[Deck] The Rock

[Qweerios]

I have been tweaking with Birds and Moxes a lot lately and concluded that the birds were superior to moxes in most situations. Here's the list I intend to play tonight:


Creatures (14)
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Gaddock Teeg
4 Knight of the Reliquary

Instant/Sorcery (14)
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Thoughtseize
2 Maelstrom Pulse

Artifact/Enchantment/Planeswalker (10)
2 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Batterskull
3 Phyrexian Arena
3 Liliana of the Veil

Lands (22)
3 Wasteland
1 Maze of Ith
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Karakas
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Windswept Heath
3 Bayou
1 Savannah
1 Scrubland
1 Forest
1 Swamp
1 Plains

Sideboard (15)
3 Surgical Extraction
1 Darkblast
2 Zealous Persecution
2 Gerrard's Verdict
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Choke
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Scavenging Ooze


I opted for SoFI instead of Jitte because I now have 4 flying birds and no more Bobs to carry Jitte. Arena is much better than Bob at drawing, and that's what I aimed for.

[Qweerios]

I took 2nd place at a local tournament with the deck listed above.

2-0 UR Delver
2-1 12 Post
2-0 ANT
1-2 Pox

The turn two Arenas/Lilianas I landed were incredible.

[damionblackgear]

Congrats on the outcome. I can only imagine how much fun the T2 Arena would be. It's been a long time since I played with the card.

You had a lot of Card advantage available to you. I'm curious as to what happened with the Pox matchup. If you still remember (sorry it took so long, I was trying to let other people comment), what happened?

[lavafrogg]

With no tarmogoyf, recursion or counters, it is really no suprise he lost to pox. They use liliana better than rock. Any none of rocks creatures can stick:( His list is super threat light also:/

[sdematt]

Played in a small 6-man yesterday and went 1-2. My list was the list posted a while back:

4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Marsh Flats
1 Windswept Heath
1 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Plains
3 Wasteland
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Karakas
1 Maze of Ith
3 Bayou
2 Scrubland
1 Savannah

3 Tarmogoyf
4 Knight of the Reliquary
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Qasali Pridemage
4 Dark Confidant

3 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Maelstorm Pulse
2 Sylvan Library
2 Sensei's Top
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Life from the Loam
1 Garruk Relentless
3 Green Sun's Zenith

--BOARD--

2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Pernicious Deed
2 Dread of Night
3 Surgical Extraction
1 Perish
1 Duress
2 Choke
2 Tariff


The report won't go into boarding details, just generalities, since I'm writing an essay at the same time :P


Round 1: Alex with BR Goblins

The matchup is pretty straightforward. I rip apart hand, muck all his guys, stay online at 1 life with deathtouch Wolves and Knights. Boom.

Game 2, he Extirpates away some of my removal pieces, but he's also stuck on Waste, Waste, Port, Badlands. I muck his Badlands, and I get Ported a bit, but he can't afford to Waste aggressively. I stick double Dark Confidant against a hand of triple Perish and go all the way.

Round 2: Edward with Esper Delver

Game 1, Edward mulls to 5 and I run out everything I'm supposed to. He's holding 2 Stifles that never interact.

Game 2, I keep a land-heavy hand against a Stifle based deck. Turns out, I didn't need to, and I only draw more lands. I lose.

Game 3, it's a tight race back and forth, and he manages to stick Double Delver, Double SFM. I make him discard Batterskull, but he also has Sword of Feast and Famine. I draw lands 5 turns in a row with 4 lands already in plat and an Ooze. I slowly die. Boo. Drawing EE, Deed, or a STP at any point was a win, here.

Round 3: Dan with Sneak and Show

Game 1, I keep a hand with Knight of the Reliquary, but I don't run it out turn 3 (a mistake), since the rest of my hand was non-Show and Tell-able. I wanted something to put in off of it. On the next turn, he SnT into Sneak Attack and Emrakul's me. Wouldn't have mattered

Game 2, I rip apart his hand with discard and get him to one life with Sneak Attack on board. However, he landed Cursed Totem, so I couldn't GSZ for Pridemage to blow it up. He's at 1 after I Dredge Loam to put instant in the yard for Goyf, but instant doesn't show. He topdecks Emrakul, and I'm at 13. If I were at 16, I stockpiled lands and stuff to beat him

All in all, I'm okay with how I did. Few actual play mistake, more my deck bricking at the wrong time. Oh well.

