[Deck] GW/x Maverick

[Bobmans]

What are some opinions on hands with multiple GSZs? My normal reaction is to mull because they're too slow, but I also value the flexibility.
Example hand:
GSZ x 3, Jitte, STP, Savannah, Wasteland

This allows for t1 GSZ for arbor, then either play jitte or GSZ for a 2-drop. There's a lot of options with that hand, but they're all fairly slow/low impact.
Would you guys keep/mull? why?
thanks~

I would keep that hand. You say it is slow, but i disagree. This hand ramps like crazy. Like you mentioned you can Savannah -> GSZ -> Dryad Arbor. T2 you could GSZ for 2 and get Scooze or Gaddock Teeg. Or just get a mana dork and hold the Savannah for Plow and T3 GSZ into Knight. Pretty solid.

[Fatal]

This hand is very good since you can ramp on start then tutor any answer vs recognized MU.

[Warden]

What are some opinions on hands with multiple GSZs? My normal reaction is to mull because they're too slow, but I also value the flexibility.

I really like them against slow/control decks.
Ex: Land, Fetch, Fetch, 1cc dork, gsz, gsz, Library
I would keep something like that 100%

Ex 2: Land, Land, DRS, Mom, gsz, gsz, gsz
A bit trickier. You can open t1 - gsz + arbor into dork + zenith #2. Or you can go t1 mom into anything that'll be protected T2 forward. I would keep this most cases

Ex 3: Land, Land, stp, Thalia, gsz, gsz, gsz
Not the best. Thalia is a huge hurdle to clear --- even if you ramp turn 1.

Example hand:
GSZ x 3, Jitte, STP, Savannah, Wasteland

This allows for t1 GSZ for arbor, then either play jitte or GSZ for a 2-drop. There's a lot of options with that hand, but they're all fairly slow/low impact.
Would you guys keep/mull? why?
thanks~

I wouldn't keep this unless I knew I could really make something of it. It's very low impact unless you could do some serious damage and strand the opponent off that wasteland. Odds are slim though.

[DudeItsCorey]

What are people's preferred sideboard card against Miracles, 12-post, Lands, etc. Is it Armageddon or Cataclysm? I play Armageddon because I like keeping all my creatures after it resolves. However, I am noticing a lot more Cataclysm on sideboards. Is there a reasoning behind it? Or is it because McDarby had it on his sideboard when he won Portland?

[Koby]

What are people's preferred sideboard card against Miracles, 12-post, Lands, etc. Is it Armageddon or Cataclysm? I play Armageddon because I like keeping all my creatures after it resolves. However, I am noticing a lot more Cataclysm on sideboards. Is there a reasoning behind it? Or is it because McDarby had it on his sideboard when he won Portland?

Echo chamber likely.

Against Miracles:
* Extra Teegs
* Chokes
* Abrupt Decay

Against Lands / Post:
* Life from the Loam
But I don't run it unless there is a high concentration of these decks, which is rare. Armageddon could take its place here. Last time I tried it, it was underwhelming

[mikeshimoji]

Getting back to this deck, trying to rebuy the pieces, but are two black sources, bayou and scrubland, really enough for main deck decay? Davidcdarby was running three maindeck I think.

[Realz]

@Realz
I'd easily swap the Maze of Ith ----> Cradle. Almost entirely better

-The mana dork issue is simple: run 5 guys (not the burger place). I agree DRS can sometimes be weak. The best mix has been 3 DRS + 2 [birds or hierarch]. I gyrate towards that composition more than anything else, especially 4 mana dorks. If you can't get established with mana early, you falter.
-I would still shave an Abrupt Decay for another QPM. Don't underestimate how valuable he is.
-I agree with Batterskull not being 60-card material. It goes back and forth with Swords of X/Y (light shadow usually makes the cut > skull).

Perhaps I need to get on the Spirit of the Labyrinth train? I have been debating about their inclusion in my SB. Some of my friends say an army of Teeg and Labyrinths simply overwhelm Miracles. Anything to make that matchup better.



