What is Hatebears? Hatebears is a deck that runs efficient creatures with various abilities geared towards disrupting your opponent's game plan. There are various taxing effects, such as Leonin Arbiter (who hates on search effects such as Fetch Lands and Birthing Pod) and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben to slow down your opponents. The deck also plays various other forms of hate, such as Loxodon Smiter which not only cannot be countered, but also hates on various discard effects such as the one presented with Liliana of the Veil. Generally the creatures are efficient, and even if you aren't disrupting your opponent's preferred routes of play you are still dropping creatures and beating face. Most of the cards in the deck hate on various aspects of the Modern Metagame, hence the name Hatebears.
Origin and Variants Hatebears started off with a list found on StarCityGames originally created by Valeriy Shunkov. This deck was GW and did not have any main deck search hate, which instead maximized searching effects with Verdant Catacombs combined with Knight of the Reliquary, as well as a few additional utility lands such as Sejeri Steppe and Bojuka Bog in the sideboard.
Later, Michael Stenborg took his GWB build to a 10th place finish at GP Toronto. This version also did not have much search hate, but instead used Fauna Shamon to create a toolbox deck with 1 ofs including cards such as Deathrite Shamen, Orzhov Pontiff, Linvala, Keeper of Silence and Gaddock Teeg. Stenborg also maximized hate for Liliana of the Veil by running 4x Loxodon Smiter, Wilt-Leaf Liege and Lingering Souls.
Richard Likht also took his GW build to GP Brisbane where he ended up with a 13th place finish. Likht's build was built with taxing effects in mind, running 4x Leonin Arbiter, 3x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Aven Mindcensor. Additionally, Likht ran 2x Sword of War and Peace to compliment his 12 flying creatures and give him extra reach with his bears.
Card Choices These are the cards that were in both lists that made top 16 at a GP:
Creatures:
4x Noble Hierarch
3x Birds of Paradise
1-3x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2-4x Loxodon Smiter
1-3x Aven Mindcensor
1-2x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
2-4x Baneslayer Angel
Spells:
4x Path to Exile
Land:
4x Razorverge Thicket
2-4 Horizon Canopy
1-4 Temple Garden
1-2 Forest
1-3 Plains
Noble Hierarch
I'm just going to be straight with this one. I want to drop a Hierarch on turn 1 in every single match up. It's the only card that I think is good in every match up, and gets a perfect score of 75.
Birds of Paradise
This is just Hierarch 5+ and is also good in every match up. It's the second best card you can play on turn 1.
Student of Warfare - Meta Rating: 19
Student is an efficient creature that can become a significant threat through incremental investments. He is a good top deck and is particularly good against control, where their counter magic becomes somewhat ineffective. Remand is bad against him, and Mana Leak can be easily played through. Tapping out for Cryptic Command can open you up to playing other cards. His first strike also makes him good against a fair amount of creatures in the format.
Good Against: 13
Bogle - 4
Merfolk - 3
Infect - 2
Faeries - 2
UW Control - 2
Fair Against: 6
Burn - 2
RWU Control - 2
Tokens - 1
UR Delver - 1
Dryad Militant - Meta Rating: 14
Militant is particularly good against specific graveyard strategies, but it is also solid against Snapcaster Mage which happens to be one of the most played cards in the format. The 2/1 body for 1 is great for builds that want to be aggressive, and he gets a solid pump from Wilt-leaf Liege.
Good Against: 4
Storm - 3
Gifts - 1
Fair Against: 10
Twin - 3
Scapeshift - 2
RUW Control - 2
Blue Moon - 2
UR Delver - 1
Judge's Familiar - Meta Rating: 17
Judge's Familiar can be good, particularly in the early game against decks that want to cast a lot of instant and sorcery spells. This is usually beneficial in a build that relies more on taxes, playing cards like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Leonin Arbiter,Hokori, Dust Drinker and Choke.
Good Against: 6
Living End - 4
Infect - 2
Fair Against: 11
RUW Midrange - 3
Burn - 2
Storm - 2
RUW Control - 2
Amulet - 1
WU Control - 1
Leonin Arbiter - Meta Rating: 41
Arbiter is a cornerstone of the GW version of Hatebears. It stunts the mana base of most decks in the format, due to fetch lands being a thing. It also stalls out other decks where searching is a central part of the strategy. Cards like Birthing Pod and Gifts Ungiven become significantly worse, and cards we run such as Path to Exile and Ghost Quarter become significantly better.
