[Deck] Death and Taxes

[overseer1234]

If you get paired against elves there's a number of things you can do to slow them down and hope you get jitte active in time.

Plow their 1-drop and port their land (they are very low on land so keeping it under port is very effective), wastelanding their zenith into dryad arbor also works.

Revoker the "tap 3 elves: ad GGG....) is pretty good, as is revokering their symbiote. (plowing these things also works pretty good).

G2 Ethersworn canonist is also pretty good if you have mom out.

And if they still play summoners pact you could try to steal some wins by plowing the mana lord they usualy need the first 2-3 turns to make them unable to pay for the upkeep... (I know this one's a really bad way of winning, but simply trying to "do" some "stuff" like porting and plowing in their next upkeep may result in them just forgetting to pay for the pact...)

There's probably other stuff that you could do, but these are the things everybody can pull off. If you have more removal post board this also gets easier, and if you really fear elves try an engineered explosives for your E-tutor sideboard.

Just my 2 cents.

[joemauer]

G2 Ethersworn canonist is also pretty good if you have mom out.

Elves likes to side in Natural Order/ Progenitus to circumvent this.

[Penguinizer]

You could always consider running Metamorph as a SB card for this occasion. You can side it in just in case.

[Finn]

Yes, you could. But that is almost dedicated hate. Right now there are not a lot of Progeniti and Emrakuls floating around in the meta. I would prefer a more elegant solution, but I bet there are none to be had. I have struggled with this matchup enough to see that the real problem is not going to be solved with some silver bullets. Elves is too diverse and agile for that. it would take something close to a fundamental shift in D+T to a more combat-oriented build. Naturally that would nerf the deck's positive matchups against so many other decks that it is not worth it. Even if Elves became a DTB, I think I would still not get behind such a change. I think this will always be a bad matchup.

[Barbed Blightning]

Well, there is Holy Light...

If Elves became DTB, I'd go back to playing Cataclysm. That said, Elves will never go DTB.

[Curby]

Some folks have been experimenting with Crawlspace and Ensnaring Bridge as well. These tools have the additional benefits of helping against Reanimator and Dredge, and are fetchable with tutors.

[Barbed Blightning]

Hey, made top 16 at Jupiter's NELC--11th place to be exact, with a record of 4-1-1. The rundown:

1st Round: D&T

First time playing the mirror match for me, and it's against Fry--he posts here intermittently. He runs Arbiters and Crusaders over Grunts and Avengers respectively. Our first game was a bit of a mutual derp--he played stoneforge and fetched a SoLaS with arbiter in play but only 1 mana untapped. I caught this the turn after (I was preoccupied with my Thalia) when I went to tap down his plains. He admits that he forgot himself, and we call a judge. The judge sympathizes with me, but too much time has passed, and even though I propose shuffling the sword back in, it's for naught. Ultimately, Fry gets me with a Mangara lock both games, and I can't find an out.

0-1

2nd Round: Bant

Next is my friend visiting for grad week. We drove up together and brewed up a Bant list for him to play, though he usually rocks Elves. Not much to report here, both games Mangara locked him down.

1-1

3rd Round: Painted Stone

Next I play Dan Bergquist, the owner of Mythic Games in Elmira, NY. I'm familiar with this matchup, since we play between rounds there, and usually I grind him out. Game one I find everything I need: revoker on grindstone, Jotun Grunt to prevent milling, flickerwisps and wastes for basically everything. I beat him down and we go to game two, in which I bring Null Rod, 2 Revokers, Aura of Silence, Wheel of Sun and Moon, and E Tutors, disposing of SoFI, 2 Stoneforge, 3 Avengers and 3 Thalia. He kills me on turn two, before I can do anything about it. Game three is a twenty minute grind, but I eventually land a grunt, revoker and SFM with a jitte. Note on this matchup: Spellskite is a nightmare. consider is a great revoker target past Grindstone.