-Matt

[Mirrislegend]

I played in 12-man last night. Went something like this:

Round 1 - W - Nic Fit:
I run 4 basics, so Veteran Explorer made me awesome.
G1) Powering out better beaters than his utility dudes
G2) Teeg shuts off his Birthing Pod and GSZs. I let Teeg die so I can double GSZ in one turn. He plays the Pod he's been holding in his hand, but it fails to save him

R2 - W - RUG Delver:
G1) Don't remember. Either Knights, Stoneforge, and/or Lingering Souls got there
G2) Narrow loss on minor misplays
G3) See game 1, plus Kitchen Finks and Choke

R3 - W - RUG Delver:
G1) This was a silly game, if I remember correctly. Mull to 5. Try multiple times to stick a threat. Make a fairly healthy sized misplay in the process. Eventually stick something, put Sword of Fire and Ice on it, and profit for the win. This is only the second time SoFI was ever good for me. I think it's time to change to SoLS.
G2) I had a slow start (nothing unusual about that) AND couldn't hit my third land. He put one Goose on the board, he spent the rest of the game LftLing Wasteland to lock me out.
G3) I believe Lingering Souls got there this game

R4 - ID - http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/dec...2&iddeck=60193

T4 split for 30 bux in credit.

My turn 1 kinda sucks, but otherwise the deck has been amazing to me. But I'd like some advice for the SB. I believe I'm completely unprepared for Sneak and Show, and under prepared for Reanimator. Can I get some suggestions (including what to cut)? Current SB:

2 Kitchen Finks
1 Path to Exile
2 Gaddock Teeg
3 Zealous Inquisition
4 Surgical Extraction
3 Choke

Also, random thought I'd like to hear some thoughts on:
Anyone tried Terravore? The trample is amazing against the current metagame. And he easily outsized Knight of the Reliquary

[damionblackgear]

lavafrogg, I just wanted to know if It was on a misplay or if it was the build.

Matt, tough breaks on the draws. How could you adjust the build to make it more consistent?

Mirrislegend, What's you list. I went back about 4 or so pages and didn't see it listed. I'd make sideboard adjustment suggestions but I'd like to look at the whole thing before I make any comments.

[sdematt]

I mean, I should have mulled the Dark Confidant, Sylvan, 5 land hand, but I didn't. I figured i've got this many, he's on mana denial, I'm good. Not the case.

In terms of consistency, I think it was just a fluke. I'm playing 8 slots of card draw, so I think it's fine. I've been loving the split, though. 2/2/4 Top/Library/Bob has been stellar.

-Matt

[lavafrogg]

Daimon- sorry about that! It looks like a deck loss that play mistakes. For the reasons I mentioned, he should have a hard time with pox, just like we all have a hard time against quinn(which I learned tonight)...

[damionblackgear]

Frogg, No worries. I didn't actually realize how threat light he was until you mentioned it. As far as Quinn... Thankfully that deck isn't very popular. Most of us can't beat an active Scepter w/ Chant without already having a Deed or Pridemage active.

Matt, I don't know if I'd ditch that hand against many decks. Then the hand is a bit slower and reliant on your drawing well form those cards (which should be pretty high if they land). All of that being said, I've convinced myself that you should probably mulligan the hand just because you're not interacting in any way (Defensively or aggressively) and you're not on the board until 2 at the earliest.

[Qweerios]

The first pox match was completely 1 sided: T1 IoK takes my SFM, T2 Hymn hits my lands, T3 Sinkhole + Wasteland, then Liliana + Cursed Scroll + 2 Mishras against my empty board, we moved on to G2...

I took G2 because I was on the play with a bird and followed with a Top, then found an Arena (Arena > Pox). I proceeded to drown my opponent with Knights and draws. I used to play Compost at some point when Pox was the flavor of the month and there is something incredibly unfair about drawing 2 cards per turn against them.

G3 was extremely close but I lost it by 1 life. My lands and creatures were getting nuked every turn, I had an aswer for most of my opponents threats except for a very annoying Cursed Scroll (the second one). I eventually landed an Arena but a little too late (11ish life), losing the match by 1 turn as I landed Bskull the turn before I died.

