[Deck] GW/x Maverick

[Esper3k]

Weird, I read that article just this morning off a link on another website.

I thought both the Canadian lists and the Maverick lists were pretty bad, but I think the matchup is favorable for us anyways (since you know, we prey on the non-combo blue decks).

[bakofried]

I'm wondering how one should go about building Maverick specifically for the SCG Open/Invitational Circuit, out of curiosity.

[Philipp2293]

Gear your MD towards beating U reliably, and have enough hate for Reanimator and Dredge (!) in the SB would be your best bets IMO. Maybe you can bet on dodging your combo MUs and gear your deck more towards the above mentioned MUs.

[Julian23]

One of the best sb cards in the current meta is Surgical Extraction. Most people I know already run 3-4. Actually, I think this deck has a positive matchup against anything that doesn't play Show and Tell. However, I'm far more concerned about the mirror than about anything else. It all comes down to untapping with as many Mother of Runes as possible, which I don't really like. Oh, and Aven Mindcensor, of course.

[Koby]

I'm wondering how one should go about building Maverick specifically for the SCG Open/Invitational Circuit, out of curiosity.

My thought process going in Vegas:
1) Expect blue (and tons of it)
2) Expect Burn (since Arizona players love to cast Lava Spike) - this one was regional
3) Expect Combo (regional again, and this includes Reanimator)

Based on those three conditions, I reasoned that I wanted extra Ooze, both to see more copies as well as still have one after removal.

I was also expecting a fair amount of SFM decks, and wanted several copies of Qasali Pridemage. Aside from that, just maximize the amount of good cards in general (KotR, Mom, etc)

[from Cairo]

I think the match really comes down to whether or not Tempo has turn 1 Delver (or even turn 2/3 delvers back to back).

Discuss.

Totally agree, Mav definitely has inevitability in this match up. Tempo needs an evasive clock and some disruption to stunt the board long enough to get there. Post board things like Submerge/Gut Shot (on Noble), or Rough//Tumble can be a beating, but in general if they're not applying pressure, Mav can slow roll.

One of the best sb cards in the current meta is Surgical Extraction. Most people I know already run 3-4. Actually, I think this deck has a positive matchup against anything that doesn't play Show and Tell. However, I'm far more concerned about the mirror than about anything else. It all comes down to untapping with as many Mother of Runes as possible, which I don't really like. Oh, and Aven Mindcensor, of course.

Surgical's definitely good, but this seems like a poor shell to use it in. Assuming GSZ and ETutor I think our hate is better accessed as a non-Instant. I've been happy with Scavenging Ooze and a Tormod's - facing Dredge, Reanimator and Snapcaster.dec.

I totally agree with the Show and Tell point. Faced off against that last week and managed to race a Progenitus once with Knight + Jitte, but it slapped me around the 2nd game and Emrakul got there game 3. Emrakul in general I'm less worried about, with Knight and Karakas we have some game against it, Progenitus not so much. I'm open to suggestions on outs, maybe Tariff, Retribution of the Meek or Topple - they're pretty narrow though. Kind of just hoping to dodge this match tbh.

In terms of fighting the mirror - if one is seeing alot of GW and UW Stoneblade, I think subbing the MD Batterskull w/ Sword of Light and Shadow can be pretty clutch. Giving dudes pro-Swords/Knight is a huge boost. The 2nd Scryb Ranger is also fire in conjunction with our tap-utility guys.

[Derayler]

I really think that here in the States the GW version is better where in Europe the red splash is strong with Punishing Fire to give you the edge in the mirror.

[Esper3k]

Against Progenitus, Phyrexian Metamorph / Ensnaring Bridge from the board works just fine. Both also double as hate against Reanimator as well.

[Water_Wizard]

Also, the Hatfields put together a compilation of the last 5 SCG events, and the most relevant information about Maverick from that article:

"Another one of those decks is G/W Maverick, which had a strong win percentage that gets much stronger if you limit your attention to generic lists [GW strictly - rukcus]. Those seven players won more than 58% of their matches."

Linky: Too Much Info by the Hatfields [starcitygames.com]

Discuss.

This quote only relates to the Vegas tournament (not Kansas City, Baltimore, Nashville or Indy). However, with the exception of Nashville, G/W Maverick actually did better than the above quoted statistic. Consider this:
Indy - 7 Pilots - 27-17-3 - Win % 60.64
Nashville - 2 Pilots (1 Generic (2-3) / 1 Taxes (3-4) ) combined Win % 41.67
Baltimore - 6 Pilots - 26-16-1 - Win % 61.63
Kansas City - 1 Pilot - 5-1-2 - Win % 75.00
Las Vegas - 9 Pilots - (7 Generic (27-19-1) / 1 +R (3-4) / 1 Birthing Pod (2-5-1) combined win % 53.23 (generic only 58.51)

