[DTB] Team America (Aggro/Tempo Thread)

[blindspotxxx]

@Qweerios

How do you sideboard? What are your weapons against control? :)

[Qweerios]

@Qweerios

How do you sideboard? What are your weapons against control? :)

Miracle
-2 Dismember -4 Daze/Decay (Counterbalance/RiP or not)
+2 Notion Thief +2 Dimir Charm +2 Spell Pierce

Esperblade
-4 FoW -2 Dismember
+2 Engineered Plague +2 Notion Thief +2 Spell Pierce
Depending on the version, I will also -4 Daze for +2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm on the draw and/or on the play

Nic Fit
-2 Dismember -4 Decay
+2 Dimir Charm +2 Spell Pierce +2 Notion Thief/+1 Cage and +1 Surgical (depends on their version of Nic Fit)
*I took down my version of BUG Nic Fit 2-0 in the last tournament I played*

SnT/Storm Combo
-2 Dismember -4 Decay -2 Tombstalker
+2 Spell Pierce +2 Dimir Charm +2 Surgical +2 Notion Thief

Jund/Shardless BUG
On the play:
-4 FoW
+2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm
On the draw:
-4 FoW -4 Daze
+2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm +2 Spell Pierce +2 Ghastly Demise

Goblins/Merfolk
-4 Daze -4 FoW -2 Pierce
+2 Ghastly Demise +2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm +2 Engineered Plagues +2 Notion Thief

Elves
-3 Stifle -4 Daze -2 Spell Pierce
+2 Plagues +2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm +2 Demise +1 Cage

Reanimator/Dredge
-4 Decay -2 Dismember -2 Tombstalker
+2 Surgical +1 Cage +1 Dimir Charm +2 Pierce +2 Notion Thief
No swapping of Tombstalker for Thief vs. Dredge

RUG/BUG Tempo
On the play:
-4 FoW
+2 Ghastly Demise +2 Spell Pierce
On the draw:
-4 Stifle
+2 Ghastly Demise +2 Spell Pierce

Maverick/Rock
-4 FoW -2 Spell Pierce
+2 Demise +2 Disfigure +2 Charm
Sometimes -2 Daze +2 Plagues

**EDIT**
I am contemplating cutting 1 Underground Sea or 1 fetch for a Sylvan Library, this may change some of the above.

[kingsey]

Still running strong with this list.

4 Seas
2 Bayou
1 Tropical
4 Misty rainforest
4 Verdant catacomb
4 Wasteland

4 Deathrite
4 Delver
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Tombstalker

4 Force
4 Brainstorm
4 Daze
4 Hymn
3 Ponder
4 Abrupt decay
3 Spell Pierce

Going to try 2 options next week. -1 stalker -3 Spell pierce and add +4 stifles, or add +2 disfigure, +2 Lilly.

Any input im all ears.

[troopatroop]

I've never played a deck with 15 lands, how is it? 7 cantrips and Deatrite, sure, but 15 Lands before Wasteland?

[blindspotxxx]

Miracle
-2 Dismember -4 Daze/Decay (Counterbalance/RiP or not)
+2 Notion Thief +2 Dimir Charm +2 Spell Pierce

Esperblade
-4 FoW -2 Dismember
+2 Engineered Plague +2 Notion Thief +2 Spell Pierce
Depending on the version, I will also -4 Daze for +2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm on the draw and/or on the play

Nic Fit
-2 Dismember -4 Decay
+2 Dimir Charm +2 Spell Pierce +2 Notion Thief/+1 Cage and +1 Surgical (depends on their version of Nic Fit)
*I took down my version of BUG Nic Fit 2-0 in the last tournament I played*

SnT/Storm Combo
-2 Dismember -4 Decay -2 Tombstalker
+2 Spell Pierce +2 Dimir Charm +2 Surgical +2 Notion Thief

Jund/Shardless BUG
On the play:
-4 FoW
+2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm
On the draw:
-4 FoW -4 Daze
+2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm +2 Spell Pierce +2 Ghastly Demise