Good Against: 22
Zoo - 5
Melira Pod - 5
Scapeshift - 4
Kiki Pod - 3
Tron - 2
Amulet - 2
Gifts - 1
Fair Against: 19
Twin - 3
RUW Midrange - 3
Jund - 3
Burn - 2
Living End - 2
RUW Control - 2
Blue Moon - 2
Faeries - 1
Ad Nauseam - 1
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben - Meta Rating: 49
Thalia is good against non creature decks by taxing them. First Strike also makes her effective against certain creature builds as well. She really shines against combo decks that want to cast multiple spells in a turn, and can also slow down control by making removal and sweepers cost more. The down side is having bad synergy with non creature spells we might be looking to run. Despite that, Thalia is still very powerful against a broad spectrum of decks.
Good Against: 30
Bogle - 4
Burn - 4
Scapeshift - 4
Living End - 4
Storm - 3
RUW Control - 3
Blue Moon - 3
Infect - 2
UW Control - 2
Ad Nauseam - 1
Tokens - 1
UR Delver - 1
Fair Against: 17
Zoo - 3
Twin - 3
RUW Midrange - 3
Jund - 3
Affinity - 2
Merfolk - 2
Faeries - 1
Scavenging Ooze - Meta Rating: 38
Scooze is particularly good against decks with graveyard centric strategies, but his ability to negate Snapcaster Mage and gain life also gives him value in a variety of match ups. The card is very good, with the only downside being that it doesn't play well with multiples. Still, I find that it never hurts having an extra one on hand.
Good Against: 18
Melira Pod - 5
Jund - 5
Living End - 4
Storm - 3
Gifts - 1
Fair Against: 20
Zoo - 3
Twin - 3
RUW Midrange - 3
Affinity - 2
Scapeshift - 2
RUW Control - 2
Blue Moon - 2
Faeries - 1
UW Control - 1
UR Delver - 1
Qasali Pridemage - Meta Rating: 33
Qasali Pridemage is a solid utility card. It's good against some of our tougher match ups, namely Twin, Bogle and Affinity. It gives a nice Exalted bonus to your creatures, which adds value to the card in match ups where his disenchant ability isn't needed. I find that they usually gain more value in games 2 and 3, as people will sometimes board in cards like Batterskull or Blood Moon.
Good Against: 18
Twin - 5
Bogle - 4
Affinity - 4
Blue Moon - 3
Tron - 2
Fair Against: 15
Melira Pod - 3
Scapeshift - 2
Storm - 2
Kiki Pod - 2
Merfolk - 2
Faeries - 1
Amulet - 1
Ad Nauseam - 1
Tokens - 1
Voice of Resurgence - Meta Rating: 44
Voice is great against any deck that wants to cast spells during your turn. So basically, good against every control and tempo deck in the format. It also holds value through it's graveyard trigger, which can buy extra turns against aggressive decks.
Good Against: 30
Twin - 5
RUW Midrange - 5
Scapeshift - 4
Living End - 4
RUW Control - 3
Blue Moon - 3
Faeries - 2
UW Control - 2
Gifts - 1
UR Delver - 1
Fair Against: 14
Zoo - 3
Jund - 3
Bogle - 2
Affinity - 2
Burn - 2
Tron - 1
Infect - 1
Spellskite - Meta Rating: 36
Skite is particularly good against decks that either want to target their own creatures with spells, or want to kill you with spells or abilities that you can redirect to Spellskite. His redirect ability is also useful for saving your bears against midrange decks, and his 0/4 body survives Lightning Bolt, Anger of the Gods, and can block most early game threats. It can also block Etched Champion, which is something we traditionally have problems with.
Good Against: 20
Twin - 5
Bogle - 4
Burn - 4
Scapeshift - 4
Infect - 2
Ad Nauseam - 1
Fair Against: 16
Zoo - 3
RUW Midrange - 3
Jund - 3
Affinity - 2
RUW Control - 2
Blue Moon - 2
UR Delver - 1
Gaddock Teeg - Meta Rating: 19
Teeg is pretty good at stopping cards that cost more than 3. He is specifically good at stopping cards that are win conditions for a deck, but is also good at stopping cards like Wrath of God and Cryptic Command. Unfortunately some of the decks he is good against have an excessive removal suite.
