[Deck] Zoo

[Nelis]

3 librarys and a 6pack SFM is way too heavy for my tastes. So many other decks roll the midgame that, through my experience with Zoo, that is the warning track. I agree with your accessments though, I too like a set of Wastes in Zoo as innovation. Did you play the Utrecht Open last month? Have we ever played? I'm probably the only American (that I know of) playing Magic in holland

No, I haven't been in Utrecht in a while. My financial situation wont let me. I don't think we've met yet.

Personally I'm not set on Fireblast. I don't like risking drawing them in early game or having them in my opening hand. I have enough confidence in Zoo's capabilities to survive the midgame that I don't think Fireblast is really need as a finisher either.

On Gaddock Teeg. I dont know how good ANT is atm. I think I would put them in the sideboard unless ANT and other combo are still unbeatable without hate game 1.

[Grillo]

I've been using Teegs and Blasts maindeck too. It's never been a problem so far. I think Teeg is the card you have to keep maindeck if you want to lose one of them. Fireblasts I use mostly for flavor reasons.

Going back to the Big Zoo topic. I'm pretty much buying the idea. There is another big zoo in deckcheck.net (http://www.deckcheck.net/deck.php?id=36982) that made 2th place in an 81 people tournament. That's something.

I took it as a shell and I'm testing this at the moment:

// Lands
1 [U] Savannah
1 [OD] Plains (3)
1 [RAV] Forest (2)
3 [TE] Wasteland
2 [FUT] Horizon Canopy
2 [U] Plateau
2 [U] Taiga
2 [ZEN] Arid Mesa
4 [ON] Wooded Foothills
4 [ON] Windswept Heath

// Creatures
3 [ARB] Qasali Pridemage
4 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
3 [TO] Grim Lavamancer
4 [CFX] Noble Hierarch
4 [ALA] Wild Nacatl
4 [CFX] Knight of the Reliquary

// Spells
2 [LG] Sylvan Library
2 [CFX] Path to Exile
4 [4E] Swords to Plowshares
4 [RAV] Lightning Helix
2 [ALA] Ajani Vengeant
2 [ALA] Elspeth, Knight-Errant

// Sideboard
SB: 3 [TSP] Krosan Grip
SB: 2 [DK] Tormod's Crypt
SB: 2 [IA] Pyroblast
SB: 2 [4E] Red Elemental Blast
SB: 3 [LRW] Gaddock Teeg
SB: 3 [SHM] Faerie Macabre

Pretty good if you ask me. It's more of an aggro-control deck so maybe It's not even zoo any more. But it plays really well.
Wasteland has been great for me. Which is natural given the more controlish version of the deck.

Any others giving Big Zoo a try?

[Valtrix]

I still think helixes are the wrong choice. The extra 3-life is never worth the lost tempo (or instant speed over chian lightning) from costing 2-mana, in my opinion, even if it's better in the mirror.

[troopatroop]

I still think helixes are the wrong choice. The extra 3-life is never worth the lost tempo (or instant speed over chian lightning) from costing 2-mana, in my opinion, even if it's better in the mirror.

/agree. I like the Japanese list alot still, and that plays 4 Bolt and 4 Chain.

[jandax]

Perhaps legacy Big Zoo's results warrant testing. It really reminds me of the Extended season last year. Lil Zoo beating up on people then Ben Rubin makes a Big Zoo to beat up on the Lil Zoo and other stuff ready to fight lil zoo as well.

[PanderAlexander]

Disappointing that not any variant of Zoo made itop 8 in GP Columbus. Zoo was suppose to be "the" deck after mystical-banning, guess everyone was soo afraid and hated Zoo out.

[Loxodon Baileyarch]

Yay, now the wanna-be pros will pick up UB Merfolk and we can continue to thrash them.

[jandax]

Now lets be fair, Hatfield got within spitting distance of the top 8 loosing to Martell who went out in the Finals. He always puts up results with Zoo, proving that with lots of practice one can put up results in a large tournament running a tuned Zoo list. I think that tournament was for the ringers only. The top 8 had quite the pro tour experience, Nelson finishing in his third premiere top 8 of the year, Saito as well, Martell coming off of a LCQ into top 32 in San Juan, where the others may have a top 8 between them. I mean, I watched the top 8 play offs and it seems that the pro's got there on the backs of their skill, where the rest of them probably have played a bit of Legacy. Makes you really wonder how one can get through 16 rounds of a Premiere Legacy event and not know how to play against a Standstill

[FoulQ]

Hi zoo players...ready for a question? I've always wondered: how important is it for you to have graveyard hate in your sideboard? I'm contemplating cutting it, but I haven't done enough testing with the deck to really know for sure. What do you think about it?

Also, does anyone know where Hatfield's list from the GP is?

ETA: Is sylvan library good in the mirror? And is wasteland any good in lists without noble hierarch?

[PanderAlexander]

Also, does anyone know where Hatfield's list from the GP is?

Main Deck

60 cards

3 Arid Mesa
1 Forest
4 Horizon Canopy
1 Mountain
1 Plains
3 Plateau
1 Savannah
2 Taiga
3 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23 lands


4 Grim Lavamancer
1 Kird Ape
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Wild Nacatl

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21 creatures 3 Chain Lightning
2 Fireblast
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
3 Sylvan Library

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16 other spells


Sideboard

3 Choke
2 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Krosan Grip
2 Pyroblast
2 Swords to Plowshares
3 Tormod's Crypt

[jandax]

Yay, now the wanna-be pros will pick up UB Merfolk and we can continue to thrash them.

Yeah I'm kinda happy about that too. I am sure Saito's play skill carried him through that gauntlet of Zoo/Goblins. I wish Hatfield woulda made it to the Top 8. But then again, Zoo in the top 8 would have justified even more people playing it which isn't necessarily a good thing. Haters gonna hate

[Neuad]

Here's the zoo list I went to the GP with.