Just trying to read this correctly: you want options that fight Lands and options that fight C.Priest? You already have grave-hate in the SB. That can continue to work. Perhaps shifting to RIP (turns off lands.dec...but don't bitch about KotR being "small") or Surgical Extraction? Additionally, you could bring in Armageddon. 'Geddon wrecks any "I needs lots of lands" decks -- including Miracles, Nic Fit, and Stoneblade. Containment Priest comes in with DnT -- a deck that can't handle ZP or Toxic Deluge whatsoever.

Your board would then look like:
4 dedicated anti-Miracles cards
2 ZP
2 Deluge
2 GY hate
5 Flex

-Cradle would be good, haven't been loving maze of ith, would have to put a scavenging ooze back in the maindeck, will give it a try.

-Concerning mana dorks: I need to cut a dude, but which one? would be tempted to cut 1 thalia and go to 2 in the board again allowing for 4 in the 75. I have found DRS to be a bit so - so in some situations however will try and make him more efficient by upping the fetchland count to 8.

-Spirit of the labyrinth is -strong-, Stops: Brainstorm, treasure cruise, ponder, elves, slows down combo decks.. beats for 3, I ran the eidolon for a while however found spirit to be quicker at 2 cmc.

-In terms of sideboard I meant, was looking to include containment priest as well. thanks for the advice:

3 dedicated anti-Miracles cards (with teeg + decay in main)
2 ZP
2 Deluge
2 GY hate
5 Flex

seems legit.

@mikeshimoji I have found 3 to be more reliable, wouldn't run less than 2 though

[tescrin]

I think Maze is a meta call. Dependent on how many Lands (Depths), Infect, and other singularly powerful decks are around. It's decent for stalling Delver to the mid game and such as well; but that's hardly this deck's concern. It should be amazing against Swiftspear.

[Cambriel]

I've been running Maze lately and really enjoying it. Matches are full of fair decks these days, so it's just worth having. I pulled Courser of Kruphix for it and have been pretty happy. It really isn't a land, so I don't treat it as one and I don't factor it into my land count.

FWIW, I run 4 duals, 3 basics, Cradle, Canopy, and fetches.

[TMagpie]

What are people's preferred sideboard card against Miracles, 12-post, Lands, etc. Is it Armageddon or Cataclysm? I play Armageddon because I like keeping all my creatures after it resolves. However, I am noticing a lot more Cataclysm on sideboards. Is there a reasoning behind it? Or is it because McDarby had it on his sideboard when he won Portland?

I'm an Armageddon loyalist myself, but its important to note that Cataclysm kills planeswalkers as well while Armageddon does not.

[Philipp2293]

Also, vs Miracles, you have to be very careful with Geddon if they are able to flip Top and ETA in response which is basically game over, unless you have a very commanding board presence.

[Fatal]

Very good sideboard card vs Miracles is Engineered Explosives - it stops 2 most important cards:
- EtA
- CB
Works also as catch-all card vs nasty pernaments

[Warden]

Very good sideboard card vs Miracles is Engineered Explosives - it stops 2 most important cards:
- EtA
- CB
Works also as catch-all card vs nasty pernaments

But it's disabled by another must-have card for that matchup: Gaddock Teeg. I don't like EE for this very reason (the collateral of EE hitting your own stuff aside). I'd rather have a no-bo of 'Geddon/Kgrip + bears > EE + bears, but that's just me and my playstyle.

[sdematt]

Depends on the deck. I know in Junk you want EE for Delvers and stuff, maybe you guys don't. Teeg screws your GSZ, but you don't care either.

I would say play Ratchet Bomb instead, but being CMC 2 is rough, especially against CB. Teeg Safekeeper lock is really how you want to lock out Miracles.

-Matt

[Dutch253]

So about a year ago I was interested in building this deck. Following the advice of much more experienced Legacy players i decided not to. They all said that it's a horrible deck and that it's dead etc.. So what happened in the last year that made this deck good enough to snag a first place win at a large Legacy event?