Goblins/Merfolk
-4 Daze -4 FoW -2 Pierce
+2 Ghastly Demise +2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm +2 Engineered Plagues +2 Notion Thief

Elves
-3 Stifle -4 Daze -2 Spell Pierce
+2 Plagues +2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm +2 Demise +1 Cage

Reanimator/Dredge
-4 Decay -2 Dismember -2 Tombstalker
+2 Surgical +1 Cage +1 Dimir Charm +2 Pierce +2 Notion Thief
No swapping of Tombstalker for Thief vs. Dredge

RUG/BUG Tempo
On the play:
-4 FoW
+2 Ghastly Demise +2 Spell Pierce
On the draw:
-4 Stifle
+2 Ghastly Demise +2 Spell Pierce

Maverick/Rock
-4 FoW -2 Spell Pierce
+2 Demise +2 Disfigure +2 Charm
Sometimes -2 Daze +2 Plagues

**EDIT**
I am contemplating cutting 1 Underground Sea or 1 fetch for a Sylvan Library, this may change some of the above.

Thanks man :) Hopefully I can get my underground seas soon :)

[apistat_commander]

Still running strong with this list.

4 Seas
2 Bayou
1 Tropical
4 Misty rainforest
4 Verdant catacomb
4 Wasteland

4 Deathrite
4 Delver
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Tombstalker

4 Force
4 Brainstorm
4 Daze
4 Hymn
3 Ponder
4 Abrupt decay
3 Spell Pierce

Going to try 2 options next week. -1 stalker -3 Spell pierce and add +4 stifles, or add +2 disfigure, +2 Lilly.

Any input im all ears.

I don't like Hymn and Stifle together, as they are working at cross purposes. I think the decision comes down to what you see in your meta. Stifles will be better against control/combo and Disfigure/Lilly is better against creature decks. Either way you should probably go up to 4 Ponder. 4 Brainstorm/4 Ponder is the backbone of Tempo. Does 19 land work for you? I could see going down to 19 with Stifles, but otherwise it makes you pretty vulnerable to getting your DRS killed.

[kingsey]

So does anyone have any ideas why shardless consistently places at scg ? What does that deck do that we don't ? IMO it seems clunky but obviously its doing something right.

[YamiJoey]

So does anyone have any ideas why shardless consistently places at scg ? What does that deck do that we don't ? IMO it seems clunky but obviously its doing something right.

Casts Ancestral Recall for 0 mana. I honestly have no idea why you'd ever play BUG Control and not play Shardless. All you're doing is playing Maelstrom Pulse, Damnation, and Counterspell. I'd rather just draw a tonne of cards, if I'm honest.

If you're wondering whether to play this or Shardless, then I'd say its a different argument. This is a tempo deck. You primarily make guys and turn them sideways, whereas Shardless likes to look for a Jace or something to win the game with. (Though it is one of the more Creature-based control decks out there.)

EDIT: I seem to have just missed your question a little there. It's not like this deck is simply not posting results, but it does seem to be less popular right now. Right now I want to basically play RUG Delver, only cutting the Bolts and things for Shaman, Tombstalker and Thoughtseize.

[pingpong]

What would a more updated version of Thompsons BUG snapcaster look like??

[JohnBell]

The decklist that you posted is very interesting. I'll try it, but I have some questions.
Why don't you play Pithing Needle against Jace TMS in the side?

[catmint]

Both BUG Sharldes and BUG Delver are powerful proactive decks.
Shardles can go long and their win is not as fragile (aka dependent on a couple of creatures getting there before the opponent does something more powerful), since they have tons of card advantage/late game. Delver has a better combo and burn matchup, but shardles is much better against fair decks.

Overall Team America (BUG Delver) is still showing up a lot on TCdecks in european tournaments, but as usual in the SCG curcuit the "herd" is following a trend. In this case I think this is correct. I played both versions (and also a lot of other BUG versions) myself and the downsides of shardless having a weaker combo matchup can be much easier fixed with the sideboard than making BUG Delver good vs. Jund, stoneblade, shardles, Junk, Maverick...

