[Primer] R/G Lands

[gigapatrick]

Hello all,

I've recently acquired Lands on MTGO, and now I can make and post videos for everyone's enjoyment:

Building a Fortress #1

Unfortunately, this first video is a little fuzzy because I forgot to change my screen resolution, but it is still watchable. I'll record future videos with the proper resolution. Until then, enjoy this video, if possible.

Edit:

Scratch what I said before. I just checked the video out and it looks fairly clean actually. Enjoy.

[barcode]

So what is everyone's SB looking like then? Also do you like running 4 fetches with two thickets or possible 3 fetches 2 thickets and a HC. Advantages and disadvantages of both, I havent tested the 2nd way yet.

I've been on this list for a week or so. So far, 4-0 at FNM beating 12post, maverick & taxes (death & taxes with savannah and pridemage. saw no knights), UWR stoneblade, miracles. Win each time.

Haven't played Omni yet so...

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/rg-lands-4/

[Nikolai004]

So what is everyone's SB looking like then? Also do you like running 4 fetches with two thickets or possible 3 fetches 2 thickets and a HC. Advantages and disadvantages of both, I havent tested the 2nd way yet.

I run a slightly different main than most people because I like to have the main deck Bog. I run 2 Thickets and 3 different fetches. The sideboard right now is 3 choke, 4 K-grip, 4 Trinisphere, 1 Karakas, 1 Boseiju and 2 flex slots which usually is a pithing needle and a chalice or 2 sphere of res.

I have been considering turning the manabonds into either mirri's guile or sylvan library. I almost always take out the manabonds for games 2 and 3 because I can't always just drop my hand and that just telegraphs that I have some non-land cards I can't get back in my hand. Being able to filter my draws is great so I can get my missing piece faster and, possibly even more relevant in the 2nd and 3rd games you're able to check for your hate before deciding to dredge loam which I think would be amazing.

[Chatto]

Main is very stock, also have Bog main. All in all, this list has served me well:

Spells (16)
4 Crop Rotation
4 Punishing Fire
4 Life from the Loam
4 Gamble

Other Spells (10)
2 Manabond
4 Exploration
4 Mox Diamond

Lands (34)
1 Forest
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Glacial Chasm
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
2 Tranquil Thicket
2 Taiga
3 Maze of Ith
3 Dark Depths
4 Rishadan Port
4 Wasteland
4 Thespian's Stage
4 Grove of the Burnwillows

Sideboard (15)
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Karakas
2 Choke
3 Trinisphere
4 Sphere of Resistance
4 Krosan Grip

I like the Spheres over 3Ball, that explains the 4/3-split.

@ Dice: sweet Mother of God! That pimpin'

[Alexeezay]

@gigapatrick That's great! I liked the 1st video, you had really rough opening hands lol.

On another note: My meta shifted from heavy Miracles/Delver to multiple Loam decks (4C Loam, Lands etc) so my sideboard has 2 Titania, Protector of Argoth to gain a small edge. What do you think?

[barcode]

Blighted Fen

T: Add
, T, Sacrifice ~: Target opponent sacrifices a creature

This is something to consider. It deals with True-Name Nemesis and might even be worthwhile to deal with Emrakul from Omni (Although that would obviously need testing). Personally I've been on the light black splash for Bob and this might take the spot of something like Riftstone Portal in my deck.

[Brendelton]

I really like mirri's guile atm. It seems to replace manabond perfectly, just wondering what everyone else thought?

[barcode]

I really like mirri's guile atm. It seems to replace manabond perfectly, just wondering what everyone else thought?

I haven't played it so I'm speculating here:

I think Manabond has a higher limit to break the game. Loaming multiple times a turn later in the game (and then dumping those lands into play) seems to have more value than manipulating the top 3 each upkeep. Those top 3 which may end up being dredged anyways to recur important lands.

Have you tried Sylvan Library? It's similar in behaviour to Mirri's Guile but it allows us to dredge three times each draw step and to manipulate the cards in such a way that they end up in our hand. It's one mana more, which might matter.

[Brendelton]

Thank you for the reply. I tried sylvan library and the one extra mana is pretty rough. The second and third games I have loved guile because I can check to see if my K-grip in in one of the three cards I would dredge. I do agree that manabond is fantastic when dredging, it just seems that manabond is always #1 card that I side out in every match up, and maybe that is a good thing.

[barcode]

Thank you for the reply. I tried sylvan library and the one extra mana is pretty rough. The second and third games I have loved guile because I can check to see if my K-grip in in one of the three cards I would dredge. I do agree that manabond is fantastic when dredging, it just seems that manabond is always #1 card that I side out in every match up, and maybe that is a good thing.

