I hit the big city card shop yesterday, I played against Reanimator, Esperblade and the Mirror Death and Taxes. Ok, not so interesting so far, we all get to play against other decks...! What we did do that was interesting though was play new Legend rules. I played the lands previously listed. Also met two guys who had just taken up the deck, which was also pretty cool.
The Flagstone fetch worked every time, I got Mistveil as expected. The GY interaction was of no consequence against reanimator but only one post sideboard game so not enough data to put a cross through them. In the mirror, my opponent had Flagstones also and I several times Wasted his on upkeep to see what would happen. It wasn't a bad tax but if I wasn't experimenting I would not have wasted the Wastes this way.
Mistveil came out in almost all nine games off the fetch with only one drawn and therefore a tapped land into play. They never recycled anything simply because I didn't need to. I do still expect them to be helpful.
Horizon Canopy was actually really good, I cracked them in almost all games and they did deliver photon torpedoes on several occasions, so I am back on with those.
Karakas becoming a White Lotus Petal was cool, this is possibly the best outcome of the Legend Rule. Having a Batterskull and Karakus in hand and four lands including Karakus on the battlefield was no longer a frustration.
The mirror was a grindfest that will go to time in any future tournament. Managara lock gone, Thalia and Thalia making a 3 cost StP... and Jitte becoming a race. Revoke it. In fact Revoker was possibly the single most powerful card in the match-up - you have a Vial and I don't - revoke it! your Mom revoke that and so on. I was so fearful of Jitte that I had two Revokers on it at the same time. This was the game that Horizon Canopy actually had massive form, just card advantage was hugely important as was creature removal like Gut Shot.
Still talking about the mirror, I also think other equipment is important in the SB not the second Jitte. SoLaS is an obvious and getting creatures back from the GY was often helpful but not as much as you would think given they are often exiled. SoFaI with card draw may be the bigger of the two here. Not sure, need more testing. I also think Disenchant over Leonin is preferable, having a Jitte come back is a constant concern, better to have it out than waiting on the battlefield for an StP. I wonder if Jitte becomes the DnT hate sideboard card? Sure, it no longer explodes an opposing Jitte but it definitely annihilates us and an opposing Karakus is also rude.
Anti equipment sideboard tech... Manriki-Gusari. Not sure if you forgot about that but it used to be the go to target post board against other equipment. That could be what you now use to deal with opposing jitte. 2 to stoneforge in and 1 to equip. Works faster than a jitte tends to and makes it so jitte needs more than 2 counters to kill your creature. Just a thought.
For the purposes of design, mitigating unforced errors and the like, I would've scoffed at a WW 2-drop like Leonin Relic-Warder, but when you feel like it's good to side in, it usually is. It kills opposing active Jittes due to timing rules, and a not-so-savvy opponent may try to use the counters to kill him, thinking they'll get the Jitte back, which in turn only makes it worse. Recommended.
Anti equipment sideboard tech... Manriki-Gusari. Not sure if you forgot about that but it used to be the go to target post board against other equipment. That could be what you now use to deal with opposing jitte. 2 to stoneforge in and 1 to equip. Works faster than a jitte tends to and makes it so jitte needs more than 2 counters to kill your creature. Just a thought.
The problem I've had with Manriki is that it's much more difficult to get it online when the opponent has Jitte online. It's very powerful, but you still have to win the arms race. Relic-warder has been amazing for me, though. As STT points out, the timing if how the triggers stack is very advantageous, and you can protect it with Mom if needed. And it has the versatility of being splash hate against the newest iterations of Show&Tell that run Dream Halls.
I have heard vague rumors of a moustache-dispensing vending machine in a distant laundromat, across the street from a tattoo parlor. However, this information is shaky, and time is of the essence.
The problem I've had with Manriki is that it's much more difficult to get it online when the opponent has Jitte online. It's very powerful, but you still have to win the arms race. Relic-warder has been amazing for me, though. As STT points out, the timing if how the triggers stack is very advantageous, and you can protect it with Mom if needed. And it has the versatility of being splash hate against the newest iterations of Show&Tell that run Dream Halls.
Leonin-Relic Warders also beats for 2 and can carry an equipment. Its a 2 drop hate bear that handles dread of night, jittes and even does work against Tezz and Show and Tell. I'd prefer qasali pridemage, but without splashing green this is the best we have so far.
The problem I've had with Manriki is that it's much more difficult to get it online when the opponent has Jitte online. It's very powerful, but you still have to win the arms race. Relic-warder has been amazing for me, though. As STT points out, the timing if how the triggers stack is very advantageous, and you can protect it with Mom if needed. And it has the versatility of being splash hate against the newest iterations of Show&Tell that run Dream Halls.
I agree. If one is facing down an active Jitte, then it's very hard to active Manriki, and alternatively if one is anticipating a Jitte from the opponent it is stronger for us to just get ours online first.