[yaWgnorW]

Miracle
-2 Dismember -4 Daze/Decay (Counterbalance/RiP or not)
+2 Notion Thief +2 Dimir Charm +2 Spell Pierce

Esperblade
-4 FoW -2 Dismember
+2 Engineered Plague +2 Notion Thief +2 Spell Pierce
Depending on the version, I will also -4 Daze for +2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm on the draw and/or on the play

Nic Fit
-2 Dismember -4 Decay
+2 Dimir Charm +2 Spell Pierce +2 Notion Thief/+1 Cage and +1 Surgical (depends on their version of Nic Fit)
*I took down my version of BUG Nic Fit 2-0 in the last tournament I played*

SnT/Storm Combo
-2 Dismember -4 Decay -2 Tombstalker
+2 Spell Pierce +2 Dimir Charm +2 Surgical +2 Notion Thief

Jund/Shardless BUG
On the play:
-4 FoW
+2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm
On the draw:
-4 FoW -4 Daze
+2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm +2 Spell Pierce +2 Ghastly Demise

Goblins/Merfolk
-4 Daze -4 FoW -2 Pierce
+2 Ghastly Demise +2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm +2 Engineered Plagues +2 Notion Thief

Elves
-3 Stifle -4 Daze -2 Spell Pierce
+2 Plagues +2 Disfigure +2 Dimir Charm +2 Demise +1 Cage

Reanimator/Dredge
-4 Decay -2 Dismember -2 Tombstalker
+2 Surgical +1 Cage +1 Dimir Charm +2 Pierce +2 Notion Thief
No swapping of Tombstalker for Thief vs. Dredge

RUG/BUG Tempo
On the play:
-4 FoW
+2 Ghastly Demise +2 Spell Pierce
On the draw:
-4 Stifle
+2 Ghastly Demise +2 Spell Pierce

Maverick/Rock
-4 FoW -2 Spell Pierce
+2 Demise +2 Disfigure +2 Charm
Sometimes -2 Daze +2 Plagues

**EDIT**
I am contemplating cutting 1 Underground Sea or 1 fetch for a Sylvan Library, this may change some of the above.

This is great information, I appreciate it. I needed help with my SB. I very much like your list, and ran something similar...the main similarity is I cut the Goyfs in favor of the Tombstalker (I run 3). I don't like the two of those together, in addition to a Deathrite. It was good with all 3, but I felt it could be better and not reliant on something so easily blocked and removed (Abrupt Decay).
I still run Thoughtseize in mine however it will likely be dropped due to your discussion on it last page.

Which of your most recent two lists do you prefer? The one with Goyfs 2 pages ago, or the one without that has been the topic from last page? I personally favor the one without.

[blablub]

Hey guys,

I gave this list a try:

4 Delver of Secrets
3 Tarmogoyf
3 Deathrite Shaman
3 Nimble Mongoose

4 Daze
4 Stifle
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
3 Spell Pierce
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Disfigure
1 Dismember

4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
3 Tropical Island
3 Underground Sea
4 Wasteland

SB:
2 Flusterstorm
2 Golgari Charm
2 Deathmark
2 Krosan Grip
1 Pithing Needle
1 Grafdiggers Cage
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Spell Pierce
3 Submerge

i just won a Local with it, undefeated 3-0-1

Normally I'm playin Thresh, but actually i think you have to play DRS in Legacy, or i hate to loose to this guy with ***** ;)
I've tried the BURG-Delver from Straßbourg but its too greedy in my opinion. What do you think about this variant of Dark ***** / Team America?

Maybe the Show/Tell Matchup is a lil harder because of the lack of Red Blasts. Rough/Tumble is easily replaced by Golgari Charm, which is awesome, so flexibel. Acient Grudge becomes Krosan Grip :)

The only thing you cannot have is the Reach of Lightning Bolt, but i like the Removal Suite :)

what do you think ?