2-1

4th Round: High Tide

Three turns in and all he plays is islands, while I run out vial, Mom, SFM, SoFI. The second he brainstorms, my spidey-sense tingles and I realize it's high tide--too late. I beat him down to 6 with an avenger/sofi, but he goes off. Soooo in goes the combo hate (thalia, revoker, canonist all 4 tutors) and wheel, out goes STP, Mangaras and Avengers. Game two is epic. Thalia slows him, while Grunt and Avenger provide supplemental beats. He complains that his math got ten times more difficult, but I just shrug. He's obviously stressing, and he wastes two bounce spells (echoing truth on thalia, mom protects, then wipe away.) He then goes off, milling me with Brain Freeze again. "Okay, my turn?" I ask. He doesn't know what to say, turnabouts, and I ask him again. He finally passes, saying "I'm not sure what you're going to do..." to which I say "grunt triggers?" And cherry pick my yard. Then, since he was at 6 again, I stomp him out. Game three is a riot: Canonist, Thalia, SFM->SoFI, then equip the canonist. Easy mode.

3-1

5th Round: "Top Deck Hero"

Well, it was bound to happen: MiracleTop. UW, with Terminus and Temporal Mastery, with Mindsculptors and Geist. Game one he basically durdles for a few turns. My biggest mistake: not porting his plains, when he had 3 islands, allowing him to Terminus my SFM/Thalia board. I guess I was waiting for a Counterbalance, but he didn't pack any. I switch out grunts for Revokers and another thalia. Game two, more thumb-sitting from him, as he uses the mastery as a Think Twice. I see terminus, but I have vials and planned for it--and rebuild quickly. Eventually SoFI gets the better of him. We go to turns on game three, and, had he not Vindicated my SoFI I would have had him.

Overall: Miracle cards are fun, but hardly game breaking.

3-1-1

6th Round: BUG Control

the record for fastest put-down probably goes to this: 10 minutes, and I win, 2-0. Game one I have two SFM's, each holding a SoFI or SoLaS. I don't give him a chance to live, even if his Inquisition of Kozileks are hitting my revokers; I grab them back and name deed, resulting in a scoop. Game two was also quick, as he inquisitions my revoker and my jitte. I play SFM, mom, and mom, after he innocent blood's me twice. I keep mysti, give her light and shadow, get back revoker, name deed. He scoops them up, revealing two fetches and a Force of Will.

4-1-1 -- 11th Place.

Moral of this story: I would have made Top 8 (probably) had I remembered the Leonin Arbiter or beaten the miracle deck. It's always the small things that get you.

Keep Taxing!

[overseer1234]

Alright, report time.

I made first place at our bi-weekly legacy tournament. This time there were 18 participants, which meant 4 rounds of swiss and the people who tied for first place has to sort it out for themselves who got the prizes. (It starts at 08.00pm so there's no time for a 5th round)

Round 1: Reanimate
G1: I win the die roll. Turn 1 mother of runes, turn 2 revoker on gristlebrand (which he just entombed), he animate dead's gristlebrand and gets to swing 2 times before I land my 2nd mother of runes and serra avenger. so I could block and start beating while I sword his reanimated jin gitaxis. SFM+sword of fire and ice sped up the process.
G2: My opening hand has all my hate so turn 1 relic of progenitus gets forces, grafdiggers cage resolves, wheel of sun and moon resolves and I get a mangara lock going. Seriously nuts draw...

1-0-0 (2-0-0 in games)

Round 2: Dredge
G1: I win the die roll and open with mother of runes, he goes cephalid coloseum+LED. Turn 2 revoker switches his LED off, and turn 3 jothun grunt makes minced meat out of him when he grabs a jitte next turn.
G2: he goes T1 that red careful study and double LED + gemstone mine. I go land go and with an enlightened tutor in hand... he gets turn 2 cephalid coloseum and goes nuts....
G3: I go first turn land go, he gets gemstone + hardcast therapy. I respond with enlightened tutor for wheel of sun and moon and he scoops because he didn't expect enchantment based yard-thate...

2-0-0 (4-1-0 in games)

Round 3: thopter foundry+elspeth+jace+SFM+trinket toolbox.dec (no idea what it's called)
G1: I lose the die roll. I resolve my vial because he didn't find a force, eventually win with a sword of fire and ice+jitte equiped avenger while using several revokers to switch of SDT, jace, elspeth,.... thanks to some flickerwhisping.
Eat that thopter tokens....
G2: He assembles his a hell of a lot of artifacts but I have 2 vials and my batterskull out while I destroy everything with serenity (couldn't bounce my batterskull). I don't find enough gas, and he kills me with academy ruins fishing everything back for him...
G3: Turn 1 vial resolves and I keep his mana down with port and wastelands and win pretty easy since I simple play mom, revoker SFM into sword of fire and ice.

