So I cracked and got a Gaea's Cradle (tax return money, yay!). This is my manabase (I have 1 Dryad Arbor, but I put that in the creature section):
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Karakas
1 Maze of Ith
1 Plains
2 Forest
2 Cavern of Souls
2 Misty Rainforest
4 Windswept Heath
4 Savannah
4 Wasteland
I feel like cutting the Horizon Canopy for Gaea's Cradle would be the move to make, but I'm not sure... any thoughts from Gaea's Cradle players?
I'd recommend changing the Maze for the Cradle, moving the Maze to the sideboard (or just plainly cutting it). I feel that Maze is sometimes really good, but often unnecessary. It also messes up our mana development, since it uses up a land drop.Originally Posted by Arsenal
But cutting the Canopy is also an option. I don't play any of the utility lands anymore except for one Karakas. I actually also don;t play Cavern of Souls. I feel a mana base with lots of fetch and basics is very stable and smooth, and not having to care about awkward mana choices helps me focus on the important bits of pilotting Maverick (which is a lot harder than it may look for an outsider!).
The manabase I play is -1 Green Fetch +1 Gaea's Cradle.
But cavern of souls is so nice in RUG and Tempo (merfolk, team america, etc) getting your knights and thalias through. I am probably just biased since I bought two cavern of souls and they are $20, then again sometimes I play the punishing version which definitely makes them less attractive.
You absolutely want to play Cavern of Souls. Don't question it. Pushing out uncounterable dudes vs Counterbalance lock or against RUG is worth everything. 2 is the correct number.
Has anybody tried wolf run ??
I could see the basics being
1 Mountain
1 Forest
2 Plains (I play mirran crusader)
And then just taking out maze of ith depending on the meta.
Thoughts??
So I cut Horizon Canopy for Gaea's Cradle and never really missed it, so I think that was the right call. Also, Gaea's Cradle is absolutely insane; being able to activate Ooze, GSZ, and/or hardcast creatures all in the same turn is just too much for most decks to handle. Also, Scryb Ranger is really, really good with an active KotR... thinking of maybe going up to 2 with Ranger; flying, flash Equipment holder that can't be Jace bounced or blocked by Clique shouldn't be overlooked...
3 Mother of Runes
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Scryb Ranger
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Qasali Pridemage
1 Gaddock Teeg
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Life from the Loam
2 Sylvan Library
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Batterskull
1 Maze of Ith
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Karakas
1 Plains
4 Forest
1 Verdant Catacombs
2 Misty Rainforest
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wasteland
4 Savannah
__
Sideboard
1 Bojuka Bog
3 Surgical Extraction
1 Crop Rotation
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Terravore
3 Oblivion Ring
Just a small tournament report here, we had fewer than usual people (17 compared to high 20s, low 30s), so only three rounds and a cut to top 8 this week.
As a forewarning, I'm a bit fuzzy on the details of my storm matches - games kind of meshed together. I'm sure I could check my lifepad and remember each game.
Having split top 4 the previous two weeks I was feeling pretty good with my local matchups going into this, but it's always a toss up. So many of the local players have access to numerous decks and switch week to week.
One week we'll have 3 guys on Show and Tell, 4 Guys on Storm, and the next it'll be 4 on Stoneblade and 5 on RUG.
Last Week
2-1 v Miracles
2-0 v RUG Delver player 1
2-0 v 4c Cascade
ID into top 8 w/ RUG Delver player 2
2-0 v RUG Delver player 3
Split top 4
Round 1 vs TES (phazonmuant)
(See his Write-Up on our matches to get a more accurate description of his hands)
G1: (On the draw) I lead off on Mom with the intent of a turn 2 Thalia, he silences me turn 2 so I play Dryad Arbor. Kills me on his t3.
Sideboard:
+3 Ethersworn Canonist, +1 Gaddock Teeg, +3 Surgical Extraction, +1 Crop Rotation, +1 Bojuka Bog
-4 Swords to Plowshares, -1 Maze of Ith, -1 Scryb Ranger, -1 Life from the Loam, -1 Sword of Light and Shadow, -1 Sylvan Library
G2: (On the play) I mull into a turn 2 Gaddock Teeg hand, but he makes 14 Goblins on his turn 1.