Leonin Relic-Warder hits a bunch of problem cards, definitely a strong option.
Alrighty, here's my tournament report from SCG Philly:
Maindeck: Finn's list -1 Karakas, -1 Mangara, -1 Judge's Familiar, -1 Ethersworn Cannonist; +1 Plains, +1 Mirran Crusader, +2 Aven Mindcensor
SB:
2 Rest in Peace
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
2 Mindbreak Trap
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
2 Oblivion Ring
1 Sunlance
2 Cataclysm
1 Pithing Needle
R1: James Wohlmacher with Dark Maverick.
Game one I started out with a very strong presence, but after two Pridemages tore up my board, his Knight of the Reliquary and Scavenging Ooze pounded me.
In game two, my opponent made the mistake of tapping his wasteland for mana, at which point he got double wasteland, I revoked his Noble Hierarch, and Sword to Plowshared his Dryad Arbor. That game ended very quickly.
We started game 3 with about five minutes on the clock, and I was worried that we wouldn't finish this round. We played very quickly, and I had a commanding board presence with about one minute on the clock. The game ended within that minute when I drew a second Stoneforge and suited up my Mirran Crusader with both a Jitte and a Batterskull. 1-0.
R2: Ross Skyler with Manaless Dredge!!!
I lost the die roll. My opponent said, "you'll be on the play"...I cracked a giant smile and knew I was playing against Manaless Dredge, which was pretty exciting. In game one, he got the Flayer of the Hatebound Kill through a Revoker on Phantasmagorean on about turn 5 or 6.
In game two, I stuck a turn two Revoker on Phantasmagorean, a Turn 3 Thalia, and a Turn 4 Ethersworn Canonist. He scooped it up to preserve time. Fun fact: Manaless Dredge literally cannot cast spells with a Thalia in play unless they have their Dryad Arbor.
I look at my opener for game three, which is Thalia, Canonist, Swords, and four lands. I snap keep. My opponent discards on turn 2. I play Thalia. He looks pretty crushed. I proceed to draw one Revoker and all lands for the rest of the game, and lose to Ichorid beats. This was a pretty demoralizing game loss for me, as my opponent beat me without casting a single spell. It was a very fun set though, and I'm glad I played against it. 1-1.
R3: Chris Calhoun with D&T (he played the GP 75).
Mirror match! I kept a very solid hand for anything that wasn't the mirror...unfortunately, that was a bad decision. We realized on turn one that it was the mirror, and his Aether Vial was a much better play than my Plains. My Revoker temporarily held out against his vial, but he got the swords eventually and things got pretty bad. I held out for a few turns, but my life total plummeted when he got Jitte on a Mirran Crusader.
Game two was a no holds barred slug fest, and the life total changes takes up most of a sheet of paper. I got him down to six life, presenting lethal, when he finally won the Jitte war that we had been waging for 20 minutes. His Flickerwisp waved around the Jitte, ate my Moms, and gave me a big ol' game loss. 1-2
R4: Marco ? with Dark Maverick.
Game one was quick, and I conceded on about turn 6 when he had a jitte wielding Knight of the Reliqary protected by Mom.
In game two, I revoked his Jitte, Pridgemage, and Knight of the Reliqary. Needless to say, he didn't do much.
In game three, my opponent lost to GRVs...three in the same match. My opponent tried to Plow my Thalia with only one mana, I call the judge. My opponent two turns later tries to Green Sun Zenith for X=3 with a Thalia in play and only 4 lands. I call a judge. My opponent prolongs the game with some weird card with Fading 5 that lets him temporally remove my creatures. I was presenting lethal with a Stoneforge equipped with Batterskull and Jitte, along with 3 Revokers when he gets his match loss. He tries to tap out for a giant haymaker of some kind, and I call the Judge again when he taps his Maze of Ith for mana. He signs the slip and dashes off before the Judge gets there to issue him his third violation of the game. 2-2
R5: Patrick Albergo wtih Monoblue Omni-tell
Game one on the play I keep a sketchy hand of Waste, Waste, Port, Revoker, Revoker, Revoker, Thalia. He plays a Turn one Island and Ponders. I revoke Sneak Attack. He fetches another island and Ponders and Brainstorms. I Revoke a Candlabra. He durdles around a little more. I revoke a Griselbrand. Then all of a sudden...HE RELEASES THE ANTS. OH GOD NOT THE ANTS!!!
In game two, He cast show and tell on turn two. His Omniscience is answered by my Leonin Relic-Warder. He counters my next few spells, and then scoops after I play a Thalia.
In game three, my opponent taps out to Show and Tell Omniscience, but I stick a
Thalia. I play an Ethersworn Canonist, get the Mangara lock, and then he scoops. Later he told me that he just punted the game. He could have Entered the Infinite one turn, getting Trickbind. Used Trickbind on Mangara's Trigger during my turn, and then started dealing with my threats individually after that until he could just Release the Ants. I'm not sure if that was accurate given the boardstate, but it's something to be aware of. for future matches. 3-2
R6: Alex Barker with Goblins!