3-0-0 (6-2-0 in games)

My opponent and me are damn tired. we both know what we have to play against and don't feel like playing a long dragging game at midnight... He's playing maverick again. And every time we play, the games go LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG (like longcat).

So we shake hands, ID, and drink some beers while we wait to find out if we won anything. (apparently there were a lot of players who were at 2-0-1, so maybe they could knock us out of first place)

I win on tiebreakers and go home with 6 boosters containing crap....

Decklist time:
Main Deck:
4x Æther Vial
1x Batterskull
1x Sword of Fire and Ice
1x Sword of Light and Shadow
1x Umezawa’s Jitte
4x Phyrexian Revoker
4x Flickerwisp
3x Jotun Grunt
3x Mangara of Corondor
4x Mother of Runes
4x Serra Avenger
4x Stoneforge Mystic
4x Swords to Plowshares
4x Karakas
11x Plains
4x Rishadan Port
4x Wasteland
61

Sideboard
1x Grafdigger’s Cage
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Thorn of Amethyst
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Ethersworn Canonist
1x Circle of Protection: Red
1x Ghostly Prison
1x Oblivion Ring
1x Serenity
1x Stony Silence
1x Wheel of Sun and Moon
4x Enlightened Tutor
61+15

Props
Serra avenger+equipment is like playing combo...

Slops
Death&Taxes being underplayed/underrated by the world.
Not wanting to cut anything for Thalia's...

[nwong]

Has SoFaF become better than SolaS now that most removal is non-targeted (terminus, dread of night, deed, bolt, innocent blood)?

[mrjumbo03]

Swords to Plowshares is still the most played removal in the format.

[Finn]

Nwong, I keep teetering between the two.

[nwong]

Went 2-1-1 at my local, 17 people. Good for a 3 way tie at 4th.

List for reference:

4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
4 Karakas
11 Plains

4 Mother of Runes
2 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Jotun Grunt
3 Serra Avenger
4 Flickerwisp
3 Mangara of Corondor

4 Swords to Plowshares

4 Aether Vial
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Feast and Famine

Sideboard

1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
1 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Jotun Grunt
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Oust
1 Stony Silence
3 Leonin Arbiter
3 Enlightened Tutor



Rd1: Cloudpost Turbofog:

G1: I have no idea what he's playing until he drops an Oblivion Stone and wipes my board. Luckily I still have a Grunt. I port him and get 2 swings in. I drop a Thalia, and whittle down his life. I keep developing my board with a Revoker (naming O-stone) and SFM fetching SoFaF, put it into play and equipping it. He drags the game with a few Moment's Peace. Eventually he drops a Wurmcoil, which threatens to help him stabilize. He swings, but I fog with Thalia + Karakas. I finish him off next turn.

-4 Mum +2 Revoker +2 Etutor

G2: I get 2 revokers early, naming O-stone and Mindslaver. He doesn't do a whole lot, just dropping lands. I Flick his Simic Growth Chamber during his turn with Vial to set him back. On my turn I do this again, before Wasting it during my end step. He's now down to 1 land and can't come back, but time runs out.

1-0 1-0-1

R2: Sneaky Show

G1: I know what he's playing since my friend scouted him out during round 1 (he had a bye). I get the god hand with Vial, Thalia and Karakas. He Show and Tells - I drop SFM and tutor up SoFaI, he drops Emrakul. I drop Karakas and bounce Emrakul. SoFaI and beats get there.

-4 StP +2 Revoker +2 Etutor

G2: Basically more of the same. Early Thalia, wasteland his lone land, SFM into SoFaI. He was never really in it.

2-0 3-0-1

R3: UW Stoneblade with Mutavaults

G1: This doesn't go well for me. Vial is Forced, Thalia is Snared. He gets SFM into Jitte. I get SFM into SoFaI, since I have Revoker. I drop Revoker naming Jitte, but it's StPed. I should have gotten Jitte here since I have 2 Wisps. Jitte comes online for him and I don't manage to come back.