[Qweerios]

I definitely prefer the version without Goyf than with. The only thing I enjoy Goyf for is his defensive abilities: he is the only creature I ever block with. The only decks you want to block against are Goblins, sometimes Merfolk, and relics of the past like Zoo. My last list hasn't changed much except for -1 Udg Sea for +1 Sylvan Library. I recently missed top8 by a hair at a local qualifier tournament where I went 2-3-1. Heres a brief report of the event:

2-1 vs. Merfolk
I lost the die roll and mulliganed to 5 and 6 in two matches. Considering it is a very difficult matchup to win G1, I was glad to end up victorious.

2-1 vs. Enter the Infinite combo
A very strong deck to combat and one that I was prepared for. I lose the die roll again and mulligan to 6 during those matches as well. Won the last game by a thread by dropping a Notion Thief off of SnT and drawing my entire library minus 1 card. I managed lethal damage (14 damage!) in 1 combat step and a kill on upkeep (thanks to EoT Clique and Shamans).

1-2 vs. Affinity
Lost the die roll and mulligan to 4 on G1 and 6 on G3. Almost took T1 with tripple delver but failled. Won G2, nothing special. I had lethal on G3 but a topdecked Cranial Plating on an Etched champion gave him the win.

1-1-1 vs. Maverick
This game took a while because my opponent was very cautious. We played against each other before in tournaments and was flattered to overhear him say that I wasn't an opponent he could afford to misplay against. I lost the die roll and mulligan again... G1 went long and I lost the board stall with my opponent at 1 hp with triple mother, Sylvan Ranger keeping my Stalker at bay, and an Ooze to make sure my 2 Deathrites didn't get anything though. I took G2 with 2 fliers and an Engineered Plague on his blockers. We had 5 minutes for G3 and we timed, I think I had that one under wraps but then again, you never know.

1-2 vs. BR Goblins
I won the die roll and didn't mulligan, my luck has turned! I won G1 with 2 Wastelands and a Decay on Vial, complete screw from there. G2 was my turn, double wasteland and removal for my Deathrite, complete screw from there. I lost G3 with a god hand, I went for the risky play when I could have played it safe. My hand was loaded with removal and Engineered Plague. I play T1 Deathrite, Disfigure his lackey and miss my second land drop. Instead of removing the T2 Warren Instigator, I Dimir Charm the top of my Library for a land so I can blow him out with a Plague on T3, I fail. I Ponder a land during my turn and my opponent plays a Chieftain on his turn and swings with both, I chose to let the Instigator connect and remove the chieftain hoping that my opponent would extend into plague next turn but Instead he drops a chieftain and a Piledriver. I play the plague on my turn and plan to unload the removal next turn but my opponent Gempalms my Deathrite, draws into another Piledriver and wastes my land... I cannot recover. He extends his hand with a big smile and tells me that after 2 years of tournament play he has finally beat me. Maybe luck wasn't on my side that day but the flattery sure was...

0-2 vs. 4 color Deathblade
I lost the die roll again and mulligan once. We got down to 1 for 1 and topdeck mode during G1 and I lost to an unanswered Dark Confidant. I lost G2 to triple Wasteland (3 Wastes in his 4 colored deck and he drew them all). SFM into Jitte ensured the win from there.

I went home after that, my friend was eager to leave after he went 1-5 and saw that I was out of contention. Overall I was happy with my performance, I haven't done too many misplays and I believe it is safe to say that my luck was terrible on that one. Even though the deck usually runs smoother, I went back to grixis. Red brings powerful cards to the Sideboard while Green doesn't and Bolt makes a world of difference when compared to Abrupt Decay. The latter brings you a sense of false security while the prior gives you everything you need: Removal at 1 mana and additional reach for the kill.