I keep a hand of saucy control business featuring Thalia, Aven Mindcensors, Stoneforges, a Revoker, two Ports, and a plains. He is on the play and slams Goblin Lackey. I cry a little on the inside when he drops a turn two Krenko. He incinerates my Revoker and keeps pounding me. I had a Mirran Crusader equipped with Jitte, but his Skirk Prospector kept me from getting counters. I scooped when he had like 30 Goblins in play.
In game two, I Revoked his Skirk Prospector, jammed a Batterskull, and rode a triple Wasteland hand to victory.
Game three, I had an awesome board state which included a Mangara lock, double Mother of Runes, and a Mirran Crusader. Then things got weird. My opponent reveals a Ringleader pile with Matron, Sharpshooter, Ringleader, and Warchief. My opponent Jams Sharshooter and Warchief. I attempt to eat his vial. He Sharpshoots my Mangara in response. I protect the Mangara. He cycles Gempalm Incinerator to try and get Mangara. I protect Managara again, as I'm rather fond of him. I Swords one of his guys at some point in this madness. He proceeds to then completely blow me out with a Pyrokinesis, getting my Mangara and two Moms. I lost shortly thereafter, and I knew 8 of the cards in his hand, once he started chaining Ringleaders into Ringleaders. 3-3
R7: Adam Conn with Esper Deathblade.
My opponent answers turn 1 Vial and turn 2 Thalia with two Abrut Decays. He cannot answer my turn three Crusader, and he dies 4 turns.
For game two, I really wasn't sure what he was playing, since I only saw him cast Abrupt Decays, but I correctly guessed that it was Deathblade. A Sunlance answers his Deathrite Shaman. He reads the card and makes some funny remark questioning my card choice. He taps out for a turn 2 Dark Confidant, and I take the opportunity to get there with Mirran Crusader. He Dark Confidant never reveals a land, and my Crusader combined with the damage from the Confidant (including revealing a Jace!) kills him very quickly. 4-3.
R8: Final Round vs Mike Deangelis with Dragon Stompy (Seriously)
I knew that if I won this round I would probably make top 64, so I was pretty pumped. My opponent is on the play, and I keep a slow, but extremely powerful hand with two Mother of Runes and Mirran Crusaders as my only non land cards. My opponent plays a Mountain, revealed two Spirit Guides, and plays a turn one Magus of the Moon. I laugh a bit and say I'm excited to play against Werewolf Stompy. He assures me that Werewolf Stompy is a bad deck, but that his deck is similar. He plays another Magus on turn three, and casts two Bonefires of the Damned to first dispatch my Mother of Runes, and then my other cards. His Magus of the Moons beat me down to six life, while we both draw lands for 7 turns. (Seriously, we each had ten lands in play at the end of the game). I finally get a jitte on a Mirran Crusader, and he scoops.
In game two, he takes a mulligan and keeps a weak hand. A Thalia and two or three wastelands keeps him from casting a single spell this game.
Record for the day: 5-3.
I eagerly await the posting of the results to confirm that I made top 64, and when I finally see the list, I noticed that the 5-3 players start at 35th place. I scan the list, and see my name at 66th. I was a little disappointed that I didn't make top 64 based on my terrible, terrible breakers, but so it goes.
It's an instant speed 5/5 trampler for 4. Wtf do you people want seriously? It has applications in populate/ above the curve beats decks, or in Bant control/ flash. I seriously think anyone mad at this card for any reason other than losing an attacker to instant speed wurm, should go home and make their own awesome card game and leave the rest of us alone.
Curious, what's the best 3rd equipment to run in D&T besides Batterskull and Jitte? SOFI? SOLS? SOFF?
Consensus would have to be Fire and Ice. But the next best is an interesting question, imo.
Call me crazy, but I've had a bit of success lately with testing Sword of War and Peace... it's pretty damn good on a Mirran Crusader (pro everything but blue) as you can swing for a TON of damage and gain life comparable to Light and Shadow. I need to test it more against "Jace decks" but in the light testing so far against "Jace decks", I'm usually able to keep them off their Jace long enough (thank God it's a 4drop) to have a Mom/Revoker/etc. in play.
Of course the pro-Red is pretty handy on other creatures... I find Lighting Bolt much more of an issue than Abrupt Decay as it's easier to keep your opponent off BG than R. From my experience, the order most needed to protect against is White --> Red --> Black --> Blue --> Green from an aggregate view of removal and blockers.
It's an instant speed 5/5 trampler for 4. Wtf do you people want seriously? It has applications in populate/ above the curve beats decks, or in Bant control/ flash. I seriously think anyone mad at this card for any reason other than losing an attacker to instant speed wurm, should go home and make their own awesome card game and leave the rest of us alone.
