[Deck] BUG "Shardless" Control

[Cire_dk]

And with the upcomming changes Jitte gets some more value again. Jitte was always a card to destroy other Jitte's or would be destroyed by other Jittes which could be tutored in most other decks. It found a place in many Shardless BUG lists. Now Jitte will stay on the board in Shardless BUG, while we have better ways (Abrupt Decay) to deal with this evil piece of equipment from our opponent. Thoughts?

I have always been a fan of Jitte. You need enough creatures to run it effectively so after boarding in 2 stricx and possibly revoker from the sideboard it becomes a lot stronger in my opinion. Thats why I am currently still have a Jitte in my SB.
After the rule chance it will of course be even better.

[_Fortune_]

Will this deck have to evolve to include more answers for <cards>Notion Thief</cards>? That card seems brutal and pre-board there seem to be very very answers to it.

[1rakete]

Yesterday I played BUG Shardless again at a local event and finished 6th with 4-1-1. My list was the same last month except for a small change in the sideboard:

4 Ancestral Vision
4 Brainstorm
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Shardless Agent
3 Baleful Strix
4 Deathrite Shaman
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Force of Will
4 Thoughtseize
4 Wasteland
3 Underground Sea
2 Bayou
2 Tropical Island
4 Polluted Delta
1 Misty Rainforest
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Creeping Tar Pit

//Sideboard
SB: 3 Engineered Plague
SB: 3 Umezawa's Jitte
SB: 2 Golgari Charm
SB: 3 Hymn to Tourach
SB: 3 Nihil Spellbomb

The tourney was somehow very strange. From the four games I won in two games my opponents made huge mistakes otherwise I would have most likely lost the games. I played the following matchups:

2 - 1 vs Merfolk with Stifle and Standstill
2 - 0 vs White Stax
1 - 1 vs BU Control with Snapcaster, Sower, Notion Thief,...
2 - 0 vs Esper-Blade (list with Confidant, Stoneforge Mystic and DRS)
2 - 1 vs Dredge
1 - 2 vs BUG Tempo

For the next tourney (which will be after the rules update) I think I will change decks unless I have a very good idea for an update concerning this list because I think the following issues will come up:

- You have issues handling planeswalkers (after the rules update even more).
- You lack fast spot removal (for example against the new Esper-Blade, with DRS, Stoneforge and Confidant).
- In the current metagame development, I expect an uprise of merfolk which is a very bad matchup.

[Sansian]

Will this deck have to evolve to include more answers for Notion Thief? That card seems brutal and pre-board there seem to be very very answers to it.

I think the answer to this in a few months is Umezawa's Jitte. I could see this deck easily using two copies between the main and the side. It will generate more value when 1/5 of the decks you're likely to play against can't Stoneforge up a copy to blow yours. Another great answer in the meanwhile is Darkblast. It's especially nice because you can dredge it back and burn away draws that your opponent would get from the thief.

[Adryan]

For the next tourney (which will be after the rules update) I think I will change decks unless I have a very good idea for an update concerning this list because I think the following issues will come up:

- You have issues handling planeswalkers (after the rules update even more).
- You lack fast spot removal (for example against the new Esper-Blade, with DRS, Stoneforge and Confidant).
- In the current metagame development, I expect an uprise of merfolk which is a very bad matchup.

@handling planeswalkers: You just have to adapt your MB &SB:
Play something like Maelstrom Pulse, Garruk Relentless, Vendillion Clique, Notion Thief. All these cards pressure opposing planeswalker.

@fast spot removal: Dismember, Disfigure etc.?
@Meerfolk: More Removal, less Wasteland, more Basics, Pernicious Deed?

[1rakete]

@handling planeswalkers: You just have to adapt your MB &SB:
Play something like Maelstrom Pulse, Garruk Relentless, Vendillion Clique, Notion Thief. All these cards pressure opposing planeswalker.

@fast spot removal: Dismember, Disfigure etc.?
@Meerfolk: More Removal, less Wasteland, more Basics, Pernicious Deed?

Thanks for telling us the obvious. But how do you put this together in the BUG Shardless shell with very limited space and without losing the great flexibility of the deck?

[phazonmutant]

Thanks for telling us the obvious. But how do you put this together in the BUG Shardless shell with very limited space and without losing the great flexibility of the deck?