Good Against: 8
Scapeshift - 4
UW Control - 2
Ad Nauseam - 1
Gifts - 1
Fair Against: 11
Twin - 3
RUW Midrange - 3
Storm - 2
RUW Control - 2
Amulet - 1
Phyrexian Revoker - Meta Rating: 23
Revoker has the ability to neutralize several cards in the format. It is effective against certain combo decks specifically, but has a worthy board presence across other match ups as well. Revoker tends to shine against decks that are light on removal.
Good Against: 15
Melira Pod - 5
Affinity - 4
Kiki Pod - 3
Blue Moon - 3
Fair Against: 8
Twin - 3
Jund - 2
Merfolk - 2
Tron - 1
Loxodon Smiter - Meta Rating: 47
Smiter is a solid creature through and through. It avoids counter magic. It passes the Bolt test. Survives Anger and all of that jazz as well. He also makes Liliana of the Veil bad and comes out threatening with 4 power. All at the cost of 3 mana. This makes him a solid creature across most of the meta, and one of the best cards in the deck.
Good Against: 30
RUW Midrange - 5
Jund - 5
Burn - 4
Scapeshift - 4
RUW Control - 3
Blue Moon - 3
Faeries - 2
UW Control - 2
Gifts - 1
UR Delver - 1
Fair Against: 17
Zoo - 3
Twin - 3
Melira Pod - 3
Bogle - 2
Affinity - 2
Merfolk - 2
Tron - 1
Infect - 1
Aven Mindcensor - Meta Rating: 44
Mindcensor is good against decks that rely on searching out their library. Being a flyer, he also has evasion, which some decks in the meta really have problems with. The flash ability is relevant against decks that want to combo or counter our spells as well. While not having the most impressive body for a 3 drop, the combination of abilities provides value against many decks in the format.
Good Against: 21
Zoo - 5
Melira Pod - 5
Scapeshift - 4
Kiki Pod - 3
Tron - 2
Amulet - 2
Fair Against: 23
Twin - 3
RUW Midrange - 3
Jund - 3
Bogle - 2
Living End - 2
Storm - 2
RUW Control - 2
Merfolk - 2
Blue Moon - 2
Faeries - 1
WU Control - 1
Mirran Crusader - Meta Rating: 26
Crusader is a solid finisher that is resistant to removal outside of Lightning Bolt and Path to Exile. Exalted triggers and other buffs such as Sword of War and Peace can make him devastating. Also being able to block and dodge cards like Tarmogoyf makes Crusader a very good choice in some metas.
Good Against: 16
Melira Pod - 5
Jund - 5
Bogle - 4
Infect - 2
Fair Against: 10
Zoo - 3
Affinity - 2
Living End - 2
Merfolk - 2
Gifts - 1
Brimaz, King of Oreskos - Meta Rating: 8
I'm going to be honest. Brimaz is very narrow and not particularly good against anything outside of providing extra blockers to slow down some of the aggressive decks. Some decks want to run legends with Time of Need and the legend lands, and I could see maybe running a 1 of in a build like that.
Good Against: 5
Zoo - 5
Fair Against: 3
Infect - 1
Faeries - 1
Tokens - 1
Orzhov Pontiff - Meta Rating: 13
Pontiff is generally strong against decks with a lot of x/1s. The +1/+1 can do a lot to swing things in our favor too. Pontiff is particularly good when played with Aether Vial. Unfortunately it's not a great card for most metas, but on the plus side it's almost never a dead draw. Even if you aren't killing stuff on your opponent's side of the board, you're still giving your guys an anthem boost for a turn.
Good Against: 7
Affinity - 4
Faeries - 2
Tokens - 1
Fair Against: 6
Twin - 3
Melira Pod - 3
Kitchen Finks - Meta Rating: 26
Finks is particularly good against Zoo. It provides multiple blockers that can trade with most of their guys. Its recursion and lifegain also make it good against a handful of other decks as well. Finks EtB trigger can help push you out of lethal range of Grapeshot or Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle. The Persist ability also provides for extra blockers and resilience to most sweepers, such as Supreme Verdict.