SOLAS is the best one. Because of the protection against Decay and StP and the evasion. SOFAI doesn't provide any of these, and because of that it's hard to land a hit with that sword equipped.
Keep in mind that you equip a sword for the protection, not for the on-hit triggers. With that in mind the second best one would be SOFAF but SOBAM isn't far from it. SOBAM is a very strong sword for the deck because it provides very good evasion and extra bodies to equip if it hits. And you can actually mill people to death, I've done it multiple times already.
The problem I've had with Manriki is that it's much more difficult to get it online when the opponent has Jitte online. It's very powerful, but you still have to win the arms race. Relic-warder has been amazing for me, though. As STT points out, the timing if how the triggers stack is very advantageous, and you can protect it with Mom if needed. And it has the versatility of being splash hate against the newest iterations of Show&Tell that run Dream Halls.
Just a suggestion. It was an older form of anti-equipment sideboard tech and can help against batterskull and "swords of" as well.
Just remember with Light and Shadow (or War and Peace)... as it's been mentioned here many times... to use your Mother of Runes carefully. I think that's another reason why Fire and Ice is usually included before Light and Shadow in addition to the on-hit advantages.
It's an instant speed 5/5 trampler for 4. Wtf do you people want seriously? It has applications in populate/ above the curve beats decks, or in Bant control/ flash. I seriously think anyone mad at this card for any reason other than losing an attacker to instant speed wurm, should go home and make their own awesome card game and leave the rest of us alone.
[/QUOTE] Keep in mind that you equip a sword for the protection, not for the on-hit triggers. With that in mind the second best one would be SOFAF but SOBAM isn't far from it. SOBAM is a very strong sword for the deck because it provides very good evasion and extra bodies to equip if it hits. And you can actually mill people to death, I've done it multiple times already.[/QUOTE]
I echo Frenadol's claim that the protection is more important than the trigger with the swords. SoLas' on hit trigger is often only gaining you three life, but if you have a creature with protection against those colors in the matches where you bring in the sword, you can likely just ride it to victory.
That being said, all of the swords are certainly playable in the right meta, and I've played all five in D&T in the past two years. I would never run SoWaP again unless the meta required that I have pro-red/white on the same card; I don't think I ever fetched it while it was in my deck, and it rarely hits much harder than a SoFaI which also nets you a card. SoBaM is fine (I used to use it to mill out RUG), and SoFaF was actually used quite effectively by the Maverick deck that won the open this weekend.
Thank you for the extensive analysis on Swords. SOFI has the best triggers but in the current meta pro black/green/white seem more important to have. I'll deck build accordingly.
There is no best other Sword, but it is true that the protection colors are what you look for when you choose. I think SoFaI has the most value because we have more of a need for its services. We are mostly favored against matchups where our opponents use Decay or Plowshares, whereas the ones that come to mind when I think of SoFaI... Jund, Merfolk, MonoU DreamOmni... they are all very challenging. Even if we are still "favored" against sea people - something I'm not so sure about anymore - the other 2 can be very hard. Also, like ActionJunkie said, it's easier to keep off BG than R.
That said, I usually just forget the whole mess. You bring SoLaS cause you expect a lot of Maverick, Stoneblade, and BGx-Midrange, and you face Goblins, UR Burn, and High Tide. There is no "correct" call of one over the other in a diverse meta, unless you opt to just bring both. But two spots in the sideboard for not a huge advantage... meh
I am usually against boarding swords for only the evasion. Here's why:
The format is prepared against equipments. From all the creature decks, the only deck that does not have artifact destruction is merfolk. They have bounce spells and counters at most. The rest you cannot really rely ONLY on equipments for defense , batterskull is the exception because it saves itself. They do loads of work, but you need to attack the tribal decks from several angles. I have 2 sunlances on SB because removal is always great against creature decks, and nowadays the format is filled with critters you need to kill as soon as possible.
Btw, i run Sword of light and shadow, and jitte on SB!
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There is no best Sword in a vacuum, in my opinion, because the choice depends very greatly on one's deck composition and metagame. Picks that are irreplaceable to me might be dead cardboard to another guy if lifted straight out.
That said, I come to the table a fairly wide selection of swords. I main deck SoFnI, and board SoFnF. Sometimes I bring a SoLaS, but I consider that one fairly narrow for my metagame. I'm really solid on SoFnI and SoFnF, and here's why.
Fire and Ice gives protection from blue and a faster clock against combo. Blue combo packs Wipe Away as a hatebear defense, and protection from blue is the only reasonable defense against that. Equip this sword on the right bear, and the game is pretty much over. I don't care about tribal. The deck needs protection from blue, especially against Mono Blue SnT.
