Hi guys,
After a long hiatus from this awesome deck i've decided to assemble the following Bg Pox:
Creature (1)
1 Nether Spirit
Spells (25)
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Innocent Blood
2 Thoughtseize
4 Sinkhole
4 Smallpox
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
Other spells (5)
1 Crucible of Worlds
2 Cursed Scroll
2 Nether Void
Planeswalker (4)
4 Liliana of the Veil
Land (25)
1 Forest
1 Marsh Flats
3 Bayou
4 Swamp
4 Wasteland
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Sideboard (15)
1 Thoughtseize
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Damnation
2 Pithing Needle
2 Engineered Plague
3 Extirpate
3 Pernicious Deed
Now i have no idea if this is going to work, so i have some questions:
- Nether Void with Crucible: is this viable? I never liked LftL or heavy GY dependency in general, but never tried this before. Anyone care to share their experiences?
- Targeted discard: do you guys like this split?
- To go Toxic Deluge or not to go Toxic Deluge: what do you guys think about the card? I like it, but i am a little bit weary about the lifeloss.
- I would like to have some creatures in the SB. Any suggestions?
- Sideboard: any help is welcome, i'm not sure about, well, almost any card right now
- Lastly, i think Pox is really well positioned in the current meta so I would like to think I'm going to play this at GP Paris.
I would appreciate any feedback of you guys!
Toxic Deluge is king in this deck. Play it.
Deed may be too slow and not good to get rid of your permanents you need to lock the game out. Maybe keep one. One or two Maelstrom Pulse is OK I guess. If you are not running Loam or Sylvan Library then I hope risking mana base for essentially Abrupt Decay is worth it. I think a split between one Loam and one Crucible could be OK. I have considered it, but I run Entomb and Loam. If you do use Loam add in a Cabal Pit or two. If you still don't like Loam take a look at Dolphy's list. It is very optimized GB with no Loam list, precicely because Loam works poorly with Nether Void.Originally Posted by Chatto
I am going to run this pile of cards tonight:
G/B Pox
1 Nether Spirit
1 Bloodghast
2 Sylvan Library
2 Cursed Scroll
1 Trinisphere
3 Mox Diamond
1 Dark Ritual
4 Liliana of the Veil
1 Entomb
2 Life from the Loam
2 Innocent Blood
4 Smallpox
4 Sinkhole
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Inquisition of Kozaliek
1 Thoughtseize
2 Hymn to Tourach
2x Cabal Pit
4x Bayou
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Mishra's Factory
4x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4x Wasteland
1x Swamp
Side
2 Toxic Deluge
2 Innocent Blood
1 Krosan Grip
1 Pithing Needle
2 Ratchet Bomb
3 Sphere of Resistance
2 Extirpate
2 Leyline of the Void
Perhaps I could add a Maelstrom Pulse to the board in place of a Ratchet Bomb? They sometimes catch my own Scrolls or Libraries. Still undecided about two more Innocent Blood vs two Engineered Plague vs two Drop of Honey in board for the two creature destruction slots alongside of Toxic Deluge. They all have thier pluses and minuses.
JanoschEausH and beez: thanks for the replies :-) Going to change the SB a little bit and get me some Toxic Deluge. Also going to try and fit in Sylvan Library (perhaps dropping Deed altogether)
@ beez: i sometimes found Ratchet Bomb too slow, perhaps drop one in favor of a Pulse (or another Grip)? Not sure how to fill in the anti-creature slots, but Plague have always been good to me :-)
I went 2-1 in a light turnout tournament. Loam Wastelock won me a couple games. Loam Cabal Pit lock won a couple as well. Lilly and Scroll Lock did work in one win and Nether Spirit and Factory Beats closed it out. Loam getting extracted lost a game and getting overwhelmed with creatures did me in a couple times as well despite my boarded in creature hate. Never drew the Trinisphere I put in.
Lost to Jund, which I'm OK with as I tend to win a bit more than I lose to that deck. His own Sylvan Library and Surgical Extraction helped him out of a couple of jams.
TNN.dec just couldn't keep up except the game he played three of them.
The final matchup of Nic Fit was very difficult with the land ramp and he had some Kitchen Finks persiting annoyances as well. I was down to 10 or so life before Loaming Cabal pit to pick off the persistent Finks while Entombing and blocking with Nether Spirit. Finnally stabilizing at 4 life with him out of creatures and him in Cabal Pit weenie lock. For three straight turns he didnt draw a creature and I dropped three successive Factories I had Loamed up and took him down from twenty fairly quickly from there. Oh yeah. Before all that he had actually asked me what my win conditions were. Ha ha. I pointed down at the Spirit and Factory. The Scroll did some work in a couple other games.
I think I may very well do that. But I wonder, does Ratchet Bomb at 3 get rid of a TNN?