Good Against: 14
Zoo - 5
Jund - 5
Burn - 4
Fair Against: 12
Bogle - 3
Affinity - 2
Scapeshift - 2
Living End - 2
Storm - 2
Ad Nauseam - 1
Knight of the Reliquary - Meta Rating: 32
KotR is a powerful card that provides a lot of versatility with a variable toolbox of lands you can fetch out. Running a singleton Bojuka Bog can ruin entire strategies if you respond at the right time. Fetching up extra Ghost Quarter and Tectonic Edge can hurt a lot of decks that rely heavily on their mana base, such as Tron, Jund and Zoo. He also can get really huge. The downside is that there is bad synergy with Leonin Arbiter.
Good Against: 29
Zoo - 5
Melira Pod - 5
Jund - 5
Affinity - 4
Living End - 4
Storm - 3
Tron - 2
Gifts - 1
Fair Against: 3
Merfolk - 2
Amulet - 1
Blade Splicer - Meta Rating: 17
Splicer is a solid card that provides immediate card advantage upon entering the battlefield. It's good against Jund (Liliana of the Veil in particular), and is one of the few playable creatures we have available that can block Etched Champion. Splicer is best played in decks with Aether Vial and flicker effects such as Restoration Angel and Flickerwisp. For more on that style of build, check out the Death and Taxes thread.
Good Against: 9
Jund - 5
Affinity - 4
Fair Against: 8
Zoo - 3
Bogle - 2
Merfolk - 2
Infect - 1
4 Drop Critters:
5 Drop Critters:
Other Spells:
- Path to Exile
- Lingering Souls
- Aether Vial
- Mana Tithe
- Sword of War and Peace
- Sword of Feast and Famine
- Elspeth, Knight-Errant
- Abrupt Decay
- Rancor
Land:
- Temple Garden
- Razorverge Thicket
- Stirring Wildwood
- Overgrown Tomb
- Godless Shrine
- Verdant Catacombs
- Misty Rainforest
- Marsh Flats
- Vault of the Archangel
- Gavony Township
- Cavern of Souls
- Horizon Canopy
- Ghost Quarter
- Tectonic Edge
- Brushland
- Sejiri Steppe
- Bojuka Bog
Chalice of The Void - This card is a "hidden" treasure that many Modern players still do not know about. How does this sound: Drop it for 0 against Affinity and watch as half of their hands fall apart. Drop it for 1 against Bogle or Infect, and watch those decks do nothing at all. Drop it for 1 against Delver or other cantrip-heavy decks (Storm) and watch their game plan slow down significantly. Oh, and it also stops Living End completely at 0. I'm playing 4 mainly for Affinity, but also because this keeps me from having to devote a bunch of SB slots to narrow answers for Bogle or other such decks. Horseshoe Crab's Chalice of the Void breakdown by archtype.
Creeping Corrosion - Affinity is a very tough match for us. If you have seen games against skilled Affinity players, it can be scary how easily that deck laughs off our game plan. I recommend pretending like your sideboard is 13 cards, because this card is a must-have in every Modern event.
Kataki, War's Wage - Same idea with this card, although keep in mind that this can be killed by a Galvanic Blast. Don't rely on this card alone.
Sunlance - This is Path #5 for decks where we are facing a bunch of fair creature threats. This will help kill off Dark Confidants and Deathrite Shamans against Jund, Signal Pests against Affinity, mana dorks against Pod, or any sort of small creatures that you run into in random matches. Other options: Condemn (but only works if the creature is attacking), Dismember (costs 4 life), 2-mana options (Journey To Nowhere?)
Suppression Field - This card is kind of a catch-all for unfair decks in this format. This keeps Pod honest, making it difficult for Pod to do anything. Twin can't make more than one or two creatures per turn. Affinity can't animate a Nexus or sacrifice a single artifact to Ravager without using a number of resources. However, the best reason to try this may be Jund. Deathrite Shaman can't do anything, even use its "mana" ability without paying 2. Liliana OTV now costs "3BB." And of course, those fetch lands and man lands are going to cost some extra mana to be used.
Thrun, The Last Troll - You want this against all of the Blue decks that are otherwise hard to stick a spell against. Thrun is also something you can board in in conjunction with Worship to provide a "soft-lock" against many decks.
Worship - Speaking of Worship, this card is key to staying alive against a lot of random opponents and combo decks when all else fails. Try this if you are getting burned out at your local events. With Thrun, some opponents simply can't kill you.
Burrenton Forge-Tender - Try this if there are a lot of Red/Burn decks at your local events. I sub a few of these in when I play Modern events in local, unknown metagames. Other options: Circle of Protection: Red (yes, its legal in Modern), Timely Reinforcements, Kor Firewalker, Martyr Of Sands.