I think it's great to have an automatic card to cut from the deck. Manabond does a good job at that, especially since it isn't high impact in every matchup but sometimes it's the best card.

[Chatto]

Blighted Fen

T: Add
, T, Sacrifice ~: Target opponent sacrifices a creature

This is something to consider. It deals with True-Name Nemesis and might even be worthwhile to deal with Emrakul from Omni (Although that would obviously need testing). Personally I've been on the light black splash for Bob and this might take the spot of something like Riftstone Portal in my deck.

I like it! But perhaps a bit too expensive?

[barcode]

I like it! But perhaps a bit too expensive?

There's no other ability on a land that edicts an opponent. Right now we know the baseline for this ability is five mana. Usually we can have that much mana available and, I think, having access to this gives us an out to more troublesome creatures like True-Name Nemesis, Tidespout Tyrant, the mirror and less probable, Emrakul.

Does this card mean that we can't lose to 12post or Omnitell? No, of course not. But it gives us another utility land for our arsenal that we should consider. Black splash might be worthwhile anyways to have access to Dark Confidant post-board.

It may be magical Christmas land to edict their best creatures but now we can at least have the option.

[Layalouhamesh]

T: Add
, T, Sacrifice ~: Target opponent sacrifices a creature

It really looks great, but I'm not so sure of its efficiency against S&T.
The classical play is to put Omniscience into play, then dig to find a Cunning wish.
Then, you get Firemind's Foresignt that gives you another wish, a Brainstorm, and a Split Decision
With the wish, you can then get an Eladamri Call, and you can copy the wish with Split Decision to get a Trickbind.

So there is an easy way to go around the sacrifice.
That said, the only situation where I think it is great is if Emrakul comes directly with S&T.
However, in this case I find Karakas strictly better.

Finally, it has already been said, but the card looks really nice against Nemesis

[Admiral_Arzar]

The activation cost is a little steep but Urborg fixes that pretty handily. Of course, now we're dealing with another slot which is hard to come by.

[gigapatrick]

Check out this epic grindfest against Miracles:

Building a Fortress #2

[Morte]

Thank you gigapatrick, the Miracle matchup usually is quite boring, I enjoied a lot the finale of the game!

Your videos are interesting and useful, go on like this!

[lavafrogg]

Seeing how some people are playing boseju in the sideboard for the miracle matchup, has anyone also added Tsunamis over the chokes?

Uncounterable, one sided armageddons against most of the format seems like something that is worth trying.

[Crimhead]

Seeing how some people are playing boseju in the sideboard for the miracle matchup, has anyone also added Tsunamis over the chokes?

Boil is better - and I think it was discussed (very briefly) a page or two back. I'm thinking of trying it out - I run into too much Submerge for my liking.

[Admiral_Arzar]

Boil is better - and I think it was discussed (very briefly) a page or two back. I'm thinking of trying it out - I run into too much Submerge for my liking.

Resolving Boil in modern Legacy is one of the greatest feelings ever. I believe that blue players should be punished for their sins, and few cards do it better :P.

Anyways, I decided to play this deck for the first time in a year and took down a GPT over the weekend. My list was a tweaked version of the last David Long list:

4 Mox Diamond
3 Crop Rotation
4 Exploration
4 Gamble
2 Manabond
4 Life from the Loam
4 Punishing Fire

1 Bojuka Bog
1 Forest
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Horizon Canopy
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
4 Dark Depths
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
3 Maze of Ith
4 Rishadan Port
3 Taiga
4 Thespian's Stage
4 Wasteland

Sideboard
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Karakas
2 Sphere of Resistance
3 Choke
4 Krosan Grip
4 Trinisphere

I opted for full playsets of the combo pieces to increase the number of "oops, I win" hands, and moved the Bog to the maindeck to hedge against graveyard decks (turns out there were several but I was never paired against them). The event had 16 players, we played 5 rounds.

Round 1 - Stifle-Nought

Awesome, paired against one of the friends I drove up here with right off the bat :(. Game one a Dreadnought gets stuck in a Maze and I make a Marit Lage while my opponent is tapped out (Stifle). Game two he opens with Deathrite and a fast Dreadnought. I find Maze but he is able to cantrip into Wasteland and kill me before I can find another Maze or a Grip. I misplayed here by playing an unnecessary Dark Depths, which shut off the desperation Gamble -> Grip play as I needed another manasource in play to pull it off. Game 3 I kill a couple of Deathrites, Maze one Nought, and Grip the other. I eventually make Marit Lage who is bigger than Dreadnought. 2-1

Round 2 - Counter-Sliver

Omg this deck. Both of these games involve lots of Wastelands and the Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale followed by big flying tentacle witch monsters. Not much to see here, this matchup is atrocious for him. 2-0