I don't think we can rule out "non-generic" Maverick lists, as we only have a very small sample size (1 +R player out of 5 tournaments). If we look at Amsterdam, +R Mav did very well, for granted Europe is a different meta, but Americans played in Amsterdam as well.
Looking at the results from Indy, Baltimore, Kansas and Vegas, Maverick has almost a 60% win rate, which is great!
In dealing with any sample size this small, we have to account for variation. For example, did Maverick really get crushed in Nashville, or was it two inexperienced pilots, some bad match-ups or some bad luck (or a combination of all three?)
For example, our own ruckus piloted his Maverick deck to 7-2 in Vegas. What if ruckus plays another deck - all of a sudden, Mav drops to 20-17-1 - not as impressive. Furthermore, if ruckus played one of this Mav players with his other deck and wins, we're looking even lower (19-18-1 or 18-19-1). All I'm saying is that, while 5 tournaments sounds like a lot, statistically, it is still very small and prone to variance. It's the best we've got and it shows Maverick is a great deck versus the field and a contender.
The Hatfield's article predicts RUG Tempo and U/W Stoneblade are going to be popular in Charlotte - I think a red splash is nice against blue decks.

[Water_Wizard]

Emrakul in general I'm less worried about, with Knight and Karakas we have some game against it, Progenitus not so much. I'm open to suggestions on outs, maybe Tariff, Retribution of the Meek or Topple - they're pretty narrow though. Kind of just hoping to dodge this match tbh.

I don't think Topple works - it targets and we can't target either Progenitus or Emrakul with a colored spell. Ensnaring Bridge works for me. Fits well in the tutor package and I don't think Show and Tell decks are going to be siding in lots of artifact hate. Metamorph is nice, but it's 1 and done. I also run the added benefits of Pyroblasts, so I have some chances to stop S&T in it's tracks.

[Koby]

In terms of fighting the mirror - if one is seeing alot of GW and UW Stoneblade, I think subbing the MD Batterskull w/ Sword of Light and Shadow can be pretty clutch. Giving dudes pro-Swords/Knight is a huge boost. The 2nd Scryb Ranger is also fire in conjunction with our tap-utility guys.

I really think that here in the States the GW version is better where in Europe the red splash is strong with Punishing Fire to give you the edge in the mirror.

If we look at Amsterdam, +R Mav did very well, for granted Europe is a different meta, but Americans played in Amsterdam as well.
Looking at the results from Indy, Baltimore, Kansas and Vegas, Maverick has almost a 60% win rate, which is great!

The Hatfield's article predicts RUG Tempo and U/W Stoneblade are going to be popular in Charlotte - I think a red splash is nice against blue decks.

Against Tempo, I agree that Red is useful (but not necessarily needed unless something goes horribly wrong). I do agree with the trend, that the more W/x mid-ranged there is, the better Punishing Fires becomes. For the American metagame, GW should be robust enough to handle most low-threat Aggro-control decks, and still have enough tools to combat turn 3/4 combo decks as well.

If there's anything to gain from the performance at St Louis - play tight and think about plays for at least 2 seconds before you make them. Also, Gaddock Teeg is something worth protecting.

[Water_Wizard]

http://www.channelfireball.com/home/...s-gw-maverick/

LSV pilots RUG Tempo vs. GW Maverick. I haven't watched the videos, but from the comments, he says he got murdered.

[Patrunkenphat7]

GWr Maverick just beat UW Blade on SCG Invitational coverage. UW player punted when he Pathed the Mav's Hierarch during his mainphase (he thought Mindcensor effect was both players...). The Mav player then followed up with a Teeg that left the UW player with a dead Wrath in hand.

[BlackStarDeceiver]

Funny as always to see the people talk crap and tweet about this deck just because it doesn't use Brainstorm and meanwhile they recognize that this GW Zoo pile just won against their UW Blade Baby ;)

[Patrunkenphat7]

Funny as always to see the people talk crap and tweet about this deck just because it doesn't use Brainstorm and meanwhile they recognize that this GW Zoo pile just won against their UW Blade Baby ;)

Haha hellz yes. I love Brainstorm just as much as the next Legacy guy, but this deck lays the smackdown on the tier 1 blue strategies.

[BlackStarDeceiver]

I mean i love blue, but it is indeed pretty embarassing to dismiss every nonblue deck without knowing what it actually does, how it works and how it is played. Just because a bunch of people failed at SCG before makes the deck bad ^^

[bakofried]

So....Gerry Thompson is playing GWr Maverick at the Invitational. Interesting.

[Rizso]

Gerry Thompson and michael Jacob are 4-0 each after the legacy portion of SCGI with GW-Maverick with Punishing Fire.

[Koby]

Damn I slept through the earlier rounds, I'll have to check it out when the archives goes up.

I never would have thought that GerryT plays a deck w/o Brainstorm...

[from Cairo]

Damn I slept through the earlier rounds, I'll have to check it out when the archives goes up.

I never would have thought that GerryT plays a deck w/o Brainstorm...

He played GWb Survival at the SCG opens last year when it was the best deck. I'd guess like most pros they favor decks that give them choices/opportunities to outplay opponents (generally Blue based) but will delve into non-Blue when it's clearly well positioned.