[Deck] GW/x Maverick

[TossUsToLions]

What is the general consensus on this deck vs NO RUG? I'm going to a tournament where I expect quite a few NO RUG players to be. Is there a particular configuration that is better vs them? Typical sideboard strategies?

Thanks!

This matchup is extremely dependent on your opponent's starting hand, much more so than other matchups. We have many answers (Gaddock Teeg, StP, Mindscensor, outracing with Batterskull, etc.), but sometimes they just have the t3 NO with counter backup. A resolved t1 Lavamancer on their side with a t4 NO is also nearly impossible to beat. Just try and remove their early creatures and try and resolve a Teeg/Mindscensor. An early SFM really helps to outrace Proggy.

I have actually tested Dawnstrider a lot in this matchup, and it's actually kinda awesome. Obviously I GSZ for Teeg first, but if Proggy is already out, GSZing for a Dawnstrider can actually stall until you can outrace the hydra. I've actually won multiple games because of her. Keeping her alive is another problem, though.

[CorpT]

Is Misstep or Mother of Runes better against NO RUG?

I really like the Enlightened Tutor/Artifact/Enchantment sideboard plan as well. Teeg main for sure. Trying to sort out the correct number of Mindcensor and Qasali Pridemage now.

[Kuma]

Is Misstep or Mother of Runes better against NO RUG?

As a NO RUG player, I hate seeing Mother of Runes because if I don't kill it immediately it shuts off a huge part of my deck and makes combat nearly impossible. Each Mental Misstep stops one card. Each Mother of Runes stops many cards.

[CorpT]

As a NO RUG player, I hate seeing Mother of Runes because if I don't kill it immediately it shuts off a huge part of my deck and makes combat nearly impossible. Each Mental Misstep stops one card. Each Mother of Runes stops many cards.

That's kind of what I was thinking too. The ability to stop a Bolt or Fire/Ice on a Teeg/Mindcensor many times is a lot better than doing it once. And pushing damage through a Progenitus sounds pretty good too.

[Draener]

Should have both. Mother of runes only slightly slows down lavamancer, which is the most annoying card ever. I was thinking about testing a mortor pod as a sb against lavamancer, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[Leftconsin]

I'm not finding many cards more satisfying to counter than lavamancer.

I'm also running an E.Tutor toolbox. Runed Halo has been easy to cast and comes in for any matchup where my opponent has a small number of actual kill cards, or one big hydra that hits very hard. NO RUG also tends to not play or play very few ways to remove enchantments.

[CorpT]

Should have both. Mother of runes only slightly slows down lavamancer, which is the most annoying card ever. I was thinking about testing a mortor pod as a sb against lavamancer, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

I'm not seeing many lists up that are running both Misstep and Mother. How are you squeezing that in?

I'm not finding many cards more satisfying to counter than lavamancer.

I'm also running an E.Tutor toolbox. Runed Halo has been easy to cast and comes in for any matchup where my opponent has a small number of actual kill cards, or one big hydra that hits very hard. NO RUG also tends to not play or play very few ways to remove enchantments.

Runed Halo is a nice one. Solves a lot of problems.

[BlueNevus]

Played in a small tournament today. Observations:

Mother of Runes can win games if she resolves and lives a turn. What more can you ask of a 1-drop. I like leading out with a Hierarch to eat missteps/removal that would have dealt with Mother. 4 Misstep/4 Mother brings down the threat count too much, I think. It's one or the other, sadly.

I won a game through armageddon, humility, smokestax, crucible, and 2 ghostly prisons because of Gaea's cradle. It's rarely produces less than 1 mana, and can allow you to spew out a dominating board presence.

MD Teeg is a no brainer. Wins games. Love this card. This deck has bizarre and versatile Zenith targets for 2: Mr. Teeg, Scavenging Ooze, Scryb Ranger, & Pridemage. I like it.

I think I'm going to use Mindcensor from the SB for a while. It helps against NO and Stoneforge decks(though usually too late in the latter), but so does Mirran Crusader. An exalted or equipped Crusader attacking with protection from Goyf, Progenitus, Germs, Knight, etc. can threaten both decks. Also, this deck needs graveyard-independent threats.

Zenith for Witness is a strong play, especially in post-board games to recover countered/destroyed SB cards. Only takes up 1 spot in the deck and can be Zenithed for. Perfect.

Maze of Ith belongs in the deck as land #23. It can boarded out against a lot of decks, but it helps against many others and can be tutored for. Only 1 slot in the deck.


I didn't play Thrun, Elspeth, or Library. I might try a 1/1/1 split in the future, taking out a land, an equipment, and 1 of the rangers.

I played 23 Land, 4 EQ, Zenith/Swords, and 25 creatures. Pretty standard, pretty fun.

[Maëlig]

I'm not seeing many lists up that are running both Misstep and Mother. How are you squeezing that in?

Cut on the qasali count (down to 2) and other GSZ targets (ranger, teeg and ooze x1 MD are the only ones you can't go without imo), as well as sylvan library. Replace maze by tower of magistrate, which allows you to get away with 21 lands. Keep the 3 mindcensor MD, they're so good. That's what I'm doing at least.