0-1
Round 2 vs ANT
G1: (On the draw) I keep a hand that's fine against RUG Delver as that's what he played last week. He instead leads off on Polluted Delta->Island->Ponder and I put him on Sneak & Show as I've seen him play it before. I start off with a Mother into Pridemage and little pressure. He drops an Underground Sea and now I'm really not sure what he's doing, he Preordains twice and then plays a turn 3 Personal Tutor (for Infernal Tutor). I wasteland his U-Sea and put him to 15 life before passing the turn.
He has something like Double Dark Rit, LED, IT (crack for black), Ad Nauseam (with 2 Black floating unless I'm mistaken) from 15 life. He winds up hitting like 3 cantrips, 2 ITs, Tendrils, and one IMS. At 4 life he decides he has to go for it and flips land, land, past in flames.
Sideboard:
+3 Ethersworn Canonist, +1 Gaddock Teeg, +3 Surgical Extraction, +1 Crop Rotation, +1 Bojuka Bog
-4 Swords to Plowshares, -1 Maze of Ith, -1 Scryb Ranger, -1 Life from the Loam, -1 Sword of Light and Shadow, -1 Sylvan Library
G2: My hand is like... Verdant Catacombs, Savannah, Noble Hiearch, Thalia, Ethersworn, GSZ, Knight?
He leads off on a Dread of Night again and I play a Hierarch. He Preordains and passes back. I play Ethersworn Canonist and attack in for 1. He plays another Ponder then tries to Thoughtseize me, I gesture to the Canonist and he passes the turn instead. On my turn I Green Sun for Gaddock (which I think I should have gone for Sylvan Safekeeper instead).
Game ends a few turns later after I bash him for a few points each turn and he can't find a second Dread of Night.
1-1
Round 3 vs Deadguy Ale w/ Green
(for Deathrite, Abrupt Decay)
G1: I play a turn 2 Stoneforge which he Abrupt Decays, I take the opportunity to land Sylvan Library and proceed to take over the game with bigger dudes while finding 2 Swords to deal with his threats.
Sideboard:
+1 Ulvenwald Tracker, +1 Umezawa's Jitte, +1 Terravore
-1 Life from the Loam, -1 Gaddock Teeg, -1 Thalia?
I debated taking out a Scavenging Ooze here instead of Thalia... as Thalia helps to screw him off Lingering Souls and Abrupt Decay, but he was fetching around wasteland so I figured the mana denial wasn't the line to take. Scavenging Ooze has play against Lingering Souls, Cabal Therapy, and Deathrite Shaman - so I figured it would be better in the long run.
The Tracker was good, even though I knew he was bringing in Zealous Persecution, as it is able to shoot down every one of his creatures unless he burns removal on it. I played it game 2 here, but he had the Persecution before I was able to set up and knock down his Stoneforge.
G2: He cracks 2 Marsh Flats to get Plains, Swamp and then plays a Wasteland. I waste his waste and he never plays another land. Knight of the Reliquary and Batterskull get there. He shows me a hand of double Abrupt Decay and Perish after the match.
He never saw a Dark Confidant this match, while I was able to gain some advantage through Sylvan Library, and I was able to deal with his Stoneforge Mystics and the 1 Hero of Bladehold I saw.
Cut to top 8
Quarterfinals vs TES (phazonmuant)
G1: He's on the play and Nauseams turn 2 into the win.
Sideboard: Same as before
G2: I'm on the play and lead off on Hierarch. He Ponders then ships back. I play Thalia and Sylvan Safekeeper. He spends a few turns laying out Chrome Moxes and Lotus Petals while I attack him for 4 on a double exalted Thalia. He then plays Dark Rit, Dark Rit, Rite of Flame, Empty (I believe) - to make 8 Goblins with 1 card left in hand. I attack in with Thalia and he blocks with all 8, I kill off half of them and play another Thalia.
I Green Sun for a Pridemage and destroy his LED then attempt to Surgical Extraction it. He scoops.
G3: I keep a hand that has Extraction, Crop Rotation, Gaddock Teeg. He Emptys on turn 2 unless I'm mistaken.
The graveyard hate isn't the greatest here, but it can be situationally good. It was fine against ANT because of his Cabal Rituals and such. It's certainly better than my mainboard cards though.
I'm fairly pleased with the deck so far, feels like I have a fair chance in every matchup. I'd like to have a way to ensure getting to turn 2 against storm, but what're you gonna do.
Last edited by haganbmj; 04-18-2013 at 08:00 PM.
