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Post by John Galli on Feb 13, 2013 12:24:17 GMT -5
Yeah it could have just been an off night. I wasn't feeling my list, still ironing out a few ideas as of late and was trying slightly different play styles. We'll see how it goes over the next few weeks.
I saw a list today that I wasn't 100% on but had some interesting ideas going-
Gandarion (4-0) Standard Daily #4991890 on 02/12/2013
Main Deck 60 cards
4 Clifftop Retreat 11 Mountain 2 Plains 4 Sacred Foundry 2 Slayers' Stronghold 23 lands
4 Ash Zealot 4 Boros Reckoner 3 Frontline Medic 4 Hellrider 4 Lightning Mauler 4 Rakdos Cackler 4 Stromkirk Noble 2 Thundermaw Hellkite 29 creatures
2 Boros Charm 2 Pillar of Flame 4 Searing Spear 8 other spells
Sideboard 2 Boros Charm 2 Brimstone Volley 1 Firemane Avenger 2 Frostburn Weird 2 Mizzium Mortars 2 Pillar of Flame 2 Rest in Peace 2 Volcanic Strength 15 sideboard cards
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Post by John Galli on Feb 13, 2013 13:25:07 GMT -5
Time to paint the town red again this weekend-
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Post by Zach on Feb 15, 2013 0:54:57 GMT -5
Have you considered running ghost quarter? It's really good right now, and if you get them on their upkeep, it basically sets them back a turn. For a red deck that seems pretty important right now. Not to mention the number of decks running 0 basics.
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Post by John Galli on Feb 15, 2013 2:43:21 GMT -5
I've considered it but to be honest I haven't seen any decks running zero basics and since the land comes into play untapped and you lose a land it typically has been awful. With low land count decks that run very few basics like you see in legacy I can see that effect being more effective but its never tested well in standard.
I did try some tech out today on cockatrice though which was surprisingly awesome; Firemane Avenger out of the board. Against aggro decks with a light amount of removal this guy just completely stomped face. Looking toward to trying him out IRL at some point
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Post by Travis Lannoye on Feb 15, 2013 9:29:31 GMT -5
Yeah, Lightning Helix is a pretty sick card, and a 3/3 flyer is never a bad thing, either. Good to see you were able to find a place for him.
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Post by Travis Lannoye on Feb 15, 2013 10:12:20 GMT -5
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Post by John Galli on Feb 15, 2013 13:40:56 GMT -5
This article is actually pretty boss. I never even considered blind obedience or rogue's passage, I think both of those would shore up a ton of the issues I was struggling with
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Post by John Galli on Feb 16, 2013 0:07:28 GMT -5
Went 3-1 tonight, lost to the first place finisher in the last round in game 3 on a mull to five with one land.
Beat Esper Control in 3, American Midrange in 2, and Mono Red in 3. Lost to Bant Delver in 3.
List was really cooking-
4 Rakdos Cackler 4 Stromkirk Noble 2 Stonewright 3 Lightning Mauler 4 Ash Zealot 4 Boros Reckoner 4 Hellrider 2 Thundermaw Hellkite
2 Boros Charm 4 Searing Spear 4 Pillar of Flame
14 Mountain 1 Plains 4 Clifftop Retreat 4 Sacred Foundry
Sideboard 4 Blind Obedience 4 Reckless Waif 3 Mizzium Mortars 3 Bonds of Faith 1 Boros Charm
Blind Obedience was great, easily won me the mirror match and the midrange matchup. Bonds of faith was a nice tech addition against boros Reckoner although I never ran into him. I think the only change I'd make at the moment would be to swap out the waifs (which are good) for 3 legion loyalists and a 4th mortars to improve my game against tokens and the aggro mirror.
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Post by John Galli on Mar 26, 2013 8:29:16 GMT -5
Not sure if I'm playing tonight or not but this is the list I'm looking at running-
Tuesday, March 26th: 4 Stromkirk Noble 4 Rakdos Cackler 3 Legion Loyalist 4 Burning-Tree Emissary 4 Mogg Flunkies 4 Ash Zealot 3 Lightning Mauler 3 Pyreheart Wolf 3 Hellrider
4 Searing Spear 4 Volcanic Strength
20 Mountain
Sideboard 4 Skullcrack 4 Mizzium Mortars 4 Reckless Waif 3 Traitorous Blood
Notes*
- Not running Boros Reckoner. He's very good, he's very good in aggro matches, but Pyreheart was always strong and the ability he has in addition to undying were both relevant in countless matches. Reckoner often is either killed right away by a non damage spell or is just a clunky 3/3. Pyreheart gives me an angle to win in a lot of stalled situations. At first I considered boarding him in but then realized I'm usually either at parity creature-wise with other aggro decks or just simply ahead of most decks. Having Pyreheart in the main also gives me a lot more resilience to wrath effects, something that was balanced in my boros version when I wasn't running him by running boros charm.