After the matches, I realized that I sideboarded terribly:
-2 StP, -1 Teeg, -1 SFM, -1 SoFI
+2 Verdict, +2 Thalia, +1 Ooze

When I should have done:
-3 Liliana, -1 Teeg, -1 SoFI

-StP is an excellent and cheap answer to 6/8 win cons in Pox
-Liliana is worthless here as my opponent gently pointed out
-SFM generates CA and must be answered immediatly

Also, half of this matchup is determined by the die roll...

[sdematt]

-Matt

[Mirrislegend]

-Matt

Hymn to Tourach MD, in addition to typical discard, plus SB options, should handle combo nicely. My list works as an example for this, and for reference (here you go, daimon)

4 Dark Confidant
3 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Tarmogoyf
4 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Lingering Souls (CRUSHES Pox)

2 Thoughtseize
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Jitte
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Batterskull
2 GSZ
1 SDT
1 Sylv Library

23 Land
4 (3) Verdant Catacombs
3 (4) Marsh Flats
1 Windswept Heath
2 Bayou
2 Scrubland
2 Savannah
2 Swamp
1 Plains
1 Forest
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Karakas
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Maze of Ith
1 Wasteland

SB:
2 Kitchen Finks (Burn, U/R Delver, RUG, generic aggro)
1 Path to Exile (same Finks, plus Reanimator, Maverick)
2 Gaddock Teeg (combo, control, Dredge, Nic Fit)
3 Zealous Inquisition (true creature aggro like Goblins, Elves. Also LSouls and just crushes Maverick)
4 Surgical Extraction (combo, Reanimator)
3 Choke (Stoneforge, RUG if I'm on the play, any other Blue based control)

The obvious flaw in my deck is my turn 1 options. I can't seem to fit in Birds and I cannot get my paws on Mox Diamond. I'd like a 5th 1CMC discard spell too. Also, the empty turn one isn't TOO bad, because I don't have Scrublands, so I can fetch Godless Shrine for no pain turn one (I feel so scrubby admitting that).

Otherwise the deck runs super smooth, with tons of options and routes to victory.

[sdematt]

I just wanted to post the meme. I think the deck looks pretty interesting.

I plan on going to a tournament tomorrow fora Black Lotus, I'm just not sure I want to bring Junk with the near infinite Sneak and Show that will be present.

Unforts, I may have to opt for Vendilion Cliques and Gilded Drakes...

-Matt

[damionblackgear]

SB:
2 Kitchen Finks (Burn, U/R Delver, RUG, generic aggro)
1 Path to Exile (same Finks, plus Reanimator, Maverick)
2 Gaddock Teeg (combo, control, Dredge, Nic Fit)
3 Zealous Inquisition (true creature aggro like Goblins, Elves. Also LSouls and just crushes Maverick)
4 Surgical Extraction (combo, Reanimator)
3 Choke (Stoneforge, RUG if I'm on the play, any other Blue based control)

The obvious flaw in my deck is my turn 1 options. I can't seem to fit in Birds and I cannot get my paws on Mox Diamond. I'd like a 5th 1CMC discard spell too. Also, the empty turn one isn't TOO bad, because I don't have Scrublands, so I can fetch Godless Shrine for no pain turn one (I feel so scrubby admitting that).

Otherwise the deck runs super smooth, with tons of options and routes to victory.

Sorry for the delay. You're kind of right. You aren't exactly hurting on turn 1 plays but, it's not a multitude of options (you actually have 11).

As for are your board...

You don't have anything outside of Pridemage to deal with enchantments/artifacts. That may be something to look into. Two Teegs is something i've been considering lately (since the combo decks seem to be soft to a Teeg more than the other hatebears. It is also helpful against Miracle Whip.

I would switch your board to this:

2 Kitchen Finks
1 Thoughtseize (Slowing Combo is easier with more discard)
1 Path to Exile
1 Spore Frog (Kills bridges and stops attacks)
2 Gaddock Teeg
2 Pernicious Deed/Maelstrom Pulse/Engineered Explosives (Can do the same thing as Zealous Persecution - I think that's the card you meant - as well as hit artifacts/enchantments)
3 Surgical Extraction (You should have enough Graveyard hate)
3 Choke

-----

Matt, isn't Sneak Show more of a reason to run this or Bug? The discard is something that people heavily overlook. Counters aren't as useful if you have to keep 4 cards in hand but, when you can make them either discard their counters or their threats, you don't care.

