I have mixed feelings on him. I keep almost typing posts and can't remember what I have or haven't said.
He can be Bob when things go well; but with a nice booty.
He can be... I don't know.. a really bad card that gives your opponents gitaxian probes for the rest of the game.
Being monoG is fine for Swords since i think the only person in the world who runs SoFaF is Sdematt, but he's also a creature who doesn't impact the board, has unreliable card advantage outside of christmas land; and basically requires you to be ahead for said CA.
As a 1-of; maybe that's fine. I feel like just about any Christmas land card would work here though. Sigarda, Thrun, etc.. they all fit here I think; as they're all made to break the grind and get whatever that advantage you're trying to get is. I realize Courser is normally in addition to these; but from my Junk eyes; it just looks too clunky.
I played in a local monthly today with the list sdematt posted last page (315), replacing only the 3rd Savannah with a Cradle. I have been hesitant to play with Courser, because it just reeks of the "hot card in standard that people jam in Legacy decks." Think of back when Jace TMS was played in Merfolk, or Huntmaster was played in Jund, etc. But, I finally decided to give it a try.
I went a dismal 1/3, lost against Dredge, won against BUG faerie/reanimator brew, lost against rock, lost against burn. I never drew the Courser, and I never encountered a situation where it seemed like the right GSZ target. I kept the card in my mind, and tried to find an excuse to find it, but it never seemed right. Perhaps I was right, and there just wasn't a good spot for it today, but that makes me wonder...
To the folks who've played Courser, and like it, what are the situations that you find yourself GSZing for it? Long grindy games against non-Miracles decks? I'm stumped. 4 matches isn't enough to make a real impression of the card, and I'd like to give it another try, and I'd like some insight on when and against what the card makes it worth the inclusion. I'm a fan of lots of the toolbox green guys, and Scryb Ranger, 2nd Qasali, 2nd Ooze, Sigarada all have their pros and cons, I really want to find what Courser's power is so I can see if I want to keep him around.
I played 2 games against burn, and didn't have the opportunity to GSZ for 3. Admittedly I did tutor for 2 at one point to get Ooze. Kind of an auto-pilot move (if able to find a life gain mechanism, do so now).
Thinking about it now, Courser does seem pretty decent if I have the opportunity to get it. 4 toughness means it'll probably take 2 cards, or brickwall their attack step, while gaining a non-zero amount of life.
Any other places where he really shines?
Small (very little details - sorry) report from the LGS tournament that I played on Saturday. My list was posted a page or two ago.
There were only 8 of us, so there were only 3 rounds.
R1: Played against one of my friends, so I'm glad we got to pay to play-test. =)
He was running Lands. My only note that I had written down was "I hate Lands.dec"
G1: Deathrite Shaman was actually a beast. -2 each turn was great pretty great for chipping away at your opponent. The only creature I was able to keep on the field was a SFM with a SoFaI equipped to her.
Loss by Marit Lage
G2: Board in 2 Pithing Needles, forgot what I took out.
Not much of a difference here. I was able to Pithing Needle his Thespian's Stage, which helped for a while until he blew up my Needle.
Marit Lage FTL! =/
0-1
R2: Not sure exactly what he was playing other than a UR burn deck. Possibly homebrew?
G1: DRS again is a beast. I'm pretty sure I won in 10 turns with him. I kept picking off, what I assumed, were key cards from his graveyard and he wasn't drawing what he needed.
G2: Boarded in a few things, nothing stellar.
Between myself, and his own cards, I got him down to 3, he then started gaining life. Once I got 2 KotR on the board, he wasn't able to survive. One or two lands in my GY, and a Hierarch & QPM on the field.
1-1
Trying to order a
G3:
Against another one of my friends, who was playing Mono-Red Sneak
R1, can't do anything to beat a turn 3 or 4 Inferno Titan.
R2: I side in most of my board.
Thankfully I made my friend laugh so much that he kept a horrible hand. (I'll take a win almost any way)
He evantually scoops because he can't get anything.
R3: Bad draws for him, and KotR for me.
2-1-1
This is actually the firs time I was in the top 50% of a tournament. I was in 3rd place, and ended up getting $11 in store credit, and traded a card to another played for another $3 in credit that I used towards the purchase of a SFM that I was borrowing from a friend of mine.
