avoid dying to a jitte from DnT. So I also feel a little bad about cutting the 2nd pridemage. This deck also really wants a cradle to go with the tireless tracker, but I don't have one (yet). lastly, I dropped titania for an elspeth, knight errant. dunno which is actually better, but without the aforementioned cradle I don't think a zenith for titania end-game is actually viable. and even if it is sigarda is probably better.
overall the deck felt pretty good, though it also feels like it's much less of a knight deck than it used to be. or at least, the meta is such that knight was rarely the best thing I could be doing (though knight + mom + safe keeper was a KO game one against bug delver. then again in the 2nd game there were 3 active death rites and i never even played the knight in my hand.) on the flip side, rallier is great and is what I zenith for on 3 most often. baiting removal on stoneforge just to rallier it back is great. getting multiple uses out of pridemage is great. I even baited a miracles player into ambushing my teeg with a snapcaster and got it back. there are just so many lightning rods in this deck and there's a lot more bolt/decay/push than swords at the moment.
one card I occasionally want to play in the board though I've never actually gotten around to it: daybreak ranger. has anyone tried that guy? maybe if you're willing to splash red you just play huntmaster? I want a repeatable source of removal. maybe that's just punishing fire.
hi guys
what are your thoughts on running 3x SFM then (SOFI, SOLAS, jitte) over (SOFI, batterskull, jitte)
is the logic that on an unlucky draw BS will get stuck on your hand worse case that SFM doesn't show up.
that in a senario that you draw any of the sword or jitte, so you can play it anytime.
cheers (",)
It's really slow, but Master of The Wild Hunt is also repeatable removal that also is a token generator and doesn't require a red splashAfter messing around with a lot of weird takes on various decks I decided to go back to basics and played this g/w list (or very nearly this list) to a 4-1 finish in a league tonight:
lost to new miracles, beat DnT, aluren, new miracles, bug delver.
one difference between the list i played and what's posted was having a 2nd pridemage over the scryb ranger. I missed the ranger and added it back after the league but I also won a game wholly on the back of canopy'ing into a pridemage on the last possible turn to avoid dying to a jitte from DnT. So I also feel a little bad about cutting the 2nd pridemage. This deck also really wants a cradle to go with the tireless tracker, but I don't have one (yet). lastly, I dropped titania for an elspeth, knight errant. dunno which is actually better, but without the aforementioned cradle I don't think a zenith for titania end-game is actually viable. and even if it is sigarda is probably better.
overall the deck felt pretty good, though it also feels like it's much less of a knight deck than it used to be. or at least, the meta is such that knight was rarely the best thing I could be doing (though knight + mom + safe keeper was a KO game one against bug delver. then again in the 2nd game there were 3 active death rites and i never even played the knight in my hand.) on the flip side, rallier is great and is what I zenith for on 3 most often. baiting removal on stoneforge just to rallier it back is great. getting multiple uses out of pridemage is great. I even baited a miracles player into ambushing my teeg with a snapcaster and got it back. there are just so many lightning rods in this deck and there's a lot more bolt/decay/push than swords at the moment.
one card I occasionally want to play in the board though I've never actually gotten around to it: daybreak ranger. has anyone tried that guy? maybe if you're willing to splash red you just play huntmaster? I want a repeatable source of removal. maybe that's just punishing fire.
I'd honestly cut a KotR for the QPM you desire. That's still *7* KotR in the maindeck. I don't think you'll hardly notice.
On worthwhile repeatable removal:
* Dudes who do it:
Grim Lavamancer
Granger Guildmage
Shadow Guildmage
Tooth Collector ... maybe.. If you have 4 types you can actually kill two things before they can respond.
* Life from the Loam + Barbarian Ring or Cabal Pit - Also removal that you can get from KotR!
Out of these, I've personally used Lavaman and Loam + Pit. Loam + Pit is quite good and pit being fetchable by KotR is handy without it being an engine. I like this one because it gets through Mom reliably.
Of note on PFire and similar against Mom: You can, in response, use your own Mom to give their dude protection from white, fizzlling their mom trigger and allowing your card to resolve.
All that said, I'd probably just look for Zealous Persecution or similar. Repeat Removal is fun but it's always clunky. You can get similar CA from boardwipes
Nope, Mom may target only your creatures
1 - the main issue of running sword of light and shadow main is the amount of delver decks that run shamans into the meta, when they will remove the target of your reanimation u will cry tears of blood
same reason i prefer not to run ralliers, in main deck u run kotr and shamans.... grave hates will kill u
2- batterskull costs rly much but many decks lose when u place it main : grixis + burn + bug ecc
3- light and shadow is good but not vs all decks, only vs 2-3 (taxes-deathblade-pikula-bug)
4- batterskull > decay
Its also important to remember that SOLAS protects your creatures from your own Mother of Runes, meaning Thalia with a SOLAS can be bolted, KotR with a SOLAS can be JTMS bounced, etc...
Yet another way in which SOLAS is awkward AF. In my experience, SOLAS rarely does anything. Dead guys are often eaten by DRS, exiled with StP, or tucked with Terminus anyways.
The card looks sweet, but it just isn't as useful and effective as the other 3 equips.
There's probably pages of discussion regarding equipment types to run.
The first pair of equipment is always undisputed Jitte and SoFI. The last piece is hotly debated between SoLS and Batterskull. I've tried both, and think that Batterskull is a crutch that isn't necessary in a well built Maverick deck. A typical Maverick list isn't constructed with 4 SFM to maximize opportunity to activate and reactive Batterskull. The lifegain is rarely important. Against Burn, while you improve the Game 1 opportunity to win, you are worse off in G2/3 because of more dedicated artifact destruction, limiting the chance to capitalize from an early SFM into Batterskull. If you want better cards against Burn, play Rhox War Monk or Circle of Protection: Red instead.