Regarding Graveyard hate, I've noticed that many combo decks (that care about their yard) will make sure the coast is clear using Probe/Duress/Thoughtseize/Cabal Therapy/etc. If my graveyard hate piece gets ripped, it gets ripped. I've been looking at Purify the Grave as a way to "answer" getting Duressed. Assuming I have a land in play (hopefully), if they Duress and I'm holding Purify the Grave, I can still interact (somewhat) with my opponent and that may buy me 1-2 turns while they figure out how to get around Purify's flashback. Idk, just spitballing, but having played with Surgical Extraction in other decks, I find that it doesn't even matter sometimes when I get it discards (or I have to respond and use it on something completely worthless or just plain lose it) whereas I feel Purify the Grave might still have some value.
I've never been impressed by Surgical against combo. You're exactly right in their ability to play around gravehate. I've enjoyed Surgical against RUG Delver and the like though as a means of cutting them off green, or taking out Lightning Bolts or other relevant cards. I intend to cut down the number of Surgicals in my sideboard, though, and maybe I'll try going back to a Purify the Grave again.
I suppose I'll try a 2/2 split between Surgical and Purify. I like that I can Surgical on turn 0 if needed, but I also like Purify giving me extra value off flashback if my opponent discards/counters it. If my opponent discards/counters my cast-from-hand Purify, and can still combo through my flashbacked Purify, then he's got the nuts and there's not a whole lot you can do about that.
EDIT: Although it may hurt us a bit, ever thought of Rest in Piece in the sideboard? Making our KotR 2/2 sucks hard, but probably sucks less than what Rest in Peace can do to Dredge, TinFins/Reanimator, shuts of Past in Flames, etc. Not sure if it's good enough, but seems strong.
The problem I had last time I played Purify the Grave was that it didn't work well with Thalia (when I was playing 3). It became difficult to keep up Purify mana while still playing my own gameplan and putting a clock on board.
Rest in Peace is fine, I've seen talk of that before, because it is often just an unexpected trump in those matches. I find I win the reanimator matchup more through 2-3 points a turn in bear beats than I do with a 5/5 Knight of the Reliquary.
That being said, I don't want to bring in Rest in Peace except where it is a game-winner, Surgical (and Purify to a degree) is a fairly versatile sideboard card.
So what are the pros/cons of Classic Maverick vs. Punishing Maverick vs. Deathrite Maverick? Which matchups does one shine while the other(s) don't? What metas are friendliest to each deck?
My $0.02:
GW: Better vs combo/control. Very stable and consistent manabase, ability to run 4 wasteland.
GWr Punishing: Better vs aggro/midrange, often have answers to troublesome creatures such as Deathrite Shaman. Also gives you pyroblast out of the board to deal with show and tell/jace.
GWb Shaman Mav: Not exactly sure where it falls in the metagame. Abrupt decay increases strength against tempo/counterbalance. Engineered plague out of board good vs stoneblade/tribal.
Just a small summary :)
Play Rest in Peace in your sideboards people. I used three in Strasbourg and they were the nuts. Came in against BUG/RUG/Reanimator/Storm etc. Just board out 1 knight and 1 ooze and something random (Against most of those decks I took out Sigarda) and win from there. 2/2 knight doesnt matter if their goyf is 0/1, mongoose is 1/1, reanimation spells doesnt work and storm cant use past in flames/cabal ritual.
It would be funny to see someone play Aurelia's Fury in the middle of a storm player's combo.
I'm totally being the early adopter here and I went and bought 4 Skylasher on preorder. I think this guy could really have a home in Mav. Have I lost my shit or am i just ahead of the curve? Anyone else look at this cute lil spider? I'm thinking of running him in a classic G/W shell with SFM package and a sword main to make him a legit clock. I feel like in the DRS meta that we live inn that we need a non GY driven secondary win con.
cheers
defector
Deathrite, assuming you're going black, gives you reach, powerful cards like discard, Abrupt Decay and possibly Lilliana, and requires you to cut slots so you're basically not just running the same goddamn lists people were playing in 2011 and wondering why this un-adapating clunk machine isn't winning anymore.
For my confessions, they burned me with fire/
And found I was for endurance made
Here's an opinionated post.
"Don't mess with me, lady. I've been drinking with skeletons."
I write articles about Legacy Death and Taxes. Check them out.
Me? Never.
For my confessions, they burned me with fire/
And found I was for endurance made
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