[Deck] Aggro Loam

[sdematt]

Before I ran Burning Wish, I ran both Terminate and Smother and Pulse and Fires and Putrefy. The deck was super strong, but you had no way to access any of your board cards. (you couldn't fetch anything).

The reason why I cut Terminate is because if you're not on Mox Diamond, you'll usually fetch for a basic Forest so you can continue to Loam. Then, with Smother, you only need any source of black to make it active. With Terminate in this case, you'd need 2 other lands. Obviously every gets to live the dream and draw Mox Diamond every game and have perfect mana, but I play against a ton of Crucible lock, 43 Lands, and a bunch of other decks where I don't get to fetch what I want when I want it.

Obviously, if you have 4 2-CMC removal slots, then run 2 and 2. If you only have 2, Smother is easier on your Manabase, but Terminate hits everything (except Iona on black, Blightsteel, and Spinx of the Steel Wind).

-Matt

[AggroSteve]

in that case wouldn't a split between terminate/smother and diabolic edict be viable?, as we allready have lots of ways to get rid of the smaller creatures with assault and fires?

also, sdmatt, i would love if you could show me your sideboard, as you are playing wishes as well, and a small introduction on your boarding plans, as i am still, lets say a noob to aggro loam and do not really know yet how and what i should board in the specific matchups

[sdematt]

I'm going to hopefully grind games for the next 10-12 hours, so I'll let you all know how it goes.

I'll also post my boarding plans when I get back, sure.

-Matt

[sdematt]

So, I noticed a few things in my playtesting.

a) I really want the second Mountain, even at the cost of the Wasteland. Allows me to run the entire deck off of a Mox, Forest, and 2 Mountains. Then, all the duals just become bonus. This is super key in making sure you maintain your tempo. Getting Wastelanded out or thrown off colour is pretty rough.

b) Countryside Crusher gets bolted if you run him out early. A lot. Crusher's super good, but I'd almost love to have another Terravore in this deck. I understand the grave-hate thing sucks, don't get me wrong. But, a resolved Terravore is game changing. Suddenly, Goyf doesn't matter. Progenitus doesn't matter. Only removal matters. Every time Terravore successfully was cast or recast, I won that game. I can't say the same for Crusher.

c) Putrefy was iffy in the non-Batterskull matchup. It was fine, but I'd almost it rather be a Terminate.

d) This deck could REALLY benefit from Entomb. Don't get me wrong, blanking Misstep is HUGE (all of my opponents today were very frustrated with useless Missteps), but Entomb allows us to grab Loam, Assault (can use Regrowth from the Wishboard to recover), Fires or Grove, a Wasteland, a Cycling land so we can Loam multiple times, Stronghold, or grab Terravore so we can recycle it. Even Worm Harvest main wouldn't be a terrible idea. 43 Lands (the black version) plays 1-2 Entombs, and I'm thinking we could do the same. Sure, Misstep becomes alive, but they won't always have the Misstep, and will allow us to use the Burning Wish board more often for non-Loam applications. Plus, they have the added conundrum: remove Missteps and let Entomb resolve/FoW it, or keep Missteps in for 1 card in the deck? Either way, both options are fine.

If I were moving towards a non-Wish build, I'd definitely sub in 2 Entombs on the spot.

Overall then, I'm thinking

1 Wasteland -> 1 Mountain
1 Crusher -> 1 Terravore (possibly)
1 Putrefy -> 1 Terminate/Entomb

Ideally, I'd love to run Terminate (for 3 pieces of 2-CMC removal) and 2 Entomb, but there's just no space.

@ AggroSteve

For my boarding plans, I usually do something like this:

Stoneblade/Jace decks
Put a Pulse in the board so you can Wish for it. Bring in Thruns, Grips, Crucibles, Grudge. I usually bring out some Countryside Crushers, 1 Pulse, 1 Dark Confidant (since they have infinite Swords), 1 Tarmogoyf, etc. In this matchup, you're usually using Assault to win, and the rest is just a distraction/your push to get there. Sometimes you get there with big dudes, but mostly, you close the game with Assault.