Either way, the tournament has past. How'd it go?

[sdematt]

I didn't end up going due to essay writing and everyone else bugging out. As much as Magic is, it's not quite as fun when you go down in a car, driving alone for 2 hours.

True, the discard is great, but sometimes, topdecks suck

-Matt

[Qweerios]

I took first place at a local event with the following list:


Creatures (14)
2 Birds of Paradise
2 Noble Hierarch
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Gaddock Teeg
4 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Stoneforge Mystic

Instant/Sorcery (16)
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Thoughtseize
2 Lingering Souls
2 Maelstrom Pulse

Others (8)
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Batterskull
2 Sensei's Divining Top
2 Phyrexian Arena
2 Liliana of the Veil

Lands (22)
4 Wasteland
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Karakas
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Windswept Heath
3 Bayou
1 Savannah
1 Scrubland
1 Forest
1 Swamp
1 Plains

Sideboard (15)
3 Surgical Extraction
1 Darkblast
2 Zealous Persecution
2 Gerrard's Verdict
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Choke
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Scavenging Ooze


2-1 Pox
1-1-1 Fauna Maverick (went to time and I needed 1 more turn to win)
2-1 Merfolk
2-1 Hive Mind

I am not a fan of Bojuka Bog at all. Aside from nuking a KotR in a standstill or making a T2 KotR a good play against Dredge, I really don't like having a monoblack, nonbasic, tap-land in my 3-colored deck. Even as a sideboard card I find Bog to be lacking when compared to another Ooze. I am also considering to cut Timely altogether because it never really fully kicks in and doesn't apply to very many matchups. I prefer Kitchen Finks in that spot because he can be fetched via GSZ. Darkblast isn't necessary with 2 Persecutions, it amounts to 2 cards devoted almost entirely to Maverick already. The next time I play the deck I will have a Maze instead of the 4th Wasteland as I now have won enough store credit to afford one. I am also looking for Birds to replace those Hierarchs... The T1 basic Forest into Birds followed by T2 Swamp/Dual into Lily/Arena is too strong. Birds and Souls also just plow through maverick with SoFI.

[damionblackgear]

Matt, Good call. Long lonely drives suck. I would've still made mine to Wisconsin (But I would've been super happy I did on the way home).

Qw - (Oh yeah, you're getting a nickname ) Good job on the finish. While I don't agree with you regarding the Bog (especially since I can typically just ditch it to a mox or avoid is when need be) I do agree with you regarding Timely.

I went down to 1 (which had me with an open space that I've been looking into) until I finally decided to replace it with Pulse of the Fields. I figure that we still need the life and from what I've seen, 2 life isn't enough.

Right now I've got Souls listed as the last card in the board but I don't really like the idea. Other cards I've been tossing around: Trolls (Thrun and Acetic), Witness, Finks, Sylvan Sagekeeper (very small amount of thought), Vindicate, EE, Deed, Elspeth (small), 3rd Lili, Discard... A bunch of things. I've actually even looked into Bind as a joke for the Grislebrand issue everyone's talking about.

[Neffy]

Qweerios i like your deck build, especially since im in almost the same situation with the CMC 1s and Mox Diamonds that i cant aquire..

How did Phyrexian Arena work for you and did you miss Dark Confidant at any point?

EDIT: and is there a reason for running 2 Tops when not using DC?

Also a general question to everybody here; isnt SOLAS better that SOFI in most cases? I mean.. No one practically ever target creatures with blue cards and red is mostly good against UR delver and burn? SOLAS on the other hand gives immunity to Plowshares, souls, knights and what not - what do you guys think?
I quess it comes down to the meta in the end.

Thanks anyway - great thread!

[Thorondor]

I also like qws decklist, but I would never cut the dark confidants and mox diamonds, it's what makes rock so fun to play.

"greatness at any cost!" yeaaaah

and

mox diamonds fixing mana so often and making awesome 1 turn plays possible.