Feast and Famine is a sword I actually do take for the triggers, as much as the protection, though the protection really helps the triggers happen when most blockers are of those colors. But again here, it's not the creature decks that usually feel the wrath of this sword. It's the combo decks, against which an active SoFnF is usually insurmountable.
ok i gave the deck another shot last week and yeah after a couple tweeks it ran better.. but what do u guys think of cutting down the mangara lock?
i run 3 karakas now and 2 mangaras (3rd in the side board)..
thinking of using my 4th karakas in Ex condition for trade food.. Had a fun idea to make a B/w legacy token deck which i could turn into modern when needed.. or is it a bad idea?
To summarize the previous discussion (though feel free to read back a few pages), everyone will probably be running 4 Karakas a few weeks from now when the legend rule changes and the "dead" Karakas can be a Lotus Petal. Personally, I would not trade the Karakas.
Currently, people are split between running 4 Karakas and 3 Mangara or 3 Karakas and 2 Mangara. It's really a playstyle choice than anything else, and it will slightly influence your match ups. For example, I opt to play a 4th Mirran Crusader over the 3rd Mangara;this improves my match ups vs Goyf/Abrupt Decay decks and provides a fast clock. Running the third Mangara gives you an edge vs control decks and makes you be able to get the lock more reliably.
im running 2 mangaras and 3 karakas for a kataki mainboard that thing gave me an edge vs affinity.. even vs esper he had to give up 1 of his batterskulls
Kataki is probably a card that deserves to be in your sideboard instead of your maindeck. If your reason for running a specific card is that it is good in X match up (and largely only that match up) you should consider moving it to the side. While Kataki is a fine card, and can be protected with a Karakas, it does tax your own vials and equipment too. .
If your meta is completely saturated with affinity, however, I understand your decision, and I would also recommend Serenity if you run a tutor board.
This is what makes the combo good. It doesn't matter if your opponent breaks it up, because it's a mid-to-endgame bonus. It's not our win-con, and destroying Karakas or Mangara is still just a 1-for-1. If your opponent MUST stop the Mangara-lock, all they are doing is spending a card (or sometimes 2!) to stop a never ending chain. You may still get a Vindicate out of the little guy. A shining example of how this deck creates card advantage without extra draw mechanics. Cut it entirely and you'll wish you hadn't when the proper time comes.
I like the Mangara lock, it has won me a few games. There is nothing like an opening hand with Vial, Mom, Mangara, Karakas, Waste, Thalia, StP...
On the sword discussion, I go the other way. Not running an extra equipment at all. I have even started considering, what would it take to remove the entire/most of the equipment suite? That is, remove SFM and the other two equipments and putting in other control type spells not sure what though, O-Rings? Disenchants? More MD removal or even those SDT with the 13 shuffles that we can tweak out of the deck. My line of thinking is to carry out the control strategy to its total solution.
Jitte is the only thing that confounds this line of thought and it is a big confounder! I do find I side out this part of the deck often, especially with the Tutor board, not a perfect swap but still workable.
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I like the Mangara lock, it has won me a few games. There is nothing like an opening hand with Vial, Mom, Mangara, Karakas, Waste, Thalia, StP...
On the sword discussion, I go the other way. Not running an extra equipment at all. I have even started considering, what would it take to remove the entire/most of the equipment suite? That is, remove SFM and the other two equipments and putting in other control type spells not sure what though, O-Rings? Disenchants? More MD removal or even those SDT with the 13 shuffles that we can tweak out of the deck. My line of thinking is to carry out the control strategy to its total solution.
Jitte is the only thing that confounds this line of thought and it is a big confounder! I do find I side out this part of the deck often, especially with the Tutor board, not a perfect swap but still workable.
I only SB out the SFM mystic package against combo - when Jitte is rendered useless.
I, too, have trired to go the "total control" route trying MD Leonin Arbiters, Glowriders, and even Sol Lands to get there quicker. It simply doesn't work. Jitte and Batterskull provide the muscle that our weenies desperately need. I dare say the deck is as polished as it can possibly get. Only a few slight meta calls change things.
Pros:
Survives Bolt/ Vendilion Clique
Can cast at instant speed
Don't need to wait until end of turn for some things
Cons:
Harder to get off of Vial
(Flickerwisp can be instant speed with vial)
Not waiting till EOT can hurt...
Costs 1 more
Anti equipment sideboard tech... Manriki-Gusari. Not sure if you forgot about that but it used to be the go to target post board against other equipment. That could be what you now use to deal with opposing jitte. 2 to stoneforge in and 1 to equip. Works faster than a jitte tends to and makes it so jitte needs more than 2 counters to kill your creature. Just a thought.
The problem I've had with Manriki is that it's much more difficult to get it online when the opponent has Jitte online. It's very powerful, but you still have to win the arms race. Relic-warder has been amazing for me, though. As STT points out, the timing if how the triggers stack is very advantageous, and you can protect it with Mom if needed. And it has the versatility of being splash hate against the newest iterations of Show&Tell that run Dream Halls.
Leonin-Relic Warders also beats for 2 and can carry an equipment. Its a 2 drop hate bear that handles dread of night, jittes and even does work against Tezz and Show and Tell. I'd prefer qasali pridemage, but without splashing green this is the best we have so far.