[sdematt]

It's not dead anymore before Miracles, while still an excellent deck, is falling in terms of numbers and finishes. Maverick is better against the Delver decks since it can go longer. Before Treasure Cruise, it was really bad with more Combo in the format.

-Matt

[Dutch253]

It's not dead anymore before Miracles, while still an excellent deck, is falling in terms of numbers and finishes. Maverick is better against the Delver decks since it can go longer. Before Treasure Cruise, it was really bad with more Combo in the format.

-Matt

So it might be a good idea for someone considering building the deck (again...) to wait until the next banned and restricted list comes out and the meta settles again?

[nevilshute]

So, my LGS had it's Year's End Invitational tournament. It was a 16-player show down, 4 rounds top-4. I ended up going 3-0 (6-0 in games) and drawing into top-4 where I lost in the semis.

Not being hugely experienced with Maverick and usually playing storm I had decided that a deck that punished all the treasure cruises and friends in the room would be the right call.

Here's the list I played:

1x Marsh Flats
3x Verdant Catacombs
4x Windswept Heath
1x Forest
1x Plains
1x Bayou
1x Scrubland
2x Savannah
1x Karakas
1x Gaea's Cradle
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Horizon Canopy
1x Dryad Arbor
4x Wasteland

1x Umezawa's Jitte
1x Sword of Fire and Ice
4x Knight of the Reliquary
2x Gaddock Teeg
2x Qasali Pridemage
4x Deathrite Shaman
2x Spirit of the Labyrinth
2x Stoneforge Mystic
4x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4x Mother of Runes
4x Swords to Plowshares
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Sylvan Library
4x Green Sun's Zenith
1x Noble Hierarch


Sideboard:

3x Thoughtseize
1x Sword of Light and Shadow
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Pithing Needle
1x Grafdigger's Cage
1x Ethersworn Canonist
1x Surgical Extraction
2x Zealous Persecution
1x Cataclysm
1x Krosan Grip
2x Abrupt Decay

A couple of thoughts about some of the card choices. I've been playing a very similar list since cruise came out except for the Spirit of the Labyrinths which were new additions. Those 2 slots had hithero been a Scryb Ranger and a 2nd Sylvan Library. I decided that it would make sense to play to extra bomb spells against Cruise and thought that the 2 SoLs + 2 maindeck teeg would really put the hurt on the cruise decks. The Scryb Ranger was hard to cut. It's one of my favorite creatures in the deck, but I think a lot of the time it's more flashy than substance... it's basically feels like its best against players with less experience that can't really grasp when it can do until they've seen it. Either that, or it feels like a win more card. Going down from 2 to 1 Sylvan felt like the easy choice with the addition of 2 SoLs.

Regarding the sideboard: it felt very strong in the one combo MU I had. I never faced a control deck so never got to board in Cataclysm. Not sure if the E-tutor package is advisable. Will need to play some more.

So the matches:

Round 1: Mass with UR-delver (2-0)

Mass is one of my best friends and I knew with 95% certainty what he was going to be playing. He's a very adept pilot of UR and has played it for about 2 years (he wasn't upset when cruise got printed). I win the dice roll and he mulls to 6. I keep 7 which is something like: Thalia, Waste, fetch, fetch, mom, swords to plowshares, SoL. I play land, mom. He fetches a volcanic and plays a swiftspear. I plow his swithspear and Waste him on my 2nd turn and though he has another land I stick thalia on the following turn and its GG. Game 2 is closer, and he resolves a cruise but in the end I get there. Don't remember specifics, but it involved a Zealous Persecution on a pyromancer and 3 tokens.

sideboard:
-2x pridemage
-1x Sylvan library
-1x noble hierarch
-1x SoL

+2x Decay
+2x Persecution
+1x SoLaS

Round 2: Tue with Grixis Delver (2-0)
Tue has made a brew with swiftspears, delvers, pyromancers and cruises. The black splash is for therapies and sideboard cards mainly. In game 1 my hand get's stripped pretty effectively by therapies being flashbacked, but I stick a deathrite and as he is flashing back his therapies by sacking first a swiftspear and later a delver he's not landing any threats himself... mind you he probably had to play this way as what he discarded from me were: Knight and SoFaI. Eventually I draw into more creatures and stick a Teeg the turn before he can Cruise. Game 2 he mulligans to 6 and I keep a suspect hand of Mom, Thalia and 5 lands. I stick mom, but thalia get's therapied. My gambit pays off as I draw nothing but creatures for 3-4 turns while he cantrips, frantically searching for his sideboard hate. He never finds it and I win comfortably.