For those interested, the manabase still contains 19 lands (4 Waste, 8 fetch, 3 Sea, 2 Volcanic, 1 Badlands, 1 Trop), -4 Decay, -1 Library, -1 Dismember for +4 Bolt and +2 Fire // Ice. The sideboard has much more work put into it and feels much stronger than the BUg one:


3 Submerge
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Pyroblast
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Countersquall
1 Dimir Charm
1 Izzet Charm
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Fire Covenant
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Sulfur Elemental
1 Engineered Plague
1 Grafdigger's Cage

[kingsey]

Ended up going 2-2 at the local this week with

4 Seas
2 Bayou
1 Tropical
4 Misty rainforest
4 Verdant catacomb
4 Wasteland

4 Deathrite
4 Delver
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Tombstalker

4 Force
4 Brainstorm
4 Daze
3 Hymn
4 Ponder
4 Abrupt decay
4 Stifle

--

Stifle was fantastic all night. SFM, batterskull, the normal fetchlands, wasteland. I remember why I love this card so much.
Lost twice to stoneblade to either mana flood or mana screw. Not mad at the deck, just wasn't my night. I'm going to continue to test with the stifles. One game I stifled his fetch leaving him with 1 land on board, then hymned him and grabbed his other two lands. Glorious.
I know some chat about dropping goyfs, but I mean he just can deal so much dmg so quickly all but 1 game was won on his back.

[apon]

Hej Guys I got 6th Place at GP Strassbourg last weekend, so here's a little report:

First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Hove, I'm currently living in Kiel, Germany and I've been reading in this Forum for quite a long time. So far, I couldn't be bothered posting here myself, but now that I've had success with this deck I feel obligated to share my experience with you!

My Decklist was:


Creature [15]
2 Tombstalker
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Delver of Secrets
1 Vendilion Clique

Instant [17]
4 Abrupt Decay
1 Dismember
4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
4 Daze

Sorcery [8]
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Ponder

Land [20]
1 Verdant Catacombs
4 Polluted Delta
4 Wasteland
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Tropical Island
4 Underground Sea
2 Bayou

Sideboard:

2 Winter Orb
1 Sylvan Library
2 Engineered Plague
2 Spell Pierce
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Liliana of the Veil
2 Thoughtseize
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Life from the Loam

I played two Grinders on Friday where I had a Jace TMS instead of the 2nd Clique, but I never boarded him in. After the trials, I didn't even know what he was doing there, so I switched it with Clique. I also considered a 3rd Thoughtseize or a Jace Beleren in this slot but Clique always treats me well.

Unfortunately, I lost my notes on friday and I can't recall every Matchup during the grinders. I think I played against elves 2-0, sneak show 2-0, rug 2-0, maverik 2-0 (I screwed him G1 and he screwed himself G2- lucky me, I hate this matchup and didn't get paired against it again that weekend), storm 2-0, rug 2-0, Sneak Show 1-2, Miracles 2-1 (lucky me, the time ran off when he was ahead G3 but lost due to life total). There must have been one more match which I can't recall right now.

So I got my three Byes on Friday and started saturday on round 4:

Jund 1-1-1: Very tough matchup. He easily takes G1 with fires and pressure. G2 I win with Winter Orb and Tombstalker. Winter Orb is awesome in this Matchup as it shuts down shamans and Fires almost completely, plus most players don't know how to play with it. G3 we got into the turns and he couldn't manage to kill me on extra turn 4. I'd have lost that one for sure.

BUGstill 2-0: I screw him with double Wasteland G1 and G2 he had even less lands, so countered his cantrips and won without resistance. Funny thing: I thougth he was playing shardless BUG so I boarded in Winter Orbs, but they are not good at all against BUGstill. Didn't matter though.

Esperblade 2-1: Again, I didn't figure out what I was playing against. Only in Game three I realized that I boarded incorrectly again, but luckily, I still won.

Sneak Show 2-0: Triple Hymn G1 and Clique+Counters G2.

MUD 2-0: G1 he mulled to 5 and tried Chalice on 1 which got dazed with me having a delver followed by staff of domination without any further business. G2 he resolved a Trinisphere at some point but I had two huge goyfs which took the game home fast.

