Aggrolicious

[John Galli]

I've been working on a G/W build today to try and fight the metagame a little bit but also to make sure I have better chances against the two top tier decks - zoo and thopter-depths. Here is a build I've been goldfishing a bit (numbers / lands need adjustment still)-

Creatures (19)

3 Noble Hierarch
4 Samurai of the Pale Curtain
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Aven Mindcensor
4 Loxodon Hierarch

Spells (18)

4 Chrome Mox
4 Path to Exile
4 Suppression Field
4 Spectral Procession
2 Oblivion Ring

Land (23)

4 Temple Garden
4 Sunpetal Grove
2 Horizon Canopy
2 Stirring Wildwood
7 Plains
4 Forest

Sideboard (15)

4 Trinisphere
3 Relic of Progenitus
3 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Defense Grid
2 Damping Matrix

There are a couple of non-bos (Samurai + Finks, Canopy/Wildwood + Suppression Field) but so far they generally don't encounter each other enough to be a problem. The latter of those two non-bos are usually not used until late game anyway, so by that point if there is a suppression field out it's a non-issue.

The goal with the deck is to land a turn 1 suppression field via chrome mox, which is generally quite good against depths and a score of other decks (zoo included since it messes up their fetch lands), and if that doesn't happen you could land a turn 1 samurai, a turn 2 finks/mindcensor/any other spell in the deck. If you don't get mox, it's still fine as turn 2 field is no slouch nor any of the other cards, and a lot of time you'll have hierarch to still be able to accelerate.

The deck can put on a good deal of lifegain pressure, especially if you hit finks + loxodon. Both of those together are ridiculous and hard for an opponent to pull away from. Field + Mindcensor + Samurai can also make a lot of players lives hard.

The sideboard brings in more action and aids with matchups that the maindeck can't deal easily with. Trinisphere is mostly for elves although it can be used against a fair amount of decks with little drawback to yourself. A turn 2 trinisphere is downright brutal, and even zoo can be irritated by it. The only cards it really effects of yours is path, samurai, and field (if it stays in), and those are sacrifices that aren't terribly important.

Defense Grid against fae, Jitte against zoo (in place of suppression field), relic against dredge, and damping matrix for more added pressure against thopter-depths.

Right now some considerations I'm making are;

- Adjustments to the manabase (the numbers / lands don't seem quite right but they are close)

- Adding more lifegain / early defense to the board or maindeck. There's a fair amount already, but something like Grizzled leatau or perimeter captain can go a long way in certain matchups.

- upping the number of damping matrixes or o-rings. This might cost me space on other matchups, but beating thopter requires a monumental effort.

[Travis Lannoye]

Just a quick thought here, but I noticed that you don't run any fetch-lands in this list, but you do run a full set of Paths. I think you should consider Psychogenic Probe as a hate-card. It triggers on all of the fetching that Zoo does, all of the tutoring and transmuting that Depths does, and even on your own Paths. With your Moxen play, you can get it out on turn 2 just like Suppression Field. Plus, it's a dollar rare at best, so it's not going to break the bank to invest in one.

[Zach]

Why Supression Field, when you have Damping Matrix in the board? Do you perhaps feel your card choices are limited? I think adding in some black may not be a bad option... Although you need to probably add fetch lands if this is the case, it may be a better idea. With the addition of black, you can add Extirpate, Puterify, and Maelstrom Pulse. I understand you're trying to be an aggro deck, but Pulse and Puterify get rid of the things with the pesky activated abilities, and creatures as well, so you don't have to run Supression Field in the main board (or at all, with Damping Matrix in the side).

The other option with black would be Abyssal Persecutor, something that people probably won't be expecting in extended, and it will remove the non-bo of Samurai+Finks. You could probably have it on turn 3 as well.

Just a few thoughts on adding a third color. If you were to stay in the same color, I would say Trinisphere may as well be Ghostly Prison in the sideboard, because the only use I see for Trinishpere is against aggro decks (Zoo).

[John Galli]

The stuff you guys are talking about are different directions then what this deck is trying to do though.

There are no fetch lands in the deck because they don't work well under suppression field and that's part of the point. I don't want to use a card that does damage to my opponent when they search for something (and subsequently have to shuffle), I want to stop them from searching. In goldfishing a few games, decks with fetches were rarely able to use them because it was counterproductive with the field on the table (or by the time they could use them it didn't matter). I realize Travis that you're a fan of the card now after having played against it, but it just doesn't fit here or make sense compared to what else is in the deck.

Zach I think the title of my post may have thrown you off a bit, and ultimately if this deck sees realization it will probably be changed. While it has aggro creatures, it's more about attacking the metagame. The reason Damping Matrix is in the board is because 4 suppresion field + Samurai + Aven Mindcensor is usually still not enough to have a strong dominance over thopter-depths. The Damping Matrix is thus a supplement to the Suppression Field.