I believe it does. As do pernicious deed, Toxic deluge, engineered Plague, Golgari Charm, Infest, Massacre...
Some cards you play four of, or none at all.Never drew the Trinisphere I put in.
Jup, as far as i know Ratchet Bomb doesn't target
Question: anyone ever considered Treetop Village as an 1-of, the fifth Factory in a Bg-build?
Probably not. Good catch.
More of a statistical anomaly than anything. Probably loamed past it a couple times. Such is loam life. Multiple Trinispheres don't do much good unless you have to have it. I dont have to have it. Just makes a lock a little easier sometimes.
I tried that as well as a singleton Mutavault, but really I would rather have another basic or two, or a Tabernacle one day. I find by the time I have a lock down I usually have Loamed into some Factories or my Spirit or Bloodghast singleton. Loam is also a draw engine for wincons as well. If I am shut off of Loam, I may have already loamed them up before it was Surgicaled or whatever, or hopefully have a Scroll out if I am not Loaming. Ocasionally I have trouble with the wincon, but not as much as other builds I think. I worry more about the lock than the beatdown.
My single Entomb can also be a wincon. I've used it to tutor a Nether Spirit many times.
I like the idea of the Treetop Village, but I'm not sure where to fit it in, I'd have to cut the Forest or Cabal Pit or Tabernacle, or I suppose my maindeck Bojuka Bog. That could work. I used to run the terrible black man-land that I can't recall the name of in my mono-black list, but that was years ago, and I don't think it was good then either. Oh, right, Spawning Pool or something. Anyways, worth thinking about for sure.
Report Time! I played in a 17-man tourney for a Dual Land at Lost Harbor Games in Wesfield, MA today, 5 rounds of Swiss, cut to top 8. I played this:
4 Sinkhole
4 Smallpox
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Mox Diamond
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Liliana of the Veil
2 Sylvan Library
2 Life from the Loam
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Syphon Life
1 Nether Spirit
4 Bayou
4 Verdant Catacomb
4 Wasteland
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Cabal Pit
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Swamp
1 Forest
4 Sphere of Resistance
3 Tombstalker
3 Engineered Plague
2 Toxic Deluge
2 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Dystopia
Here's how it went down, quick and dirty like:
Round one vs. Rory with Mono Red Burn. I lose game one to Sulfuric Vortex, with Syphon Life active. I board in Spheres, aggressively attack his mana, Syphon Life a lot. 2-1. 1-0 overall.
Round two vs. Sean with Oops, All Spells. Sean is a friend, so there is much laughing and shortcutting here. I lose game one before my first turn. I board out Sinkholes, in Spheres. I mull to a turn one Chalice on one. He reveals 2 Chancellors of the Annex... I play a land, Mox Diamond is countered by the Chancellors, I play Chalice on 0. Turn 2 I Hymn, and turn 3 I peel a sweet Sphere off the top to lock him out and I seal it up as fast as I can. Game 3 he mulls to 5 and I pray. He passes! I slam a turn 1 Sphere. I quickly land Spheres number 2 and 3, and eventually find a factory. 2-1. 2-0 overall.
Round three vs. Tanner with u/R Delver Burn. I was paired down. This is my dream matchup - a bad delver deck! I don't really remember the games, except Tanner's increasingly dejected facial expressions. I didn't sideboard because I don't have to. All of my disruption is live. 2-0. 3-0 overall.
Round 4 vs. Oliver with Reanimator. Game 1 I aggressively attack his mana, set up the wastelock, and hit my miser's Bog for the scoop. I board out Abrupt Decays, Sylvans, Cabal Pit, and I bring in 4 Spheres, 3 Tombstalkers. I keep a hand with turn 1 Chalice and Bog. He shows me a Chancellor of the Tangle, then Careful Studies dumping Griselbrand. I play Bog. Turn 2 pay the Annex tax on Mox Diamond and Chalice. Some number of turns later I had Stalker and Chalice at 0 and he scoops. 2-0. 4-0 overall.
Round 5 vs. Jack with U/W/r Blade. We IDed, He got 1st seed, I got 2nd. We played it out and I win an easy 2-0. 4-0-1 overall.
Quarterfinals vs Ben with Shardless BUG. Game one I have him on 0 permanents, 1 card in hand when his Ancestral Visions comes down. I then misplay a Smallpox, cutting me off 2 mana, and I never recover. I board out 2 Sylvans, 3 Abrupt Decay for 2 Toxic Deluge, 2 Maelstrom Pulse, 1 Dystopia. Toxic Deluge paying 7 kills double Goyf, double Agent and DRS. Impressive. Dystopia holds off his board position long enough for me to win. Game 3 I go Mox, Hymn, which he Forces, protecting the Surgical that he targets the Wasteland I pitched to the Mox with. My turn 2 Life from the loam suddenly had no targets, I had no 2nd land drop, and I failed to dredge into any lands in the top 6. I hung on for a while, but I didn't get there.