Whipflare is still a card that works really well in this deck. You can also play Liliana yourself to help get ahead in the planeswalker battles.

[Adryan]

Thanks for telling us the obvious. But how do you put this together in the BUG Shardless shell with very limited space and without losing the great flexibility of the deck?

because of your SB i thought nothing is obvious for you. i'm sorry

[1rakete]

@Adryan

You thought wrong. My sideboard is tailored to the meta we have at the tournament which is a lot of tribal (few merfolks atm but will be on the uprise), mid range and random decks, only few treshhold and combo.

@Phazonmuant

Yeah, I think a red splash will be necessary. I could even imagine playing dreadbore (in the sideboard). Or depending on testing more maelstrom pulse are necessary (if its fast enough).

[marumari]

Powered my build (posted earlier) to a 4-1 record, and then a 2nd place finish in the Top 8 (overall 6-2) at yesterday's 27 person Legacy tournament. Came home with a Taiga. Now up about $150 playing this deck over the last two months. Who says that Magic is a money draining hobby?

My two losses were against a very interesting and resilient Affinity build and in the finals against Miracles. The Miracles match was very close -- it went about 30 turns -- and at various points in the match I had Liliana of the Veil at 6 loyalty and JtMS at 11 loyalty. He had very very good top decks. C'est la vie!

I continue to see people who run Chill as a two-of in their sideboards, presumably against Burn. Given that the Burn matchup is so incredibly lopsided already, have people actually found it helpful for winning? I'd almost rather completely give up on ever reliably beating Burn and instead just focus on using those two sideboard slots to shore up other weaker matches.

[GerryT]

I continue to see people who run Chill as a two-of in their sideboards, presumably against Burn. Given that the Burn matchup is so incredibly lopsided already, have people actually found it helpful for winning? I'd almost rather completely give up on ever reliably beating Burn and instead just focus on using those two sideboard slots to shore up other weaker matches.

Read the rest of the posts in the thread. I played Chill for a variety of archetypes, not just Burn. Burn isn't that bad of a matchup anyway.

[Kyle]

Yeah, I'm a big fan of Chill, as it's decent against Burn, Goblins, Jund, and some Storm decks.

[baptist]

Yeah, I'm a big fan of Chill, as it's decent against Burn, Goblins, Jund, and some Storm decks.

Question is: "Is there enough Burn and Goblins in the meta to play Chill?"

Against Jund and Storm there are better cards to play. I cannot afford to play 2 Chill on sb because I want to focus on other matchups: RUG, BUG, ANT, Show and Tell, Elves.

[Cire_dk]

Question is: "Is there enough Burn and Goblins in the meta to play Chill?"

Against Jund and Storm there are better cards to play. I cannot afford to play 2 Chill on sb because I want to focus on other matchups: RUG, BUG, ANT, Show and Tell, Elves.

So what would you advice. What does your SB look like?

[Julian23]

To be fair, Chill is pretty good against Jund. 4-mana Punishing Fire (5 mana if you count the "rebuy") and 6 mana Bloodbraid Elf are just way too slow. Especially since you wouldn't be able to cast any red card you cascade into.

[GerryT]

Question is: "Is there enough Burn and Goblins in the meta to play Chill?"

Against Jund and Storm there are better cards to play. I cannot afford to play 2 Chill on sb because I want to focus on other matchups: RUG, BUG, ANT, Show and Tell, Elves.

Chill is for more than those two decks. I like it vs Sneak and Show too. They typically have red sideboard cards like Blood Moon or REB.

RUG-Baleful Strix/Liliana

ANT/SNT-Hymn to Tourach

SNT/Elves-Golgari Charm

[Lim-Dul]

Hey there

i am playing a more or less average list. maybe exept for the 2/2/2 thoughseize/hymn/liliana spilt which is not that common as far as i can see in this thread.

my MB:
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Shardless Agent
4 Deathrite Shaman
1 Baleful Strix

3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Liliana of the Veil

4 Ancestral Vision
2 Thoughtseize
2 Hymn to Tourach
1 Maelstrom Pulse

4 Brainstorm
4 Abrupt Decay
3 Force of Will

2 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Wasteland
4 Underground Sea
2 Bayou
2 Tropical Island
4 Polluted Delta
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Verdant Catacombs

But i am not worried about my MB. i would like some advice/suggestion about the SB and "how to sideboard" for the decks around. i would be very happy to hear some thoughts of some experienced players, cause i suck at boarding

my meta is quite diverse (which dose not make it easier for me) at my LGS:
- lots of "fair" decks such as esper stoneblade, deathblade, Jund, bant-versions, bug-mirror, UW-RIP-Helm-Miracle, DnT...
- but there are always some combo-fans around playing Ant, TES, SneaknShow, Omnitell, High Tide, Elfes..