Nic Fit 0-2: G1 was very grindy, he got two Explorer triggers and his two Kitchen Finks beat me down to 6 or something, while my Tomstalker beat him down to four. I think I also had a Goyf and due to my calculations, I would have won the damage race. But then he hardcasts Leyline of the Void, followed by Helm of obedience with one Mana open. G2 was similarly grindy, but I didn't have enough business and no Winter Orb so he just overwhelmed me with too powerfull spells.

Day 1: 7-1-1

Day2:

Esperblade 2-1: Winter Orb wins Game 2 and 3.

Miracles 2-0: Winter Orb wins Game 2 and I have only business.

Miracles 0-2: I lose G2 because I kept my decays in- stupid because he was playing the old version without rest in peaces. It overall seemed way stronger in both games.

BUG Midrange 2-0 (maybe 2-1): Can't remember that much, except that he was from France.

Jund 2-0: Tombstalker, Hymn and Wastelands in both games. Very close damage race, though. My hymn in G2 hit both his Bloodbraid Elfes.

Shardless BUG 2-1: Game 1, turn two Hymn hits and I tempo him out. Game two was close until he resolved an Agent into Ancestral Vision. G3 I had two Wastelands in my opener and Topdecked two further Wastelands :).

Storm 2-0: Finally a good matchup again! I knew him from another tournament an he was very cool. We were playing at the feature table which was the first time for both of us. Chatting with him an knewing that I was in favor took a lot of pressure.

Quarterfinals Death n Taxes 1-2: This is one of the worst matchups after lands in my opinion. I've played this deck myself and almost chose to play it at the GP instead of Team America. Making Top 8 with it proved that my opponent was a very competent player, piloting it through such a combo heavy meta. G1 he easily won with me doing nothing else but playing rediculous Goyfs. He just kept beating me with Mirran Crusader. I boarded out all Goyfs, Shamans and even Tombstalkers (mistake, retrospectively) and put in Winter Orb, Clique, Lilli (mistake- should have kept the Stalkers in instead), and other funny stuff. My plan worked out perfectly G2, as I had an opener with Delver, 2 Force, Daze, Winter Orb and two lands. G3 I also led with delver and he cast Stoneforge Mystic Turn 3. I was fine with that because I had a Clique to remove his Batterskull in resonse to Stoneforge activation. At that point, I was clearly ahead: flipped Delver and Clique, he was at 11 or something and he only got Stoneforge Mystic. He revealed Flickerwisp and 4 Lands with Clique and I stupidly didn't take my time write down what he had. Then he topdecked a Sword and cast it on my Clique which I forced. That was the Crucial mistake I made, because I should have saved up my Force for his Flickerwisp! Then he cast Flickerwisp, targeting stoneforge, getting Jitte connected and that was it. I don't know why I chose to counter his Swords and why I didn't think of this simple trick at that point (I played the deck myself and knew this tech very well!), but a short moment of carelessness cost me the quarterfinals.
Anyway, I'd like to congratulate Michael Bonne again at this point and concratulations, of course, to Thomas Enevoldsen for winnig the Grand Prix with this super stylish Deck!

Some Notes:
I've tested Sinkholes in the Sideboard a lot but they never had much impact in the game, especially long-lasting impact. I've been looking for an alternative in this slot that served a similar role but with more impact. At some point in this threat, somebody mentioned Winter Orb. I can't find who it was, but thank you very very much for this thought! From the first time I tested it against Esperblade, I was overwhelmed by how this card completely messes the Game and turn over the hole Board state! Of course, it messed with me, too, sometimes (also once or twice during the grand prix) but the impact of this card is ridiculous. Plus, Daze becomes super-broken with it, because returning a land to your hand is suddenly a huge advantage!