Zoo
Not much to board. Bring in Thruns, take bits and pieces out. Maybe take out a Crusher and a Goyf. Wish for Dreams in this matchup.

Merfolk:
Similar plan. Burn out their guys, seal the deal with big dudes. Fires is really good here.

Team America:
They can't deal with a resolved Assault, so just pump out guys. Bring in Thruns, they can't deal with them. Crucible is also fine.

Combo:
Take a break, grab lunch.

Dredge:
Take out your useless removal, bring in Grips for their possible hate.

Junk:
Bring in Thruns and Crucible, and Grip if they have Equipment. Win by Assault, usually. Bring out a few Crushers, a piece or two of removal, and the Fires if they're running only big guys. If small guys, leave them in.

NO-RUG:
This matchup is usually so good it's a joke. Fires is really good, and Assault ends them. Just nuke all their Nobles, Dryad, and Cliques with Fires, and remove their Goyfs. If they go into Progenitus, Wish for Perish. You can also race with Assault. Bring in Thruns out of the board and Crucible to combat Submerge. RUG has no Wastelands, so you should combat their Extractions with Crucible lock :)

I know it's very vague, but hope it helps!

-Matt

[sauce]

sometimes u get hands w/ seismic assault and no loam, or crusher + assault, just awkwardness.
i guess that's when you hope to topdeck devastating dreams to get rid of useless cards for at least some value?

it seems like the deck just operates very poorly w/o the namesake card.

is running 3 assaults too many? i feel like i draw it way more than i draw mox diamond :{

[sdematt]

The deck is obviously worse without Mox Diamond. But, I think you NEED 3 Assaults. I was playing with 2 for a while, and I never drew it, I always Dredged it away. 3 made sure I drew it most of my games. If I don't, I have Regrowth to get it back.

That's also why I want the Entomb: Sometimes, you just want Loam or Fires so bad.

-Matt

[ESG]

Burning Wish is superior to Entomb, being easier on your color requirement, being Misstep-proof, and allowing you to beat Extirpate and Surgical Extraction (but obviously not the rare double Extirpate). It's not even prudent to bring in Entomb in Game 2 when they board out their Missteps, because they'll probably be bringing in graveyard hate.

I found that when I ran three Seismic Assault, I drew them too early and/or too often. It's not a great draw unless you have Loam active. If you're like Matt and never draw them, then go ahead and run 3.

[sdematt]

I'm not saying you bring in Entombs, I'm saying you run it in addition to Wishes as a 1-2 of. More Loams makes Assault more attractive, and can help assemble multiple Loams if you haven't draw a Cycling land, Wasteland, Stronghold, Grove, Fires, Terravore, etc. Sure it is Misstepable, which is a bit of a concern, but if they have it, they have it. If they don't, it's good. Then, they're faced with the decision:

How many Entombs does he run? Is it worth keeping in 4 Missteps? If I keep MM in, what do I board out?

It also makes boarding decisions harder, since they now longer have 4 auto-sideout cards.

-Matt

[Antonius]

Took another one with my build. Planning to have a report written either tonight or tomorrow (got copious notes, so no risk of forgetting between now and then)

[sdematt]

Awesome. Similar/the same list?

Definitely interested to see what you faced. Keep up the good finishes!

-Matt

[sauce]

went 3-1 yesterday (small tournament).

rd1 beat UW control (2 games)
rd2 beat mono white staxx (2 games)
rd3 beat GW maverick (3 games)
rd4 vs merfolk did not ID because i thought it was a bye but lost in 3 games after i drew 3 seismic assaults and 2 mox diamonds runner runner w/ nothing to pitch to them and no way to cast any of the assaults.

pretty sure im cutting 1 assault for a grim lavamancer. i feel like seismic assault is almost always uncastable in this deck unless its like turn 17000 and is just a win more at that point.

[Antonius]

3rd (2nd?) Place @ Knight-Ware (55 players)

[soltakar]

3rd (2nd?) Place @ Knight-Ware (55 players)

Congratulations on the finish. I almost played aggro loam as well, but for some reason decided to go with buried ooze instead. Nice to see that it's still possible to do well with a non-blue deck in combo-infested LA.