-3 SFM -1 Jitte -1 SoFaF -1 SoFaI +3 Arbiter +2 Revoker +1 Grunt

G2: I get a fast start with Vial into Mum and Revoker naming Jitte. He Wraths, but I still have Wisp in hand, so I Vial it in and start the beats. He drops SFM into Batterskull and I StP. I drop Mangara next turn and threaten to exile everything with Karakas. He has the 2 StPs to stop me though. Eventually Batterskull comes down and despite a Thalia + Karakas fog taking him by surprise, I can't race him.

2-1 3-2-1

R4: Dredge

G1: I have Vial and Thalia, but Dredge doesn't really care too much. I can't find a Grunt so he starts pumping the board with Zombies and Ichorids. I have SFM into SoFaI to try to race. I'm forced to use the shock to take out his 3 Bridges. In the end, he outraces me by a turn. This match actually takes quite a while.

-3 Mangara -2 Revoker +3 Etutor +1 Wheel +1 Grunt

G2: He has a quick start and starts dredging a ton. I have the Grunt to stop him though. He can't afford to stop and let Grunt die, so he keeps dredging. I cherrypick his graveyard each turn and kill him.

G3: We go to time and even though I mull into oblivion, he can't kill me in time.

Overall I felt the main performed well, and the sideboard was probably off by a couple of cards. Arbiters were useless, and I probably needed a Relic or Crypt in addition to Wheel for Dredge. I didn't expect Stoneblade to be as tough as it was, but the Mutavaults were good since he was running SoFaI in addition to Batterskull and Jitte.

[overseer1234]

Allright, report again from my bi-weekly legacy event.

I played the exact same list as I did in the previous tourney.

Round 1: Mono red burn
G1: I'm just way to slow to race a T1 goblin guide + 2 times that miracle (R for 5 dmg) and some other burn...
G2: I manage to get a cop red, but draw my batterskull, brainfart and tap out to play it and die in his next turn (yes indeed stupid me...)-
0-1-0

Round 2: Ascension (whie weeny lifegain)
G1: He gains ****load of life, but an avenger+SoLaS+SoFaI+Batterkull were more then enough for the win
G2: we go LOOOOOOOONG but I get a mangara + karakas going while SoLaS+Avanger and mother of runes keep him at bay, and win eventually after we both gain way to much life......
1-1-0

Round 3: Belcher
G1: he gets a turn 1 14 goblin tokens... nuff said
G2: he mulls to five and I get a thorn of amethyst and a stony silence out, and win by SFM into batterskull
G3: he mulls to six and goes turn 2 belcher but not enough mana to activate it. I search and find stony silence and continue to find a thorn of amethyst, and a phyrexian revoker + mother of runes...
I guess I got lucky
2-1-0

Round 4: GW Maverick
G1: he simple draws more good stuff than me, and I die...
G2: T1 vial, I sword his heirarch, wasteland his arbor, port his other land, and win thanks to vial+Mom and flyers
G3: here we go LOOOOOONG again and I win eventual with SoLaS+avanger while my revokers yell mother of runes and qasali...
3-1-0

I eventually get 4th and go home pretty happy...

Props:
Avenger+Equipment won me so manny games it's not even funny
Revokers save my ass a hell of a lot
Enlightened tutor sideboard rocks

Slops:
Brainfarting and screwing up bigtime against burn...
Knowing I really need to play Thalia, but the deck preforms so good I really don't mis her (and I see combo as an acceptable autoloss...)

Last but not least: The decklist

Main Deck:
4x Æther Vial
1x Batterskull
1x Sword of Fire and Ice
1x Sword of Light and Shadow
1x Umezawa’s Jitte

4x Phyrexian Revoker

4x Flickerwisp
3x Jotun Grunt
3x Mangara of Corondor
4x Mother of Runes
4x Serra Avenger
4x Stoneforge Mystic

4x Swords to Plowshares

4x Karakas
11x Plains
4x Rishadan Port
4x Wasteland
#61

Sideboard
4x Enlightened Tutor
1x Grafdigger’s Cage
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Thorn of Amethyst
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Ethersworn Canonist
1x Circle of Protection: Red
1x Ghostly Prison
1x Oblivion Ring
1x Serenity
1x Stony Silence
1x Wheel of Sun and Moon
#15

61+15=76

[Schembo]

Went 4-1 today wit D&T. there was 12 player and 5 rounds at my local shop.