I agree. If one is facing down an active Jitte, then it's very hard to active Manriki, and alternatively if one is anticipating a Jitte from the opponent it is stronger for us to just get ours online first.
Leonin Relic-Warder hits a bunch of problem cards, definitely a strong option.
Maindeck: Finn's list -1 Karakas, -1 Mangara, -1 Judge's Familiar, -1 Ethersworn Cannonist; +1 Plains, +1 Mirran Crusader, +2 Aven Mindcensor
SB:
2 Rest in Peace
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
2 Mindbreak Trap
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
2 Oblivion Ring
1 Sunlance
2 Cataclysm
1 Pithing Needle
R1: James Wohlmacher with Dark Maverick.
Game one I started out with a very strong presence, but after two Pridemages tore up my board, his Knight of the Reliquary and Scavenging Ooze pounded me.
In game two, my opponent made the mistake of tapping his wasteland for mana, at which point he got double wasteland, I revoked his Noble Hierarch, and Sword to Plowshared his Dryad Arbor. That game ended very quickly.
We started game 3 with about five minutes on the clock, and I was worried that we wouldn't finish this round. We played very quickly, and I had a commanding board presence with about one minute on the clock. The game ended within that minute when I drew a second Stoneforge and suited up my Mirran Crusader with both a Jitte and a Batterskull. 1-0.
R2: Ross Skyler with Manaless Dredge!!!
I lost the die roll. My opponent said, "you'll be on the play"...I cracked a giant smile and knew I was playing against Manaless Dredge, which was pretty exciting. In game one, he got the Flayer of the Hatebound Kill through a Revoker on Phantasmagorean on about turn 5 or 6.
In game two, I stuck a turn two Revoker on Phantasmagorean, a Turn 3 Thalia, and a Turn 4 Ethersworn Canonist. He scooped it up to preserve time. Fun fact: Manaless Dredge literally cannot cast spells with a Thalia in play unless they have their Dryad Arbor.
I look at my opener for game three, which is Thalia, Canonist, Swords, and four lands. I snap keep. My opponent discards on turn 2. I play Thalia. He looks pretty crushed. I proceed to draw one Revoker and all lands for the rest of the game, and lose to Ichorid beats. This was a pretty demoralizing game loss for me, as my opponent beat me without casting a single spell. It was a very fun set though, and I'm glad I played against it. 1-1.
R3: Chris Calhoun with D&T (he played the GP 75).
Mirror match! I kept a very solid hand for anything that wasn't the mirror...unfortunately, that was a bad decision. We realized on turn one that it was the mirror, and his Aether Vial was a much better play than my Plains. My Revoker temporarily held out against his vial, but he got the swords eventually and things got pretty bad. I held out for a few turns, but my life total plummeted when he got Jitte on a Mirran Crusader.
Game two was a no holds barred slug fest, and the life total changes takes up most of a sheet of paper. I got him down to six life, presenting lethal, when he finally won the Jitte war that we had been waging for 20 minutes. His Flickerwisp waved around the Jitte, ate my Moms, and gave me a big ol' game loss. 1-2
R4: Marco ? with Dark Maverick.
Game one was quick, and I conceded on about turn 6 when he had a jitte wielding Knight of the Reliqary protected by Mom.
In game two, I revoked his Jitte, Pridgemage, and Knight of the Reliqary. Needless to say, he didn't do much.
In game three, my opponent lost to GRVs...three in the same match. My opponent tried to Plow my Thalia with only one mana, I call the judge. My opponent two turns later tries to Green Sun Zenith for X=3 with a Thalia in play and only 4 lands. I call a judge. My opponent prolongs the game with some weird card with Fading 5 that lets him temporally remove my creatures. I was presenting lethal with a Stoneforge equipped with Batterskull and Jitte, along with 3 Revokers when he gets his match loss. He tries to tap out for a giant haymaker of some kind, and I call the Judge again when he taps his Maze of Ith for mana. He signs the slip and dashes off before the Judge gets there to issue him his third violation of the game. 2-2
R5: Patrick Albergo wtih Monoblue Omni-tell
Game one on the play I keep a sketchy hand of Waste, Waste, Port, Revoker, Revoker, Revoker, Thalia. He plays a Turn one Island and Ponders. I revoke Sneak Attack. He fetches another island and Ponders and Brainstorms. I Revoke a Candlabra. He durdles around a little more. I revoke a Griselbrand. Then all of a sudden...HE RELEASES THE ANTS. OH GOD NOT THE ANTS!!!
In game two, He cast show and tell on turn two. His Omniscience is answered by my Leonin Relic-Warder. He counters my next few spells, and then scoops after I play a Thalia.