[Richard Cheese]

Good report, although what's sticking with me the most is how much west coast players love weed.

[sdematt]

Why did players get DQ'd, from what you've heard?

Colluding how?

-Matt

[Setherial]

Hey guys


I'm looking for a very aggressive build with a midgame plan as well and some sort of combination between Zoo and Loam seemed like the thing. I cooked up this list and it feels good but not great yet and I would really appreciate some feedback.


Artifacts
4x Mox Diamond

Creatures
4x Steppe Lynx
4x Wild Nacatl
4x Dark Confidant
4x Tarmogoyf

Enchantments
3x Seismic Assault
2x Sylvan Library

Land (23)
1x Forest
2x Arid Mesa
1x Badlands
1x Bayou
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Forgotten Cave
2x Plateau
2x Taiga
2x Wasteland
4x Wooded Foothills

Spells
2x Dismember
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Chain Lightning
3x Life from the Loam

cheers

[Antonius]

If you're only running 23 lands, don't bother running Mox Diamond. It will only lead to awful hands and terrible self-loathing.

Also, I feel like going for a plan of straight aggression might be better with a straight Naya build. Four colors is a huge pain in the ass, even with loam, and KotR is the nuts. Plus, with Confidant out of your build, you can really go all-in an an aggression plan by running Fireblast, which is one of the best red cards ever printed, IMO.


DERP!! How could I forget: run Lavamancer. Dude is way, way good.

@SDEMatt: I'm guessing it was a prize split in exchange for concession.

[sdematt]

Went to local Legacy, and just drew like crap. Didn't get there.

But, Darkblast is good, and so is Entomb. Entomb is super greasy. Mental Misstep usually gets pitched to Force or Brainstormed back, and getting Fires/Loam/Darkblast is greasy.

-Matt

[P-AiR]

Hey guys,

Haven't really brought this deck to a tournament yet but am hoping to do so soon. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or changes in mind.

Creatures (17)
4 tarmogoyf
3 Countryside Crusher
2 Vampire Hexmage
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Dark Confidant

Removal (8)
3 Swords to Plowshares
2 Go for the Throat
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Devastating Dreams

Other (10)
1 Worm Harvest
1 Sylvan Library
4 Life from the Loam
4 Mox Diamond

Lands (25)
1 Dark Depths
1 Karakas
1 Maze of Ith
2 Wasteland
2 Tranquil Thicket
3 Forgotten Cave
1 Forest
3 Wooded Foothills
2 Verdant Catacombs
1 Marsh Flats
1 Windswept Heath
1 Badlands
1 Savannah
2 Bayou
2 Taiga
1 Plateau

Sideboard
3 Perish
4 Leyline of the Void
4 Red Elemental Blast
4 Thoughtseize

Changes I've thought of:
Vindicate: More versatile where it can be devastating in the land destruction gameplan with Loam + Wasteland + Vindicate
Volrath's Stronghold: Bring back creatures and more importantly, recur Hexmage for Dark Depths
More Wastelands: Only 2? Maybe I should up it to 4?
Too Many Creatures: Is it? Should I swap out some for removal? or draw (top?)

P

[Setherial]

If you're only running 23 lands, don't bother running Mox Diamond. It will only lead to awful hands and terrible self-loathing.

Also, I feel like going for a plan of straight aggression might be better with a straight Naya build. Four colors is a huge pain in the ass, even with loam, and KotR is the nuts. Plus, with Confidant out of your build, you can really go all-in an an aggression plan by running Fireblast, which is one of the best red cards ever printed, IMO..

Yeah, I'm a big fan of Fireblast. The manabase is dodgy, agreed, in playtesting it worked out but against decks running Hymn it's a nightmare. I can also see loosing big time to Pernicious Deed.

My primary decks right now are NO RUG (which I want a break from to be honest) and Team America which very much fits my play style. The Junk/Dark Depths build a few pages back appeals to. I think I'll try to optimize that instead of this fooling around with one drops. Chalice on one sounds nuts and is really somthing that appeals to me main deck. It creates so many dead cards.