Overall a super fun time!
Props to:
Pox, for running hot.
Lost Harbor Games, for running events.
Sphere of Resistance/Chalice of the Void, for ruining lives.
Ben, my nemesis, for teaching my how to play better.
Questions? Comments?
Thinking of building Loam Pox as an evil twin counterpart to my BUG Fit. Any suggestions y'all would make to this 60-Main list or towards the side?
4 Smallpox
4 Hymn to Tourarch
4 Sink Hole
4 Thoughtseize
1 Raven's Crime
4 Dark Ritual
4 Entomb
1 Life from the Loam
4 Abrupt Decay
1 Syphon Life
3 Cursed Scroll
4 Liliana of the Veil
4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Wasteland
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Bayou
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Forest
1 Swamp
I would run a Cabal Pit over the 4th Entomb. I'd also consider 1-2 4-drops to use up those Dark Rituals that get drawn in the mid-game. Something high impact, like Night of Soul's Betrayal or Nether Void, or a solid wincon like Haunted Platemail come to mind. Void is awkward with Loam though. Worm Harvest could work in your deck with the Entombs/Rituals. I'm not a fan of Entomb in Pox because you need to maximize disruption. Entomb gets your Loam engine online for sure, but you need to be applying constant pressure to their board and hand in the early turns, and Entomb doesn't help much with that. I'd love to see you prove me wrong. I think Entomb is super cool, but I don't think it work too well here.
I got second place today with a 3-1 record at Vasa Gaming (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Attendance was OK, 14 players.
My deck:
4 Bloodghast
3 Tombstalker
4 gravecrawler
3 Phyrexian revoker
4 Smallpox
4 Hymn to Tourach
3 Pox
2 reanimate
2 Sickening Dreams
3 Darkblast
2 Sensei's divining top
3 liliana of the veil
22 Swamp
2 Dakmor Salvage
Sb
1 Phyrexian revoker
1 Sickening Dreams
3 Order of the Ebon Hand
3 Nevinyrral's disk
4 Surgical Extraction
3 Cabal Therapy
My first opponent, Rick, played Imperial Painter. With no counters, or disruption, Painter lose badly to my pox.
In the second duel I made a misplay that worried me a moment. I forgot my plan of saving my smallpox to kill painter and extract it, and instead played it to destroy lands. Of course he would top deck painter next turn. Luckily I could use top to draw an extra card and play sickening Dreams for three damage and then remove all the painters from the game.
So, 2-0.
Next I met my nemesis: Miracle :P
I pushed him down to four life points in the second game, but failed to use Liliana's ulti when I had the opportunity. I guess it wouldn't have mattered since he had Entreat the angels on top of the deck and means to draw it with SDT.
On reflection discard doesn't do much here. Nor cards like surgical extraction. Something like Jinxed Idol would be far better since Miracle have a real hard time to handle non-creature permanents. That I didn't put in the Disks from the sideboard was a serious mistake.
The 0-2 result was expected and deserved, but i had thought I was better prepared this time.
(Actually I don't mind losing. It help me improve my deck, and getting a 50% ratio should not be impossible.)
Patrick, my third opponent, plays UR delver, IIRC. I lost the second duell due to my own poxes pushed me down too much and he managed to dig and find a lightning bolt just in time. I put them in the sideboard.
My result was 2-1
Lastly I met another delver deck (BRU) played by Hannes. Taking it easy with my POXes I had no problems winning.
2-0
Fun stuff: I Reanimated Patricks Vexing Devils twice, and rode a flipped(!) delver to victory over Hannes
. Is Reanimate a good card? perhaps not, but super-efficient decks are boring.
Last edited by Hardcore; 12-17-2013 at 08:39 PM.
I like that you've been doing well with your Chalice build. I developed a Chalice list I liked a lot, but have been too chicken to use it over my more standard build because of counterspell problems vs Merfolk and RUG and it being a bit slower. Maybe I was discoureged a bit too soon with it. It was very good for a lock. And it is true that some of the targeted cheap discard I do side out anyway, and that Cursed Scroll can be somewhat problematic with Loam.
Do you just power through the Dazes and Forces? I do like the maindeck Toxic Deluge for a deck with no Innocent Blood.
Do you really depend on a single Bojuka Bog for all the graveyard hate with none in the board? What is your strategy against Dredge?
With only two Life From the Loam, how often is Syphon Life a dead card? It sounds like it has done enough work for you for inclusion though.
@ ntropy and beez: you both play with very few basic swamps. Did it ever became a real problem?
@ hardcore: with three Big Pox main did you ever wished for more land?
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