Thoughts:
I see now how much of a powerhouse DRS is. I also see that I need another Thalia.
Scavenging Ooze was not something I was looking to play when I had DRS as a choice, so he'll probably get cut for the 3rd Thalia.
I never got the chance to draw Rogue's Passage, so can't comment on it yet.
Scryb Ranger might get cut, but I'm not sure what to replace it with.
Edit, added what place I finished in.
Edit 2: Included the correct deck.
Last edited by Nik842; 10-26-2015 at 03:35 PM.
Hi guys, I recently added a Liliana of the Veil and cut a Thalia. And its been working better than ok so far. Thoughts?
Double black seems a bit obnoxious for this deck. You also may have issues finding cards you want to discard for value (in Junk/Jund this typically comes in the form of Dead cards or cards that recur themselves, like Lingering Souls.)
I feel like if you're cutting cards for liliana, Thalia is the unforunately correct choice; but I think you'll find you'll miss the "free wins" thalia gives; even though Liliana gives you some herself.
Also, non-tutorable 1-ofs (non-green non-equips) in non-blue decks always seems super weak to me unless you're using it as a 5th card (Pulse next to decay) or it's a "if I see two of these, I lose" kind of card (Loam, Karakas.)
EDIT: I mention this semi-frequently; but I used to extensively use KotR in Junk next to Liliana, and even with DRS, and sometimes GSZ; the mana can get really obnoxious against Delver. As a 1-of, maybe that's fine; but it's also really random.
West side
Find me on MTGO as Koby or rukcus -- @MTGKoby on Twitter
* Maverick is dead. Long live Maverick!
My Legacy stream
My MTG Blog - Work in progress
Keeping up with their card advantage may be tricky. Courser and Sylvan Library will help. Scryb Ranger to get some more impact from Mother of Runes and Knight. Life from the Loam can help from the SB to keep up with their endless stream of cards. Invalidating Goyf and providing numerous blockers will help. Perhaps even a 2nd Scavenging Ooze. Using more Abrupt Decays or possibly Maelstrom Pulse (to round up to Jaces) might be warranted if you can squeeze in more spells than normal.
West side
Find me on MTGO as Koby or rukcus -- @MTGKoby on Twitter
* Maverick is dead. Long live Maverick!
My Legacy stream
My MTG Blog - Work in progress
Ooze is huge in controlling their Goyfs in that matchup, and Sword of Feast and Famine, if you're playing it, is the trump. I like Scryb for sneaking past Strix if they're still playing it.
Multiple Libraries is also pretty key.
-Matt
Yeah double black is a pain in the ass, so I cut a Cradle (since having it in your opening hand kinda sucks) I just miss the cast/equip a sword trick. Then I added another Bayou so 2 bayou, 1 scrubland and 3 DRS for black sources. Seems to work out so far.
And yeah the Shardless bug matchup is hard. They seem to be out "midranging" us. I haven't won against them since my last 2 tournaments. Time to go Sofaf I guess.
Choke is a real card with all their Seas and stuff.
Having a 4-turn time bomb of a Draw 3 is pretty good. It's why I've suggested Painful Truths in this deck, but I'm not sure it's the right fit. Part of the problem is also Toxic Deluge. That card is a fucking beating.
-Matt
I was thinking of trying a second Jitte to combat Shardless, they can't Decay everything. ..or well, sometimes it seems like it. And 2 Chokes.
Vs. Shardless Bug I try to get a fast Scavenging Ooze or Knight of the Reliquary, protected by Mother of Runes. Keep in mind that an uncracked fetchland makes Liliana of the Veil a lot less scarier. From my sideboard I always bring in more Removal and Pithing Needles, if I see some Baleful Strix some -1/-1 effects come in too. I think Planeswalkers and Armageddon/Cataclysm may help in the grind too.
@THerzog41: Will there be a report or some thoughts on your list? :)
Formerly known as Bierbaron.
I have a question for you Thomas. What were your 2 last sideboard cards at the SCG open? Starcity listed only 13 cards in your sideboard. 2x Zealous Persecution? Congrats for an impressive run.
Sigarda is also a tank.
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