- Upped the legion loyalist count. It's not a great card versus aggro but can occasionally be nice to have the first strike on your team, it's in there mostly due to the presence of lingering souls. Having this against reanimator can make their match very difficult and he ups the one-drop count to the point where I will almost assuredly have one on turn 1. He's hasty too so he adds another quick threat to the deck. There's a lot of situations in the heavier mana builds where stonewright is much better, but in this build I want speed and a way to get past blockers (trample). I can also volcanic strength him right away to make sure that it's difficult for them to deal with my team throughout the course of the early game.
Sideboard:
- Skullcrack; is against any thragtusk / sphinx's revelation decks. I dismissed this card way too quickly. I saw the spoiler, thought it looked insane, then played with it and was mad that I was losing a card when I played it against them and didn't think it did enough. After playing a lot more with it recently I realized it's just the straight nuts if you plan to hit them when they play a tusk. Even if they are not at lethal range, they're usually pretty close after doing that and just the prevention of a complete swing of the game usually makes all the difference in the world.
- Mizzium Mortars; effective in aggro mirrors. Pillar is certainly nice against zombies or strangleroot geist, but those decks aren't a dominating part of the metagame and most of the time you need to be able to kill the bigger threats to win the game. Mortars kills just about everything, and it's especially important against decks with loxodon smiter (one of the best cards against red). Even with 20 lands, this deck is still more than capable of overloading it, and if you ever get into a stall against another aggro deck, this is 100% gg guaranteed. It's also a "next-level" tech against other aggro decks that are also playing volcanic strength, as that card is typically something in the mirror that can't be contained otherwise or requires 2-for-1'ing yourself to deal with.
- Reckless Waif; this is my flex spot right now in the sideboard. Waif is almost an auto-win against control and reanimator if you're on the play with him in your opening hand. He rarely gets sideboarded in on the draw and almost never gets sideboarded in against aggro, but in the matches he's good in, he's great. I haven't played this build against any control OR reanimator yet, and even though it's explosive I want to make sure I have an edge and am not giving them an extra turn they shouldn't have. This slot could just as easily be Tormod's Crypt, Grafdigger's Cage, or Flames of the Firebrand, but I think as long as Pyreheart is in the main and not taking up room in the board waif is reasonable here. Plus, having Waif AND Pyreheart against control is usually a beast.
- Traitorous Blood is mostly for reanimator, as typically the only games they beat you are ones where they unburial rites on turn 4 or 5. In those games, they're usually at about 7-12 life, and hitting them once with their own angel or hoof (assuming they're not the combo version) is typically enough to put them into burn range. Playing RDW in the current meta, you usually don't have time to slow down to play a spell like grafdigger's cage or even just to lose a card in your deck for a non-damaging spell, so this is usually just better. It can also be a really nice card in just any aggro match when you have roughly equivalent amounts of guys on the board and stealing one swings the game. It's MUCH stronger with Pyreheart on the field, and thus it's a versatile card. That said, while some builds run x4, I don't think I ever like seeing multiples of this card so 3 is enough that I'll see it but not flood with it.
Thoughts?
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Post by John Galli on Apr 2, 2013 8:46:53 GMT -5
This is the list I'm planning to run tonight, with possible changes being a few volcanic strength put back in the board. I'm trying to hedge against an increasingly aggro field. Also trying Fervent Cathar over Boros Reckoner and Pyreheart-
For Tuesday 4/2
4 Stromkirk Noble 4 Rakdos Cackler 4 Burning-Tree Emissary 4 Mogg Flunkies 4 Ash Zealot 4 Lightning Mauler 3 Fervent Cathar 3 Hellrider (30 Creatures)
4 Searing Spear 4 Pillar of Flame 2 Flames of the Firebrand (10 Spells)
20 Mountain (20 Land)
Sideboard 4 Skullcrack 4 Reckless Waif 4 Mizzium Mortars 3 Traitorous Blood
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Post by John Galli on Apr 8, 2013 23:10:18 GMT -5
If you guys have a sec, I'm trying to figure out my sideboard and am not sure what I want. Any thoughts appreciated, I've been trying a lot of stuff and can't figure out the right mix.
My 60 card maindeck is fairly settled, I independantly happened to come to the same 60 as a recent 3rd place finisher in an MTGO standard premiere from a few days ago.