In game three, my opponent taps out to Show and Tell Omniscience, but I stick a
Thalia. I play an Ethersworn Canonist, get the Mangara lock, and then he scoops. Later he told me that he just punted the game. He could have Entered the Infinite one turn, getting Trickbind. Used Trickbind on Mangara's Trigger during my turn, and then started dealing with my threats individually after that until he could just Release the Ants. I'm not sure if that was accurate given the boardstate, but it's something to be aware of. for future matches. 3-2
R6: Alex Barker with Goblins!
I keep a hand of saucy control business featuring Thalia, Aven Mindcensors, Stoneforges, a Revoker, two Ports, and a plains. He is on the play and slams Goblin Lackey. I cry a little on the inside when he drops a turn two Krenko. He incinerates my Revoker and keeps pounding me. I had a Mirran Crusader equipped with Jitte, but his Skirk Prospector kept me from getting counters. I scooped when he had like 30 Goblins in play.
In game two, I Revoked his Skirk Prospector, jammed a Batterskull, and rode a triple Wasteland hand to victory.
Game three, I had an awesome board state which included a Mangara lock, double Mother of Runes, and a Mirran Crusader. Then things got weird. My opponent reveals a Ringleader pile with Matron, Sharpshooter, Ringleader, and Warchief. My opponent Jams Sharshooter and Warchief. I attempt to eat his vial. He Sharpshoots my Mangara in response. I protect the Mangara. He cycles Gempalm Incinerator to try and get Mangara. I protect Managara again, as I'm rather fond of him. I Swords one of his guys at some point in this madness. He proceeds to then completely blow me out with a Pyrokinesis, getting my Mangara and two Moms. I lost shortly thereafter, and I knew 8 of the cards in his hand, once he started chaining Ringleaders into Ringleaders. 3-3
R7: Adam Conn with Esper Deathblade.
My opponent answers turn 1 Vial and turn 2 Thalia with two Abrut Decays. He cannot answer my turn three Crusader, and he dies 4 turns.
For game two, I really wasn't sure what he was playing, since I only saw him cast Abrupt Decays, but I correctly guessed that it was Deathblade. A Sunlance answers his Deathrite Shaman. He reads the card and makes some funny remark questioning my card choice. He taps out for a turn 2 Dark Confidant, and I take the opportunity to get there with Mirran Crusader. He Dark Confidant never reveals a land, and my Crusader combined with the damage from the Confidant (including revealing a Jace!) kills him very quickly. 4-3.
R8: Final Round vs Mike Deangelis with Dragon Stompy (Seriously)
I knew that if I won this round I would probably make top 64, so I was pretty pumped. My opponent is on the play, and I keep a slow, but extremely powerful hand with two Mother of Runes and Mirran Crusaders as my only non land cards. My opponent plays a Mountain, revealed two Spirit Guides, and plays a turn one Magus of the Moon. I laugh a bit and say I'm excited to play against Werewolf Stompy. He assures me that Werewolf Stompy is a bad deck, but that his deck is similar. He plays another Magus on turn three, and casts two Bonefires of the Damned to first dispatch my Mother of Runes, and then my other cards. His Magus of the Moons beat me down to six life, while we both draw lands for 7 turns. (Seriously, we each had ten lands in play at the end of the game). I finally get a jitte on a Mirran Crusader, and he scoops.
In game two, he takes a mulligan and keeps a weak hand. A Thalia and two or three wastelands keeps him from casting a single spell this game.
Record for the day: 5-3.
I eagerly await the posting of the results to confirm that I made top 64, and when I finally see the list, I noticed that the 5-3 players start at 35th place. I scan the list, and see my name at 66th. I was a little disappointed that I didn't make top 64 based on my terrible, terrible breakers, but so it goes.
Consensus would have to be Fire and Ice. But the next best is an interesting question, imo.
Call me crazy, but I've had a bit of success lately with testing Sword of War and Peace... it's pretty damn good on a Mirran Crusader (pro everything but blue) as you can swing for a TON of damage and gain life comparable to Light and Shadow. I need to test it more against "Jace decks" but in the light testing so far against "Jace decks", I'm usually able to keep them off their Jace long enough (thank God it's a 4drop) to have a Mom/Revoker/etc. in play.
Of course the pro-Red is pretty handy on other creatures... I find Lighting Bolt much more of an issue than Abrupt Decay as it's easier to keep your opponent off BG than R. From my experience, the order most needed to protect against is White --> Red --> Black --> Blue --> Green from an aggregate view of removal and blockers.
Keep in mind that you equip a sword for the protection, not for the on-hit triggers. With that in mind the second best one would be SOFAF but SOBAM isn't far from it. SOBAM is a very strong sword for the deck because it provides very good evasion and extra bodies to equip if it hits. And you can actually mill people to death, I've done it multiple times already.
Just a suggestion. It was an older form of anti-equipment sideboard tech and can help against batterskull and "swords of" as well.
I echo Frenadol's claim that the protection is more important than the trigger with the swords. SoLas' on hit trigger is often only gaining you three life, but if you have a creature with protection against those colors in the matches where you bring in the sword, you can likely just ride it to victory.