My SB:
2 Thoughtseize
2 Hymn to tourach
1 Force of will
1 Notion Thief
2 Pyrexian Revoker
2 Baleful strix
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Golgari Charm
1 jitte
2 Nihil spellbomb

Some of my reasonings/thoughts behind the cards in SB for some of the MUs:

Esper Stoneblade: not a bad MUs, the biggest fear is the batterskull, so -2 hymn for +2 Thoughtseize to pick Batterskull and jace and -3 Fow for the notion theif, pluse and golgari charm

Deathblade: surprisingly much harder: CA is key (i assume) hence -3 Fow and +1 jitte , +1 pluse and +1 charm.. but, what else? how could i improve this Mu?

RUG: -3Fow -1 Pulse -2 jace; +2 Nihli Spellbomb +2Strix +2 Thoughtseize

Jund: I hate the MU cause i dont know how to handle it especially the P.Fire... Again CA is important. -3 Fow; what more to take out? i should bring in 2 Spellbombs, 1 Jitte and 2 strix

DnT: ??? i havent played that MU very often, but it is around at m LGS: what are the weakest card MB? +2 Revoker +1pluse

Ant:-4 Abrupt Decay -1 Strix -1 Pluse -1 Jace; +2 Thoughtseize, +2 Hymn +1Fow +2 Spellbomb

TES: -4 Abrupt Decay -1 Strix -1 Jace; +2 Thoughtseize, +2 Hymn +1Fow +1 Charm

High tide: -4 Abrupt Decay -1 Strix -1 Pluse ; +2 Thoughtseize, +2 Hymn +1Fow +1Notion Thief

SNt: -4 Abrupt Decay -1 Strix; +2 Thoughtseize, +2 Hymn +1Fow and +2 Revoker but what to take out?

Omnitell: -4 Abrupt Decay -1 Strix; +2 Thoughtseize, +2 Hymn +1Fow; i that enough to win this MU?


please let me know what i am doing wrong and enlight me!
- i realize that i take out Fow in all noncombo MUs. is that a bit risky?

Sorry for my english...

[martijnend]

I have yet to try Chill, but it seems like a great addition to the deck. The most matches I lose are playing red in some way and Punishing Fire is just terrible.
I did a local tournament last sunday with 36 players, where I went 4-2 and just missed out on top 8 on tiebreakers. Lost a match to a kind of BR control deck with the Dark Depths/Hexmage combo in it, which I felt should be a favorable matchup. Interestingly, the finals was a Merfolk mirror.

@GerryT: how do you feel about our matchup against Merfolk and how would you board against it?

@ Lim-Dul: a few remarks about you sideboarding.
Against RUG you decide to bring in Thoughtseize, while I would recommend to side it out of your md entirely. Most of the time you will stabilize against a RUG player on low life and the thoughtseize lifeloss might be the thing that lowers you to bolt range. My board is a bit different, but to give you an idea of what I do: -3 FoW, 3 Jace, 3 Thoughtseize + 2 Liliana, 2 Spellbomb, 2 Strix, Pulse, Loam and Hymn.
Against SNT and any other deck that runs Misdirection I think you should cut the Ancestral Visions. Together with the decays that should give you lots of board space. Bring in all the Strixes though. They are blue for FoW, but more importantly they might be able to block their guy.
Against DnT I'll recommend Golgari Charms. They are just about your best out against a Mother/Thalia board. I feel like this is one of the hardest matchups in all.

[marumari]

Round 5 and 6 of today's Channel Fireball videos has Caleb Durwald playing UB Control versus Lejay here playing Shardless BUG, for those who are interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvmRg...qi3ECs6FFTSzbY

[Atog]

Chill is for more than those two decks. I like it vs Sneak and Show too. They typically have red sideboard cards like Blood Moon or REB.

RUG-Baleful Strix/Liliana

ANT/SNT-Hymn to Tourach

SNT/Elves-Golgari Charm

Hello, what you like about Whipflare in this deck?