sideboard:
-2x pridemage
-1x Sylvan library
-1x noble hierarch
-1x SoL

+2x Decay
+2x Persecution
+1x SoLaS

Round 3: Jep with ANT (2-0).
Jep has been playing storm for a while now and even if I hadn't seen him play earlier this evening I would have put him on that deck. I keep a hand which is, fetch, SoL, 2x thalia, 2x swords to plowshares, Waste. On the play I just play out a heath and pass the turn. He probes me, and therapies my Thalias. Nuts! I Draw Gaddock Teeg and play Waste and SoL. Now I'm just praying he can't kill me on his turn and that I can draw another land. He tutors for a Dark Ritual and passes. I draw: Horizon Canopy! I play Teeg and he scoops as he has no game 1 outs. Game 2 I keep this declicious opener: Fetch, Waste, Thoughtseize, Grafdigger's Cage, 2x Deathrite, SoL. He probes on turn 1, but luckily no therapy follow up this time. I fetch bayou to play around massacre and thoughtseize him seeing: Massacre, 2x decay, tutor, led, dark rit. I grab tutor and pass. He doesn't have a 2nd land drop so I Waste him and drop a Deathrite. I manage to not play any plains for a few turns but drop the SoL and Cage. Holding on to my 2nd Deathrite and drawing another SoL. He eventually double rituals to masscre. I then drop SoL and Thalia on my following turn and win.

Sideboard:

-4x swords to plowshares
-2x Pridemage
-1x Stoneforge
-1x Jitte

+1x E-tutor
+1x Cage
+1x Canonist
+1x surgical
+1x Zealous P
+3x Thoughtseize

Round 4: ID with the other guy that was 3-0

Semi finals: Ian with 4c Delver.
By now we all know what the others are playing and I'm very happy to be facing 4c delver. It is now that all my good luck seems to run out. My first hand of 7 are teeg, pridemage and 5 lands. I ship it and get a mediocre 6 that I keep. I lose to 2 flipped delvers and a TNN over the course of 4 or 5 turns. Game 2 is even worse as I mull to 5 after getting no lands on 7 and only a Waste on 6. I keep 5 which are: canpoy, fetch, deathrite, swords to plowshares, SoFaI. Deathrite gets bolted, the Scrubland I fetched get's Wasted, I don't draw another land or 1 drop for 5 turns while he cruises twice. I get absolutely destroyed.

All in all I was very happy with how the deck performed. Sucked to get crushed like I did, but c'est la vie. The Spirits felt good, if very fragile. I think I'm going to continue with this list, but might rethink the sideboard.

[Captain Hammer]

This spoiled card seems like it could be pretty solid in Maverick

Abzan Beastmaster 2G
Draw a card each turn if you control a creature with the greatest or tied for the greatest toughness.
2/1

Thoughts?


There's also

Whisperwood Elemental 3GG
Manifest a card each of your turns.
4/4

but the casting card is probably too high.

[Cambriel]

It's not dead anymore before Miracles, while still an excellent deck, is falling in terms of numbers and finishes. Maverick is better against the Delver decks since it can go longer. Before Treasure Cruise, it was really bad with more Combo in the format.

-Matt

This. It can outplay pretty much any fair deck on the board, though Treasure Cruise can be a problem if you're on the draw and Delver gets underneath you. Most fair matches come down to sticking a Mom or an early Knight.

Fast combo is a terrible matchup. Belcher and well-piloted Storm decks are very difficult because you have so little turn 1 interaction. If you can get an untap and land Thalia, it gets much simpler from there.