I'm unsure about the Engineered Plagues in the Sideboard and I'm probably gonna put either Dread of Night or Golgari Charm in their Slot. Golgari Charm also offers interesting value in the Esper Matchup, practically countering Supreme Verdict. Removing a Rest in Peace or a Leyline of Sanctity seems good, too (thats actually what the Maelstrom Pulse is in right now). Plus, if you name elves with plagues, they still have their insects with which Golgari Charm deals as well.

One more thing: I have been very disappointed by Delver of Secrets (except for the Quarterfinals, where I boarded out 10 creatures). Sometimes it didn't flip for 3 or 4 turns and I never wanna use my Brainstorms to make it flip. In the Games I did so, I lost. I consider going down to 3 but I can't think of any good replacement so far. Maybe cutting MD Clique as well and add 2 Thoughtseize... Thoughts?

I hope you liked my report and I'm very curious about your feedback!

Peace

super report! congrats for the top8. i would light to know in which pairings u use life from the loam. it's a top card versus decks that abuse from duals, but for examble versus canadian u need to keep the tempo playing aggro. i think jund and BUG agent will be good pairings to use it.

[Tombstalker]

Greetings I've been out of the game for around a year and now coming back I see deathrite shaman is the new tech. Would anyone mind giving some details on why this guy became a 4-of in TA? I see the card is powerful and flexible but I'm not sure I would want 4.. perhaps I'm just out of touch though, idk. I did play a handful of games with 2 in my old TA shell tonight and they seemed useful but not aggressive enough, more reactive.. Anyway don't crucify me for questioning what seems like a new staple ok :-)

[Justin]

Greetings I've been out of the game for around a year and now coming back I see deathrite shaman is the new tech. Would anyone mind giving some details on why this guy became a 4-of in TA? I see the card is powerful and flexible but I'm not sure I would want 4.. perhaps I'm just out of touch though, idk. I did play a handful of games with 2 in my old TA shell tonight and they seemed useful but not aggressive enough, more reactive.. Anyway don't crucify me for questioning what seems like a new staple ok :-)

As you get back into Legacy and play more game with Deathrite Shaman and against it, you will appreciate how great it is. For one hybrid mana, you get a 1/2 that serves as maindeck graveyard hate, mana acceleration, life gain, and direct damage. DRS is one of those rare "format-defining" cards and it has changed Legacy. Many decks in this format need to kill him as quickly as they can, or he will ruin their day. Believe it or not, but some people on this site have argued that DRS should be banned. You never want to run fewer than four.

[yaWgnorW]

As you get back into Legacy and play more game with Deathrite Shaman and against it, you will appreciate how great it is. For one hybrid mana, you get a 1/2 that serves as maindeck graveyard hate, mana acceleration, life gain, and direct damage. DRS is one of those rare "format-defining" cards and it has changed Legacy. Many decks in this format need to kill him as quickly as they can, or he will ruin their day. Believe it or not, but some people on this site have argued that DRS should be banned. You never want to run fewer than four.

Second everything here. If it were just a normal mana dork that exiled lands from a graveyard (fetch lands/wasteland usually) it still may be worth it. In addition to that, you can exile creatures for life or instants/sorcery to deal life loss. I think more people have one of of machine gunning his life loss ability more than anything. He also eats 2 jitte counters, and any 1/1 blocker or attacker. He affects any deck in the format that uses graveyards. This includes, but not limited to, EVERYTHING. In a meta full of Goyfs, Punishing Fires, Life from the Loam, Nimble Mongoose, Snapcaster Mage, Reanimate...list goes on...this guy is just the one stop shop. I do not think he should be banned however; while he has a big impact he does not define every single game.

[Tombstalker]

Thanks for the responses. The games it did shine most were against reanimator and main deck Grave hate slash accel is ace. I know I've envied hierarch many times but she wasn't powerful enough to make the cut (and not blk). Maybe I will bump up to 4 for awhile to see for myself once the cards arrive. Say this makes me feel more inclined to run bombs like hymn, liliana and maybe even phyrexian arena over library as 1-ofs. Do you guys find bomby cards more doable now and how about the 4th stalker?