4 Stromkirk Noble 4 Rakdos Cackler 4 Ash Zealot 4 Burning-Tree Emissary 4 Lightning Mauler 4 Boros Reckoner 4 Hellrider (28 Creatures)
3 Brimstone Volley 4 Pillar of Flame 4 Searing Spear (11 Spells)
21 Mountain
SIDEBOARD (what my current one is) 3 Electrickery (aggro mirrors, reanimator for mana dorks, lingering souls) 3 Pyreheart Wolf (Esper, Bant Wolf Run, Slow Midrange, Any Supreme Verdict deck) 2 Thundermaw Hellkite (UWR, Esper, Jund, Delver) 2 Blasphemous Act (Reanimator with Reckoner Combo, Midrange) 2 Traitorous Blood (Reanimator) 2 Flames of the Firebrand (aggro mirrors) 1 Mountain (for the control matchups where thundermaw and pyrehearts come in)
OTHER CARDS I'VE BEEN CONSIDERING
Hound of Griselbrand (control, Midrange) Mizzium Mortars (unsure, aggro most likely and maybe smiter decks) Volcanic Strength (aggro mirrors, midrange) Mugging (very useful utility card, not as 2-for-1 crazy against mirrors as Electrickery though, but the can't block clause is pretty relevant. Skullcrack (there are times when I think this card is essential to winning the thragtusk and revelation matchups, and other times like now where I think it just dilutes what the deck should actually be playing) Tormod's Crypt (it can wipe out a reanimator draw that is on curve and hard to deal with, but from what I've seen that hand is pretty inconsistent and most of the time I'd rather have traitorous blood. A lot of those games their angel is lethal to them if stolen. Burn at the Stake (a lot of decks are light on removal but good at setting up roadblocks. This card can do a lot of damage in those matchups)
Also a slight part of me wants to take out some burn in the main and run a higher creature count, but I don't know because the list is very streamlined and having all that reach with the burn has been nice
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Post by Travis Lannoye on Apr 9, 2013 9:16:39 GMT -5
I'm not sure I like the Traitorous Blood idea for Reanimator. On paper, those decks seem to have a lot of threats and stealing one of them, even a big Angel, doesn't seem like it would really make a difference. I think I'd rather stick to the small game and try to win with speed.
I also think Volcanic Strength is a great play early on to put a single creature outside of Searing Spear range.
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Post by John Galli on Apr 9, 2013 11:04:27 GMT -5
The traitorous blood plan usually isn't at the cost of speed, in fact, that's the "quicker" option vs playing tormod's crypts (which dilute the damage of the deck). From a pure speed standpoint, yes, I'm still removing burn spells, but it's usually -3 Brimstone, +3 Traitorous Blood. They usually don't have too many threats, their mana dorks eat my pillars and their trolls/healers/restos eat my searing spears, so typically what can kill me is an Angel of Serenity when they are down to 3-4 life. At that point, stealing the angel is usually my best line of play, outside of blasphemous act which isn't always an option if the angel just ate up 3 of my guys.
Another idea I had that people aren't doing at the moment was to try burn at the stake, but I think it suffers the same issue as blasphemous act.
Typically yes, I do burn this deck out based on speed (that's the goal at least). But not sideboarding for the matchup seems poor, so what do you think would be a good option when you reference speed?
Volcanic Strength is really strong in aggro mirrors for the reason you mentioned, it's actually another side reason that people run mortars (so they can kill sideboarded volcanic strengths). The only problem is I've noticed that the naya blitz matchup is so close and so fast, that often times having an unblockable guy doesn't really matter. It usually comes down to if I can play enough removal on their guys and have enough of my own get through (which i suppose strength helps with there). Worth consideration again though, I do like how it's like a shrine of burning rage in the mirror. Blitz has a lot of X/1s, one of the reasons electrickery and mugging can be so strong
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Post by John Galli on Apr 10, 2013 8:17:47 GMT -5
So far some early PTQ results are trickling in. Mono Red has made some good showings- mtgpulse.com/event/12842#179874 (8th - Mono Red) www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/89927460-7dc8-4c55-871c-bbf734abee25 (3rd - Mono Red) www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/5264065 (1st - Mono Red)www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/5264156 (MTGO Premiere - 7th Mono Red) www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital/magiconline/tourn/5264177 (MTGO Premiere - 3rd Mono Red) mtgpulse.com/event/12737#178416 (SCG Open - 4th Mono Red) I'm in a pretty tough spot with a list at this point. I've tested so much that I'm confused and not sure how to play it properly. I understand the gameplan against aggro mirrors, jund, and control pretty well, but against midrange and rites I'm at a loss for how to sideboard and how to play. They have a lot of threats and I don't know what kind of build I want against them and what cards to leave in the main. The mono red list that took 1st is the hyper-aggressive version. The third place list from the premiere is the one I've been playing this last week and that I took to a spectacular 0-2 last night at the tournament (i did run into mono green and some absurdly bad draws, but Pat and My playtesting session wasn't great either). The list that you see several times in the link above, both in London and online, is piloted by Mezzel, an MTGO die-hard red player. He's played his stock list now for quite a few recent big tourneys and placed high finishes everytime. In two of those big events (the PTQ and the Premiere) he had records in the swiss of 8-0 and 6-0 respectively. I almost want to just jam his list card for card, except I hate that he has x4 Mizzium Mortars main. It just seems like such a non-bo to have that many cards that can't go to the face in game 1 if you play against Esper or even Rites? Granted, the Esper game 1 is already close, somewhat in your favor, but it still seems so miserly. Thoughts?
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Post by Travis Lannoye on Apr 10, 2013 9:47:00 GMT -5
You have more XP than most everyone else with Standard, so I'd say go with your gut. If it was me, I'd look at the guy who posted the most consistent results and jam as much of his list as possible.
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