[Fatal]

I just won today GPT Amsterdam

5 rounds:

Enchantress 2-0 - Won by tempo fetching both Pridemages, sided Serenity but never draw it, also used correct Bojuka Bog
BUG Control 2-0 - Life from the Loam won that Match, on second game I ended game with Jace with 9 counters. Blow up all green sources, and exiling GY to avoid loam with bojuka played from hand.
Merfolks 2-1 - one game he won on play having 2 Dismembers, 1 Submerge, Vial, MM, and 4 lords and Mutavault.
Aggro Bant 2-0 - this game was like mirror, but manabase was on my side, he ended game with one land in play.
Team America ID

Top8:
Merfolks 2-0 - Ended game with 7 cards on hand and crushing board position
Sneak Attack 2-0 - This game was really a horror, I won race against Emrakul without Karakas/KotR on table, and second game I won race against progenitus after Emrakul from sneak attack
Turbo Zoo 2-1 Ended game on one life, defending myself by hardcasting MM to Bolt.

List:

4 Noble Hierarch
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Scryb Ranger
2 Qasali Pridemage
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Eternal Witness
4 Wasteland
4 Windswept Heath
1 Horizon Canopy
3 Savannah
2 Forest
1 Plains
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Karakas
1 Tropical Island
1 Terravore
4 Mental Misstep
1 Maze of Ith
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Tarmogoyf
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Batterskull
1 Rafiq of the Many
2 Aven Mindcensor

// SB
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Tormod's Crypt
2 Wing Shards
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Submerge
2 Life from the Loam
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Serenity
1 Ethersworn Canonist

[TossUsToLions]

Well there goes the question of whether or not we should be running Mental Misstep. Makes my decision a lot easier now...

What does everyone think of Terrravore lately? I don't feel like he is needed with 4 knights and a bajillion other threats, but he is really good in the Knight mirrors.

[Fatal]

Back to Mother of Runes probably and Gaddock MD.

[Grizzly_Bear]

Except for Combo, I also think that one start worrying about counterbalance again. That leads me to question whether it might be a good idea to go back to the vial-builds from Mavericks youth.

This was the latest vial-build I played, approx. winter 2010/2011:

1 Eternal Witness
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Mother of Runes
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Qasali Pridemage
2 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Serra Avenger
4 Tarmogoyf
ENCHANTMENTS (2)
2 Sylvan Library
INSTANTS (4)
4 Swords to Plowshares
ARTIFACTS (6)
4 Aether Vial
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
LANDS (22)
1 Bojuka Bog
3 Forest
1 Plains
3 Horizon Canopy
1 Karakas
1 Mishra’s Factory
2 Savannah
1 Bayou
4 Wasteland
4 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills

SB depending on meta.

Granted, it might be that GSZ-builds will have CBtop decks largely under control due to the diverse cmc of our threats, but if not, I used to crush any and all countermagic-decks with this list.
What are your thoughts? Anyone still playing GW vial, with our without wayfarer?

[Fatal]

I wouldn't fear CB since GSZ dodge lock and can fetch pridemage to break it.

[Maëlig]

Yeah the return of storm combo is a much bigger worry for us than CB-top. There's not much to do about it unfortunately. I think maverick will take a big hit from the metagame shift.

[DragoFireheart]

Thank you for the insightful post. It really helped to further the discussion of improving the deck. I also like how you quoted me in your post, because your response was very relevant to question that I was asking the Maverick players on this site.

You're asking about running Terravore when you should be worrying about whether to want throw the combo matchups or not.

[Koby]

Without MM I would say to port the deck to 3C Bant Aggro, trimming some of the subpar cards (and consistency), to include Daze and Spell Pierce.

[Asthereal]

No I'd recommend switching to Dark Horizons, spalshing black for discard, Confidants and Vindicate. That seems a lot stronger. Daze can be played around and Spell Pierces will just get Duressed. This deck is all about the initiative, and discarding key cards first and then attacking with big dudes sounds more like the way to go.

But for those who want to stick to the original deck:

Main board:
3 Aven Mindcensor
1 Gaddock Teeg
(and 4 Zenith obviously)

Sideboard:
2 Entlightened Tutor
1 Aethersworn Canonist
1 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Choke
1 Tormod's Crypt
3 Mindbreak Trap

This is what I'm trying right now.
Not that I'm winning everything, no way, but auto loss versus the most played deck in my meta seems bad. :P

[TossUsToLions]

Stony Silence/Null Rod are also good E.Tutor bullets against storm. But I wouldn't worry about storm too much (just yet). Give the format some time to react to the bannings before we speculate too much. Most metas didn't even have much storm in their metas in the pre-MM era. If it does get really popular, CB will get big again and GSZ just destroys CB. And there are options, like you guys said, of splashing other colors.

Has anyone actually tried a black splash yet? I've been thinking about it for the last few days, and it seems quite interesting. Bob + light discard and maybe Vindicate/Pulse package seem pretty good.

[Fatal]

Confidants, Thoughtseize/Hymn yes, but mostly it was inconsistant like Junk - just better play Junk.