Cards like Abyssal Persecutor, Putrefy, Pulse, and Extripate are for a different deck. I think those are all strong, and rock is a nice deck, but they're not worth the splash because making this deck 3 color would almost certainly mean running fetches and not Suppression Field (and thus not accomplishing what I want to do)

I do like Rock right now though (B/G or B/G/W), but I think if I played something like that I would need to have Tarmogoyf, and I don't plan on buying any anytime soon.

[Travis Lannoye]

No problem, it's good that you know what you want to do.

[John Galli]

Oh if only I ever knew what I wanted to do with this cardboard crack

[Travis Lannoye]

Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but it made Top 8 of a PTQ: www.deckcheck.net/deck.php?id=32610

[John Galli]

I just found this crazy hot deck on Daily MTG too-

2 Blinkmoth Nexus
1 Eiganjo Castle
15 Plains
18 lands

3 Auriok Champion
3 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
4 Lantern Kami
4 Savannah Lions
4 Suntail Hawk
18 creatures

4 Beckon Apparition
4 Chrome Mox
4 Damping Matrix
4 Honor of the Pure
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Spectral Procession
24 other spells

Sideboard
1 Auriok Champion
4 Aven Mindcensor
3 Perimeter Captain
4 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Worship

[Zach]

Alright, John... Playing this deck on Thursday kinda got me hooked. I got me a couple of Jitte's and my 3rd/4th Isochron Scepters for my Maelstrom Pulses last night, so here's kinda what I'm thinkin.

I decided to keep it Red, just because Lightning Helix on an Isochron Scepter is redick, and I basically combined out two lists.

4 Silence
4 Path to Exile
4 Isochron Scepter
4 Lightning Helix
4 Supression Field
4 Ghostly Prison
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Chrome Mox
4 Spectral Procession
2 Umezawa's Jitte
38 Spells

4 Sacred Foundry
4 Rugged Prairie
3 Flagstones of Trokair
7 Plains
4 Mountain

Then I looked and realized... It's really just a splash for red, with Lightning Helix. Then I looked at Flagstones of Trokair ZOMGWTFBBQ KNIGHT. And I came up with another G/W list...

4 Noble Hierarch
4 Path
4 Silence
4 Isochron Scepter
2 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Spectral Procession
4 Ghostly Prison
2 Elspeth

4 Temple Garden
4 Stirring Wildwood
4 Flagstones of Trokair
5 Forest
5 Plains

Side:
2 Baneslayer Angel
3 Thornling
4 Damping Matrix
4 Relic of Progenitus
2 Oblivion Ring

[matth]

Zach, what do the Flagstones do in that deck? I know you like KotR, but there's nothing else in there that takes advantage. In the Boros deck, they were used as extra landfall to power Steppe Lynx, Geopede and Zektar Shrine. This is just making your KotR bigger. You shouldn't need cute tricks to make your KotR already better than it is.
Also, Silence just isn't played these days. It doesn't help the board, and putting it on a stick is just wishing for too much. So, -4 Scepter, -4 Silence, +4 Tarmogoyf, + 4 Suppression Field? You manage to trade Pulses for Jittes, something tells me you can find someone to steal Tarmogoyfs from too.

[Zach]

Tarmogoyfs are 100 bucks. NO WAY.

[matth]

Yeah, and Jittes are like 25 and you picked up a pair last night.

[Zach]

I had Maelstrom Pulses. Those two Jittes are only HALF of a damn Tarmogoyf... (FML)

[John Galli]

Yeah I gotta say I have no idea where your going with those two lists. I'm glad you liked playing my build, but I think your missing some of the main goals of it.

First, your original list has isochron + suppression field. . . Those cards don't work well together and is essentially the point of playing suppression field so that cards like isochron don't work.

Second, combining two opposite lists is just a bad thing. The isochron deck is focused on spells and burning out your opponent, where the aggrolicious deck is focused on denying key metagame decks and punching through with a few creatures. Also, Travis and I have both mentioned several times that if you play isochron scepter in your deck, you need 20-25 targets for it, not 8. It's just not effective enough to draw one and not be able to do anything with it for a few turns.

Silence again is really only good when supported by a slew of other cards. The other creatures in your deck have no interaction with it.

The Jittes I had were in my sideboard. Generally my plan was to take out suppression field against zoo (even tho it affects fetching) and bring in the jittes because they're nice on spectral tokens and aven mindcensors (and even kitchen finks or hierarch). I think my original list is ok, but the sideboard needed greater adjustment for zoo and the maindeck could possibly run another o-ring or more lifegain guys. I also really like the mono-white list I posted on here, as it has a bit more speed and damping matrix will probably be more effective on the metagame than suppression field (at least in the maindeck).