List

4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
4 Karakas
10 Plains

4 Mother of Runes
4 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Jotun Grunt
4 Serra Avenger
2 Flickerwisp
3 Mangara of Corondor

4 Swords to Plowshares

4 Aether Vial
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of light and shadow

Sideboard

3 Path to exile
2 Disenchant
1 Grafdiggers cage
1 Tormods crypt
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Ensnaring bridge
1 Phyrexian metamorph
1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
1 Circle of Protection: Red
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Enlightened Tutor

Won against coblins, canadian *****, burn and Misthollow Griffin+food chain+emrakul (Is thre name for this pile yet?). Lost against maverick.

Revoker shined in goblin and food chain games.

Thalia and ports in burn match, altought i hitted mana vein in second game and ended that game 7 basic lands in play and 4 non basicks in hand + wasted 2 of my own ports respond to PoP.

First game against maverick was just bad decision for me to keep 7 and lost fast for waste and double Qasali Pridemage for my double vial......

Second game was really tight and i lost race for Sigarda, Host of Herons

2nd place, cant whine about that. Just need to learn mulligan better.....

[Honoluluicecaps]

Hey guys, just started playing D+T, but I've read a lot of the thread. And I hate to do this (because it seems like everyone on TS is doing it...) but how do we think Land Tax can help the deck? I think that at the very least it's worth a singleton consideration in the board against LD-heavy metas (although besides pox what are we really talking about here). I want to test it against RUG too.

Also, I suppose the MD could go in a slightly different direction to allow for Tax's inclusion, but I don't think it's worth it. Especially when considering everyone's affinity for the scroll rack interaction, which is ungodly slow for today's legacy.

[Justin]

Land Tax is a card to build a deck around, not just to throw into a deck. A Land Tax player will probably want to run Scroll Rack and Enlightened Tutor. I don't see how D&T can give that many slots to the combo and still be the same deck.

[Humphrey]

Ok, so here is my take on the deck. Runs very well so far.


3 Land Tax
3 Mox Diamond
4 AEther Vial
4 Karakas
4 Path to Exile
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
9 Plains
3 Mangara of Corondor
3 Aven Mindcensor
4 Sphere of Resistance
1 Sword of War and Peace
4 Glowrider
SB: 4 Burrenton Forge-Tender
SB: 4 Surgical Extraction
SB: 4 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 2 Kataki, War's Wage

[Antonius]

^^

Don't like that list, I feel as though you're not running enough dudes and you're got more Land Tax enablers than are entirely necessary. I think Path is all you really need. Mox diamond can be sick as fuck but you really need dudes. Where's your Grunts? Where's your Avengers? Where's mother? If the plan to slow them down fails, your team is going to lose to every swinging dick in the format.

This is what I'm on:

4 Karakas
8 Plains
4 Port
4 Wasteland

4 Path To Exile

4 Land Tax

4 Aether Vial
2 Scroll Rack
2 Umezawa's Jitte

4 Mother
3 Avenger
2 Grunt
2 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Thalia
4 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Flickerwisp
4 Mangara of Corondor

[GrdiVrag]

Please can somebody explain to me why you are playing PtE with Rishadan Port, Wasteland and Thalia? Isn't the whole idea of the deck to deny your opponent's resources while building up your own?
As stated above, Land Tax isn't just a card that you can jam into every white deck in the format, it needs a lot of building around. If you want to abuse it in an aggro shell, I'd suggest you take a look at the UW Tempo thread.

[Koby]

Please can somebody explain to me why you are playing PtE with Rishadan Port, Wasteland and Thalia? Isn't the whole idea of the deck to deny your opponent's resources while building up your own?
As stated above, Land Tax isn't just a card that you can jam into every white deck in the format, it needs a lot of building around. If you want to abuse it in an aggro shell, I'd suggest you take a look at the UW Tempo thread.

Land Tax. Get it?