That being said, all of the swords are certainly playable in the right meta, and I've played all five in D&T in the past two years. I would never run SoWaP again unless the meta required that I have pro-red/white on the same card; I don't think I ever fetched it while it was in my deck, and it rarely hits much harder than a SoFaI which also nets you a card. SoBaM is fine (I used to use it to mill out RUG), and SoFaF was actually used quite effectively by the Maverick deck that won the open this weekend.
That said, I usually just forget the whole mess. You bring SoLaS cause you expect a lot of Maverick, Stoneblade, and BGx-Midrange, and you face Goblins, UR Burn, and High Tide. There is no "correct" call of one over the other in a diverse meta, unless you opt to just bring both. But two spots in the sideboard for not a huge advantage... meh
The format is prepared against equipments. From all the creature decks, the only deck that does not have artifact destruction is merfolk. They have bounce spells and counters at most. The rest you cannot really rely ONLY on equipments for defense , batterskull is the exception because it saves itself. They do loads of work, but you need to attack the tribal decks from several angles. I have 2 sunlances on SB because removal is always great against creature decks, and nowadays the format is filled with critters you need to kill as soon as possible.
Btw, i run Sword of light and shadow, and jitte on SB!
RBW Mardu Pyro
X Eldrazi
Pauper:
X Affinity
G Stompy
That said, I come to the table a fairly wide selection of swords. I main deck SoFnI, and board SoFnF. Sometimes I bring a SoLaS, but I consider that one fairly narrow for my metagame. I'm really solid on SoFnI and SoFnF, and here's why.
Fire and Ice gives protection from blue and a faster clock against combo. Blue combo packs Wipe Away as a hatebear defense, and protection from blue is the only reasonable defense against that. Equip this sword on the right bear, and the game is pretty much over. I don't care about tribal. The deck needs protection from blue, especially against Mono Blue SnT.
Feast and Famine is a sword I actually do take for the triggers, as much as the protection, though the protection really helps the triggers happen when most blockers are of those colors. But again here, it's not the creature decks that usually feel the wrath of this sword. It's the combo decks, against which an active SoFnF is usually insurmountable.
Overall record: 139-98-15
Total number of matches: 252
Win percentage ignoring draws: 58.649789
Win percentage including draws: 55.158730
To summarize the previous discussion (though feel free to read back a few pages), everyone will probably be running 4 Karakas a few weeks from now when the legend rule changes and the "dead" Karakas can be a Lotus Petal. Personally, I would not trade the Karakas.
Currently, people are split between running 4 Karakas and 3 Mangara or 3 Karakas and 2 Mangara. It's really a playstyle choice than anything else, and it will slightly influence your match ups. For example, I opt to play a 4th Mirran Crusader over the 3rd Mangara;this improves my match ups vs Goyf/Abrupt Decay decks and provides a fast clock. Running the third Mangara gives you an edge vs control decks and makes you be able to get the lock more reliably.
Kataki is probably a card that deserves to be in your sideboard instead of your maindeck. If your reason for running a specific card is that it is good in X match up (and largely only that match up) you should consider moving it to the side. While Kataki is a fine card, and can be protected with a Karakas, it does tax your own vials and equipment too. .
If your meta is completely saturated with affinity, however, I understand your decision, and I would also recommend Serenity if you run a tutor board.
On the sword discussion, I go the other way. Not running an extra equipment at all. I have even started considering, what would it take to remove the entire/most of the equipment suite? That is, remove SFM and the other two equipments and putting in other control type spells not sure what though, O-Rings? Disenchants? More MD removal or even those SDT with the 13 shuffles that we can tweak out of the deck. My line of thinking is to carry out the control strategy to its total solution.
Jitte is the only thing that confounds this line of thought and it is a big confounder! I do find I side out this part of the deck often, especially with the Tutor board, not a perfect swap but still workable.
Death and Taxes
UG Infect
Strawberry Shortcake Imperial Painter
EDH
Angus Mackenzie - Enduring Enchantments
Adun Oakenshield - Jund F'ing Good Stuff, "Money Vault"
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails - Captain Crunch
I only SB out the SFM mystic package against combo - when Jitte is rendered useless.
I, too, have trired to go the "total control" route trying MD Leonin Arbiters, Glowriders, and even Sol Lands to get there quicker. It simply doesn't work. Jitte and Batterskull provide the muscle that our weenies desperately need. I dare say the deck is as polished as it can possibly get. Only a few slight meta calls change things.
Pros:
Survives Bolt/ Vendilion Clique
Can cast at instant speed
Don't need to wait until end of turn for some things
Cons:
Harder to get off of Vial
(Flickerwisp can be instant speed with vial)
Not waiting till EOT can hurt...
Costs 1 more
Here's the link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/autocardanywhere/eobkhgkgoejnjaiofdmphhkemmomfabg?hl=en