So does Mortarpod + baleful strix. And it's tutorable via stoneforge mystic.Originally Posted by Grand Superior
Oh, and did I mention that Mortarpod costs 10 cents?
You can tap Karakas for mana.
If Deathrite Shaman had one thoughness like Bob, i would definitely consider playing Mortarpod.
Mortarpod with Baleful Strix is cute and all but i feel like it costs too much mana...
The very earliest you could get this online would be t4. That is likely two swings too late to be relevant against Emrakul. Not to mention the second creature that kills you while you are looking for another Strix.
Either way, if Show and Tell resolves, you are probably in a bad spot. Spell Pierce and Thoughtseize should have been doing work long before you'd hope to need Karakas anyways.
Because it isn't playable.
And just throwing it out there, but I don't see any reason not to discuss Deathblade here as well as straight Esper. The decks are extremely close in construction and play (and most likely straight Esper is just worse for the time being anyways). I could use some discussion about Baleful Strix verses Dark Confidant though. Despite Bob having a much higher powerful level, Strix has a lot of points in its favor, especially if you are trying to MD FoW.
I know that Mortarpod sounds too cute, but I wouldn't dismiss it instantly. It has has some interesting applications both with Lingering Souls and Baleful Strix, it's tutorable removal that deals with a lot of nasty creatures and it can finish the opponent at an even boardstate. I could see it as a sideboard option for few metas. Problem though: A lot of times, even against a deck where it will be a good card to board in, just grabbing Jitte and / or Batterskull will be the better play.
Humphrey is always correct.
Baleful Strix by itself is great at dealing with attacking creatures. Jitte can handle Bob, Shaman, and the rest much more efficiently.
So I feel pretty comfortable in most of my match-ups, but punishing jund is just a nightmare. Does anyone have any suggestions as to helping that? I'm still running Vidi's GP list (and liking it a lot), with the following sideboard:
2 Rest in Peace
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Zealous Persecution
1 Force of Will
2 Flusterstorm
1 Duress
2 Geist of St. Traft
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Perish
1 Disenchant
My plan yesterday (where I lost to it in the finals of my FNM event) was to pull out all of my counterspells, my Jitte,, 1 inquisition of Kozilek, and 1 Jace for 2 RiP, 2 Surgical, 2 Geist of St. Dude, 1 Sword, 1 Perish, and 1 Supreme Verdict. I'm convinced that I still need Spell pierce in the deck to deal with Liliana, because without Lingering Souls it felt really bad. Does anyone have any advice?
divert or misdirection.
I would play a 2nd perish. It's MVP against them, and against other decks too. Keep in pierces for lil/hymn/choke and get value with souls/snaps. I don't play rip, but board in 1surgical(not even2)as u don't want to dilute ur deck too much.
So what happened to the deathblade version of this deck? I was hoping it would place atleast top 16 at the last scg open. Or was the previous ones just a fluke?
I've been returning my Strix after blocking with Academy Ruins and I gotta say its AMAZING. restricted removal and blocker/draw spell that recycles. Yes please. I'm gonna switch to an Intuition-friendly build and go nuts.
-abc
Naw, it just won again.
Speaking of the latest scg, the esperblade deck in the top 16 has something that got my attention, in the sense that he had a tower of the mangistrate in the sideboard, which hit me as a card i never really thought about in the past. Has anyone tested that card in the past? it does seem like a pretty good card to bring in a mirror match.
So is traditional Esper Stoneblade dead for Deathblade? Or is there still hope for those of us that prefer Stoneblade?
This was commonly seen as a 2 of or more a few months ago. I think it was better back then when the main plan of Stoneforge decks was to jam Batterskull, whereas now Stoneforge, especially Deathblade (blue junk), can win fairly easily without ever getting anything equipped.
mmm, looking at thecounsil.es, by a few months you mean something like a year, right? However, what you say is true and makes sense. probably not worth it.
Dead? don't think so. Fallen out of favor? maybe, but certainly not dead. It's not like esper had any really bad matchups and that the metagame is dominated by them.FuzzyLumpkins
So is traditional Esper Stoneblade dead for Deathblade? Or is there still hope for those of us that prefer Stoneblade?
I certainly don't think that traditional Esper is dead. To me, one of the main strengths of traditional Esper Stoneblade is its 2 Island, 1 Plains, 1 Swamp basic land suite and how it is capable of functioning almost entirely off of basic lands despite being a tricolour deck (see Vidianto Wijaya @ Grand Prix Denver). I've tried Esper Deathblade at one Legacy tournament and had a miserable experience. I hated how fragile and greedy the mana was and I immediately switched back to Stoneblade. Who knows, maybe I was just unlucky and maybe Deathrite Shaman does make the greedy mana base okay.
I'd wait for a couple more tournament results and see how the meta responds. I know I'll still be rocking a Deathrite Shaman-less Esper deck.
How do you search for it in this deck? Or you just hope to draw it? Seems fine against your deck, especially in say, Maverick, but as a mirror breaker? Uncertain.
The new manabase on the Deathblade variants are absolutely atrocious. Nevermind the variants splashing for decay. That's just stupid. You're asking for it when you run 4 colours in Legacy.
-Matt
I just run 24 lands and one of the three core basics. Combined with Deathrites the mana base isn't nearly as greedy as it may seem. The deck definitely has a lot of play to it; it's becoming increasingly difficult to choose just regular Esperblade over Deathblade.
After seeing a UWr list doing well in the Scg open, I'm intriqued. It packed 4 bolts, 4 stp and 3 Grim Lavamancers. I initially thought it was overkill, but seeing as how most decks are creature based midrange, having tons of cheap removal makes sense. A single Grim Lavamancer if left unchecked, can shut down Deathblade.
Of course there are some wacky inclusions in the list i dont agree with like Restoration Angels and Ponders. There needs to be more Jaces and Counterspells/more disruption.
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