SoLS is better against Death & Taxes, as it gives protection against their entire decks minus Phyrexian Revoker. It's better against BUG as it gets past Deathrite Shaman. Batterskull is lacking in these matchups.
Situationally, you should be able to determine when you need SoFI or SoLS more.
The premise that SoLS is worse because a Thalia dies to Bolt misses the point that all of Maverick's creatures die to Bolt in all the turns leading to a Sword being equipped. Additionally, opponent removing a creature with DRS doesn't lessen SoLS's impact on the board. the recursion is gravy; but not necessary. If recursion was necessary, we'd see more Eternal Witness.
Bottom line, SoLS gives you more options for outplaying your opponent than Batterskull.
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* Maverick is dead. Long live Maverick!
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If what you want is situational life gain with limited evasion then I would rather run Loxodon Warhammer so that I get past D&T, Truename Nemesis, AND Elf Bounce tricks.
The ONLY reason SoLS is useful is because it stops Swords to Plowshares--a job Mother of Runes and arguable Sanctum Prelate already does better.
SoFI was not even used much at all UNTIL the printing of True-Name Nemesis. Everyone ran Batterskull and Jitte and people would argue over whether or not you wanted a SOFAF or just run two equipment. Pre-printing of True-Name the arguments were primarily whether or not you'd rather have 2x Jitte or 1x Jitte 1x Batterskull.
This is not to say that Batterskull is necessary. If you would rather run 2x Stoneforge Mystic then by all means cut the batterskull. The whole point of running 4 SFM and 1x Batterskull is so that we have a 2cc 4/4 that can outrace every non-reanimator threat in legacy. And realistically it outraces a few of those as well.
Batterskull is not an "answer" to decks--it is a threat, it a card that forces the opponent to answer it or die. Its used because once you have it in your hand, they have to kill the SFM or risk having the bouncing batterskull just run them out of removal as you keep remaking the token over and over again.
They are not in the same conversation nor are they fighting over the same slots JUST because they are both equipment. SoLAS is if you think 3 life a turn + evasion against death and taxes is worth a slot in your deck. That is it. Batterskull is if you want a threat that is resistant to late game removal and can be cheated early into play. That's it. They are different cards with different purposes.
If you think Maverick is proactive--then run BSkull
If you think Mavertick is reactive--then run SoLAS
Thats not even true, but you can play the deck however you want. You even mentioned you board out batterskull in your event report. Maverick simply isnt a SFM deck; it's a deck using SFM.SoFI was not even used much at all UNTIL the printing of True-Name Nemesis. Everyone ran Batterskull and Jitte and people would argue over whether or not you wanted a SOFAF or just run two equipment. Pre-printing of True-Name the arguments were primarily whether or not you'd rather have 2x Jitte or 1x Jitte 1x Batterskull.
West side
Find me on MTGO as Koby or rukcus -- @MTGKoby on Twitter
* Maverick is dead. Long live Maverick!
My Legacy stream
My MTG Blog - Work in progress
^^ this!
I never argued that Maverick should be a SFM deck. I am simply pointing out why people use Batterskull, its purpose, and its role in the deck. Just as I said in my report--I would side it out when I didn't need a 4/4 beater without evasion (such as vs elves), I would have also sided out SoLAS had I used it.
In the past when I did use SOLAS it was a SB card for D&T and Burn. Since then the card has become irrelevant in those matchups as you don't need it to win either one.
If you enjoy running 4 SFM, then you should run BSkull. If you don't want to run the full SFM package then you shouldn't run BSkull. Its that simple.
But if I were to add a 3rd non-BSkull equipment, I would use SOFAF, SOBAM, SOWAP, and Loxodon Warhammer before I use SOLAS. And if I simply wanted to cut down to 2 SFM, I would simply run Jitte + SOFI and not run a 3rd equipment at all. And if they banned True-Name Nemesis, I woudn't even bother running SOFI and just go 2x Jitte.
SOLAS is that damn low in the totem pole.
SOLAS was another great angle vs Miracles, (SOLAS + teeg = GG before mentor was a thing) since the ban it's come out of my sideboard.
With the new miracles on the rise, that is once again a lock, but depends on the meta share of that deck, might not be worth the sideboard slot.
Has anyone tried Blessed Alliance?
Now that the meta has shifted to more midrange/combo I believe it's a versatile card to have in SB
i play 2 in sideboard at the moment and i think 1 is the right number and its worth a try against many creature based decks.. until now i only used the sac ability against my enemies - but also untapping a knight/mom or gain some life can be huge too for suprise effects
How is that better than SOWAP which hits harder, gains more life, and protects Teeg from Rending Volley.
Because SoLaS is much better against the field if you're putting it in the main:
* Recurring dudes is CA
* Pro Black => Angler/Lage/Grisel/etc can't get you
* Pro White + Black => No legacy removal can hit your guy; so they have to find a Command/Decay/QPM or die
* Non-conditional Life gain is nice
I don't see how it's "Reactive" either. It's just a stappable CA engine that helps your stuff grind. BSK has issues with being equippable when you drop a guy, which can be a problem if you are top-decking and don't want to spend 8 mana. If instead you plop Mom on the field, give her a strap on, and go for it...
...well I mean.. no one wants that.
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