Round 3 - TES

Uh oh. This guy is another friend of mine so I know exactly what he's on. I lose the die roll (!) and keep a hand with the potential to make a turn 2 Marit Lage if I draw an additional land. I draw it but he kills me before I can attack. I board in all the Spheres and some Chokes. Game 2 I make a turn 2 Trinisphere and eventually play a Choke and some Wastelands. He scoops when I play out the combo. Game 3 I keep Mox Sphere Choke 4 Lands and get Duressed. He takes Choke and I turn one Sphere. I draw Wastelands and Ports and Loam and slowly grind him out - he is able to find Chain of Vapor for the Sphere but it isn't enough and I eventually make a 20/20. 2-1

Round 4 - Grixis Control

I lose the die roll. Game one I mulligan to 5 and don't cast a spell the entire game. I have the combo on the board on his turn 5, and he swings to put me at 2 (Pyromancer, Snapcaster, and tokens). I choose not to make Marit and block for fear of Jace, Lili, etc. He Digs into Land + Bolt and we go to game 2. I later learn that he plays Innocent Blood in addition to Jace. Game 2 my hand has Exploration, Loams and Fires but his has double Surgical Extraction. I die before I can naturally draw the combo. 0-2

Round 5 - MUD Painter

I lose the roll again and my opponent makes a turn one Grindstone off of Ancient Tomb. I don't have Wasteland or Port but have the ability to make turn 2 Marit Lage. It doesn't matter as he slams Painter on turn 2 and we go to game 2. Game 2 I keep the Manabond + 6 lands God hand and make Marit Lage on turn 1. Game 3 is a long grindy affair where I have a million ports. Unfortunately, he has Tormod's Crypt, Ensnaring Bridge, Chalice at 2, and Coercive Portal which draws him enough cards to break out of my softlock. I die to Metalworker/Staff combo. I had a lot of time to draw a Grip here but it wasn't happening. 1-2

So at 3-2 I shouldn't make top 4 (they cut to 4 for some reason instead of 8) but the first seed (Grixis Control guy) isn't going to the GP and scoops as prizes were given out at end of Swiss. As the x-2 with the highest breakers I sneak in at 4th.

Semifinals - MUD Painter

I don't even have to move from my seat as I'm playing my round 5 opponent again. He has the play due to higher seed but it doesn't matter. I have immediate Wasteland recursion and his ability to play spells is severely limited. Game 2 I keep a hand without Loam or Exploration but with 3 Wastelands and maybe a Port too. I waste and port every land he plays until I eventually draw Exploration, then a second Exploration, and then Gamble for Loam. Loam gets back 3 Wastelands and that earns a concession. 2-0

Finals - Grixis Tezzerator

My buddy on TES lost to this guy in the semis (Tezz is a terrible matchup for storm, between Chalice, Trinisphere, Leyline, and FOW). He will be avenged. Game one my opponent opens with Ancient Tomb, Chalice on 1, Chalice on 0. I once again establish Wasteland recursion very early in the game (Loam is the only spell I can cast anyways lol). Turns out he kept a land-light hand because of the double Chalice, and is punished for it. There's little he can do other than Force the first Loam, and then I make a Marit Lage. Game 2 he opens with turn 0 Leyline of the Void. I play some Lands and then Gamble for Thespian's Stage (I discard Choke and make a big deal about it). I assemble the combo and pass the turn. I expect Ensnaring Bridge but he doesn't have it and plays Dack Fayden to try and Loot into Wasteland. He doesn't and Marit Lage gets there (turns out Grip was my next card, so Loam was going to be online anyways). 2-0

The deck was powerful, more powerful than I remember. I had a lot of explosive hands that were insane against decks without Swords to Plowshares. I did mulligan a decent amount (the maindeck Bog caused at least 2 mulligans by not producing green mana) but it was only a problem against Grixis where I just did nothing in game one. My sideboard is primarily configured for Omni which I ended up not facing, but all the Spheres were good against Storm and the Grips and Chokes were good against most everything else. I never boarded in Karakas, but I dodged both the Reanimator and Dredge player that were in the room. Boseiju came in against Grixis but I didn't see it.

[Layalouhamesh]

Nice result :)

Nothing related: I was reading the primer on page 1 again, as I'm building a black version. When thinking of Abrupt Decay Vs Krosan Grip, I was mainly in favor of the Decay, but then I realized that it couldn't handle Blood Moon (except on the turn it is played) due to the absence of a Swamp in the deck. Maybe this should appear somewhere in the Abrupt Decay section in the primer.

What do you guys think of the choice of one over the other? I'm pretty much convinced that Decay is better in most situations as long as you stay aware of Blood Moon (other drawbacks I see are an opponent's Venser that can save Decay's target, or the impossibility to destroy Omniscience).