I recently drafted a BG deck, my P1P1 was Recurring Nightmare.
It did not perform great. Looking at the relevant sideboard, what diferent choices would you make?
Maybe splash for Sagu Mauler? Add Masticore to try and Reanimate stuff?
Thanks for the help!
I think Rock gets a bad rap. People (even those in my group) often dismiss BG as being a trap. In my experience Rock wins through attrition and amazing synergy. You want early disruption, removal, and ramp into big midrange threats. You'll win by powering out those big threats early, easily dealing with your opponent's threats and resources, and occasionally doing nasty things with combos like Recurring Nightmare/Survival of the Fittest or Crucible of Worlds/Braids.
You did a lot right with this deck, but I think I'd make these changes.
This gives you more options for plays on turn two. You want ramp spells, but this isn't a Dark Ritual deck. I'd cut Deal Broker in favor of Masticore. This gives you a discard outlet to work with your Recurring Nightmare, plus gives you something to do with all that big mana. Unearth is a fine card and can actually shine in a Rock deck, but I think the decks that want a card like that will tend to be more aggressive in nature. I also added in Putrefy as a bit more disruption.
When I draft Rock, I try to keep the following in mind for what I'm looking to draft. I'm constantly looking at what I have vs what I need when I'm looking at a pack and making pick choices. It's a lot of information and you'll never remember everything here while you draft in a normal setting, but it's good to try to keep it in mind and be aware of your picks and your deck list as the draft goes on. This helps you prioritize certain things and know when to take fixing over removal or other similar choices.
4-6 mana ramp spells - Think cheap here. Birds, STE, and Mind Stone are great. If you can get on color Moxen, even better. One Kodama's Reach or Cultivate is welcome as well, but I don't know that I'd really want both.
5-8 2-3cc creatures - You're not necessarily looking for Dauthi Horror or River Boa here, but though those aggro guys will do in a pinch. You especially want to value Tarmogoyf and Scavenging Ooze highly as they can become big threats for you. You also want the card advantage guys like Eternal Witness and Reclamation Sage. Other things to keep in mind are Yavimaya Elder, Vampire Nighthawk, Fleshcarver, Ophiomancer, etc. You want things that will provide good value for the price.
4-5 4-6cc midrange creatures/walkers - Here you're looking for things like Master of the Wild Hunt, Thrun, the Last Troll, Grave Titan, Sidisi, Undead Vizier, etc. There are plenty of these types of creatures floating around, so make sure you prioritize correctly. Don't fill your deck up with these guys just because they're cool. Sometimes you have to pass cool cards like this in favor of boring cards like Go For the Throat because you need the removal spell more.
3-4 removal spells - This can be in the form of 187 guys like Nekrataal and Skinrender, hard removal spells like Doom Blade, or bombs like Jitte. Don't over do it on the removal, but don't cut yourself short either. Also keep in mind that this might overlap in other areas that you're looking to fill too. Shriekmaw and Garruk Relentless fit both removal and 4-6cc needs.
2-3 disruption spells - This is discard like Duress, Hypnotic Specter, Mind Twist, etc. Hippy will also fall into the 2-3cc creature category.
2-3 reanimation spells - You're not looking to build a dedicated reanimator deck, but you do want to gain some advantage with these spells. Animate Dead and Reanimate can bring back creatures from your opponent's graveyard that you've dealt with or things from your own 'yard. Nothing like bringing back your opponent's Consecrated Sphinx. Recurring Nightmare is also amazing in these decks. That's especially true if you can abuse it and chain things like Eternal Witness and Shriekmaw in and out of play.
1-2 tutors - This is the obvious choices of Vampiric and Demonic Tutor, but Survival of the Fittest and Green Sun's Zenith fit this criteria too. You won't want a bunch of these in your deck, but 1-2 will be enough to allow you to grab what you need when you need it. Survival can also be a build around card for this type of deck if you can get a toolbox package. That's especially true if you can combo with Recurring Nightmare.
Fixing Lands - Finally, you want to pick up a few fixing lands. I don't value these as highly in Rock as I might in other decks because the ramp often doubles as fixing. Again, you want to prioritize wisely. Don't take the Bayou when you desperately need an actual removal spell. There's no "right" number here. If you get one that's great. If you get four, that's obviously better.
There are certainly more cards available that are great in Rock that I didn't list here. A generic Rock list can win games, but the best lists that I've faced and built are lists that have amazing synergy along with the generic good stuff. What I love about Rock is it can also do impressions of other decks. One list might be a little heavy on reanimation and take advantage of the Rec/Sur combo. Another list might have Strip Mine, Bitterblossom, Life From the Loam, Crucible of Worlds, Braids, and Smokestack.
I hope this it at least a little helpful. I love Rock as a deck and draft it fairly often. Good luck and happy cubing!
Thanks for all the help! The deck went 2-2, FWIW.
I was really struggling with the early game, I see now this list is short in 2-drops.
I passed a Doom Blade, perhaps it was a bit greedy, but don't remember what the pick was.
There are plenty of times in cube that passing Doom Blade is fine. It's great, but it's fairly replaceable unless you're in a later pack and you're short on removal.
Correct. It's not just "always take the removal spell". It's more about knowing what you already have, what you need, and what direction you're trying to take your deck. Maybe it's right to take the Doom Blade, maybe you need to take the Thrun instead.