// Lands
3 [ON] Wooded Foothills
2 [ON] Windswept Heath
4 [ZEN] Arid Mesa
3 [R] Plateau
2 [R] Taiga
1 [R] Savannah
1 [ROE] Forest (1)
1 [ROE] Mountain (1)
1 [ROE] Plains (1)
2 [FUT] Horizon Canopy
1 [10E] Treetop Village

// Creatures
4 [ALA] Wild Nacatl
4 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [ARB] Qasali Pridemage
3 [TO] Grim Lavamancer
4 [WWK] Loam Lion
3 [CFX] Knight of the Reliquary
1 [WWK] Stoneforge Mystic

// Spells
4 [M10] Lightning Bolt
3 [CFX] Path to Exile
2 [HOP] Lightning Helix
2 [EX] Price of Progress
2 [LG] Sylvan Library
1 [BOK] Umezawa's Jitte
2 [LG] Chain Lightning

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [WWK] Stoneforge Mystic
SB: 2 [EX] Price of Progress
SB: 1 [TE] Wasteland
SB: 1 [WWK] Bojuka Bog
SB: 3 [FUT] Magus of the Moon
SB: 1 [WWK] Basilisk Collar
SB: 2 [CH] Tormod's Crypt
SB: 2 [LRW] Gaddock Teeg
SB: 2 [TSP] Krosan Grip


I did terribly but it was my first major tournement, except for a few GPT's, and made a bunch of play mistakes but I'm quite happy with the deck.

Now that I'm going back home to play before any big tournements I need to turn away from the more broad meta this deck is geared for and aim towards my own.

Our normal legacy group consists of a few Enchantresses, a few landstill. A kid ocassionally plays TES or some form of Tendrils Storm, but not often and the only other combo deck that shows up is Belcher from time to time. Any suggestions?

My initial thoughts are

-2 Helix
+2 Chains

Some enchantment hate SB aside from KGrips. A Rev silence perhaps? Or Fracturing Gust


Edit - Also to give you an idea of the direction I'd like to go, I like the idea behind Big Zoo and once Elspeth's dual deck comes out, I'm buying 1-2 and adding them in and building towards it.

I don't like Steppe Lynx, thats why they arent in there. They are good for a first turn drop IF you have a fetch, but if you start running out of fetches or have no land drop, its a dead card. . .

[jandax]

Steppe lynx is hot in the mirror and it lets you rip a land and be a hero. Coupled with KotR and a little conservative play, it is most often not a dead card. Worst case scenario is that you can throw it under the bus.

[Neuad]

Well my other thought was taking out the MB equip package and moving Jitte to SB, putting in atleast 2 Steppe Lynx, if not 4 somehow.

I'll keep my eye out and take better note of what runs around my local store but the decks I can put down for sure.

1 Countertop Thopter
2-3 Landstill
2-3 Enchantress
1 Shelldrazi
1 Belcher
1 Eva Green
1 Goblins
1 Storm Combo
1 Loam based Rock deck
1 Big Zoo, but the player sucks. I almost took him to time in the round with Goblins, and I didn't know how to play against zoo at the time so was failing miserably.

[jandax]

Well, because I run lynx speedy zoo, I have chosen to forgo the SFM package all together as it is a bit slow. If I were to switch over to the Big Zoo deck, I'd think it'd have to come back in because its a great toolbox.

[Happy Gilmore]

I think zoo was played a lot less then people think. Also, looking at the top 64 decks you will see a number of them, atleast three anyway. Anwar played it to 33, Alix to 12th and myself to 59th. I finished day one 8-1 and Alix was 8-0-1. Anwar basically won out day two like the beast he is, losing two rounds right at the end (not his fault at all).

[jandax]

Did you feel you predicted the metagame (and thus constructed your SB) appropriately? I too was somewhat surprised at the lack of Zoo. For such a consistent deck in a wide open field, maybe it's good it wasn't represented in strength.

[PanderAlexander]

I think zoo was played a lot less then people think. Also, looking at the top 64 decks you will see a number of them, atleast three anyway. Anwar played it to 33, Alix to 12th and myself to 59th. I finished day one 8-1 and Alix was 8-0-1. Anwar basically won out day two like the beast he is, losing two rounds right at the end (not his fault at all).

http://69.8.198.251/Magic/Magazine/A...pcol10/day2#1a

Zoo was basically double than any other deck (bant with the * represented new horizon, agro bant, etc).

[kiwi]

Happy Gilmore, can you put your list ? It would be interesting too see diferent zoo list with succes in the gp.

[Happy Gilmore]

I played the list that I went undefeated with in the GPT at Jupiter games.

4 Goyf
4 Loam Lion
4 Grim Lavamancer
4 Nacatyl
4 Quasali Pridemage
2 Sulfur Elemental

3 Sylvan Library
2 Fireblast
4 Path to Exile
3 Chain Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt

3 Horizon Canopy
4 Wooded Foothills
3 Windswept Heath
2 Arid Mesa
3 Taiga
2 Plateau
2 Savannah
1 Mountain
1 Forest
1 Plains

SB:
1 Eternal Witness
3 Swords To Plowshares
2 Choke
2 Pyroblast
2 Johtun Grunt
2 Bojuka Bog
3 Krosan Grip

Re: the deck statistics, I assure you that the percentage of zoo relative to the field on day 1 was surprisingly less than the day two numbers lead people to believe. One thing that can be said is that of the decks played, it easily had the best percentage of day two slots out of any deck relative to the number of zoo decks played day 1. I looked around a bit, and I think you would be surprised to find that zoo made up a smaller percentage of the field than it apears.