It did not perform great. Looking at the relevant sideboard, what diferent choices would you make?
Maybe splash for Sagu Mauler? Add Masticore to try and Reanimate stuff?
Thanks for the help!
7 Forest
6 Swamp
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Windswept Heath
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Silumgar Assassin
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Deal Broker
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Eternal Witness
1 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Shriekmaw
1 Acidic Slime
1 Deranged Hermit
1 Spiritmonger
1 Grave Titan
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Unearth
1 Reanimate
1 Mind Twist
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Regrowth
1 Dark Ritual
1 Dismember
1 Recurring Nightmare
1 Mana Vault
1 Grim Monolith
1 Umezawa's Jitte
Sideboard:
1 Breeding Pool
1 Pain Seer
1 Putrid Leech
1 Masticore
1 Nantuko Vigilante
1 Sagu Mauler
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1 Putrefy
1 Mind Stone
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Coalition Relic
You did a lot right with this deck, but I think I'd make these changes.
- Dark Ritual
- Deal Broker
- Unearth
- Krosan Tusker
+ Mind Stone
+ Putrid Leech
+ Putrefy
+ Masticore
This gives you more options for plays on turn two. You want ramp spells, but this isn't a Dark Ritual deck. I'd cut Deal Broker in favor of Masticore. This gives you a discard outlet to work with your Recurring Nightmare, plus gives you something to do with all that big mana. Unearth is a fine card and can actually shine in a Rock deck, but I think the decks that want a card like that will tend to be more aggressive in nature. I also added in Putrefy as a bit more disruption.
When I draft Rock, I try to keep the following in mind for what I'm looking to draft. I'm constantly looking at what I have vs what I need when I'm looking at a pack and making pick choices. It's a lot of information and you'll never remember everything here while you draft in a normal setting, but it's good to try to keep it in mind and be aware of your picks and your deck list as the draft goes on. This helps you prioritize certain things and know when to take fixing over removal or other similar choices.
4-6 mana ramp spells - Think cheap here. Birds, STE, and Mind Stone are great. If you can get on color Moxen, even better. One Kodama's Reach or Cultivate is welcome as well, but I don't know that I'd really want both.
5-8 2-3cc creatures - You're not necessarily looking for Dauthi Horror or River Boa here, but though those aggro guys will do in a pinch. You especially want to value Tarmogoyf and Scavenging Ooze highly as they can become big threats for you. You also want the card advantage guys like Eternal Witness and Reclamation Sage. Other things to keep in mind are Yavimaya Elder, Vampire Nighthawk, Fleshcarver, Ophiomancer, etc. You want things that will provide good value for the price.
4-5 4-6cc midrange creatures/walkers - Here you're looking for things like Master of the Wild Hunt, Thrun, the Last Troll, Grave Titan, Sidisi, Undead Vizier, etc. There are plenty of these types of creatures floating around, so make sure you prioritize correctly. Don't fill your deck up with these guys just because they're cool. Sometimes you have to pass cool cards like this in favor of boring cards like Go For the Throat because you need the removal spell more.
3-4 removal spells - This can be in the form of 187 guys like Nekrataal and Skinrender, hard removal spells like Doom Blade, or bombs like Jitte. Don't over do it on the removal, but don't cut yourself short either. Also keep in mind that this might overlap in other areas that you're looking to fill too. Shriekmaw and Garruk Relentless fit both removal and 4-6cc needs.
2-3 disruption spells - This is discard like Duress, Hypnotic Specter, Mind Twist, etc. Hippy will also fall into the 2-3cc creature category.
2-3 reanimation spells - You're not looking to build a dedicated reanimator deck, but you do want to gain some advantage with these spells. Animate Dead and Reanimate can bring back creatures from your opponent's graveyard that you've dealt with or things from your own 'yard. Nothing like bringing back your opponent's Consecrated Sphinx. Recurring Nightmare is also amazing in these decks. That's especially true if you can abuse it and chain things like Eternal Witness and Shriekmaw in and out of play.
1-2 tutors - This is the obvious choices of Vampiric and Demonic Tutor, but Survival of the Fittest and Green Sun's Zenith fit this criteria too. You won't want a bunch of these in your deck, but 1-2 will be enough to allow you to grab what you need when you need it. Survival can also be a build around card for this type of deck if you can get a toolbox package. That's especially true if you can combo with Recurring Nightmare.
Fixing Lands - Finally, you want to pick up a few fixing lands. I don't value these as highly in Rock as I might in other decks because the ramp often doubles as fixing. Again, you want to prioritize wisely. Don't take the Bayou when you desperately need an actual removal spell. There's no "right" number here. If you get one that's great. If you get four, that's obviously better.
There are certainly more cards available that are great in Rock that I didn't list here. A generic Rock list can win games, but the best lists that I've faced and built are lists that have amazing synergy along with the generic good stuff. What I love about Rock is it can also do impressions of other decks. One list might be a little heavy on reanimation and take advantage of the Rec/Sur combo. Another list might have Strip Mine, Bitterblossom, Life From the Loam, Crucible of Worlds, Braids, and Smokestack.
I hope this it at least a little helpful. I love Rock as a deck and draft it fairly often. Good luck and happy cubing!
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
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I was really struggling with the early game, I see now this list is short in 2-drops.
I passed a Doom Blade, perhaps it was a bit greedy, but don't remember what the pick was.
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
Follow me. I tweet.