Auriok Champion - This card may be another card that Jund has trouble answering. Only a Liliana -2 can answer this, and the lifegain ability will be relevant.
Damping Matrix - We generally have enough answers for Twin and Pod with the other choices, but this is another option that can be used to save ourselves from those strategies.
Rule of Law - Use this if Storm becomes a major deck again. Don't use Ethersworn Canonist. Both of these cards are answered by Echoing Truth, but Canonist can also die to a random burn spell.
Seal of Primordium - This is my PTQ "tech" from the last Modern season that I played. You can drop this and have a pre-emptive answer to opposing Blood Moons. Ideally Blood Moon will not be an issue for us anyway, due to us running several basic lands, mana critters, and having Qasali Pridemage. Seal is also a good answer for Twin, Bogle, and Affinity.
Deglamer - This card can be used against GR Tron decks that try to chain Wurmcoil Engines against us. Because this shuffles the card back into the library, Wurmcoil Engine will not break into the two tokens when you use this.
Circle of Protection: Blue - Laugh, but I am considering this if Merfolk remains a tough match and it becomes a larger part of the metagame. Otherwise, we run the risk of being run over by an army of larger creatures from a deck that doesn't care about our "hate" cards. When our "hate" is ignored, our deck becomes "bears."
Ghostly Prison - A slightly less-humorous answer to our aggro woes. This card makes it so that Merfolk is only hitting us with one or two creatures, which we can then Path to buy some time. This card also helps against the Tin Fists decks that reanimate hasty Emrakuls or Griselbrands, and against Twin.
Relic of Progenitus - Good for hosing graveyard strategies. It replaces itself and only costs 1 to cast, giving it an easy fit in the curve as well as not being terribly overtaxed with Thalia.
Stony Silence - Great card for shutting down Affinity's activated abilities, such as Arcbound Ravager, Steel Overseer and Cranial Plating. It even shuts down Darksteel Citadel. It also has the ability to stop Birthing Pod, and other various cards.
Obstinate Baloth - Sideboard material for Jund usually, but can also be brought in for Burn where the 4 life can be very relevant. A 4/4 Body also stops most of their threats.
Engineered Explosives - MVP for me against 4 of the 6 bad match ups. It's effective vs Token/SoulSisters/Norin, Merfolk, Affinity and Bogle. I run 3 in the board, and have considered adding a 4th on more than one occasion.
Rest in Peace - Hoses pretty much all Graveyard strategies. I board it in mostly for those matches, but it can also do an effective job of slowing down Jund by locking out Deathrite Shaman and Scavenging Ooze from their abilities, and can also keep that Goyf trapped at 0/1.
Torpor Orb - Good vs Twin, or any other combo relying on EtB effects like Kiki-Pod and Melira Pod. I've also used it against decks like Death and Taxes and Eternal Command.
Maelstrom Pulse - Great card for decks running with the black splash. It's only sorcery speed, but it can hit pretty much anything and get rid of multiple copies at the same time.
Fracturing Gust - Can be used against Affinity and Bogle, but unfortunately it is a bit too slow for those match ups. There may be other match ups where this could be effective, but I wouldn't recommend it unless it's favorable for your specific metagame.
Back to Nature - This card is solid for the Bogle match ups, and some of the Gx Nykthos decks running around right now. Instant speed can make it better than Engineered Explosives, especially if you're on the draw.
Crucible of Worlds - Ever want to re-use your Ghost Quarter and Horizon Canopy? Well with this card you can! I wouldn't bring it in unless I was expecting the games to go long. Even then, I'm not sure what decks I would want this in against besides maybe Tron. Any advice on what else to use this for would be appreciated.
Dismember - Your other removal spell. Not sorcery speed and restricted like Sunlance, but it can be quite painful to cast in builds not running black. Recommended if you play in metas where Path to Exile is not enough removal.
Ethersworn Canonist - The Affinity hoser. He is great for putting them behind and forcing difficult choices of what to keep.
Playing the deck The idea is simple: Drop creatures that disrupt your opponent's game plan. This takes experience and knowledge of the format to assess the opponent's board state and play accordingly. Whether you drop Arbiter, Thalia or Voice on turn 2 can set the whole tone for the game. There are also a couple of tricks that I like to recommend:
Turn 1 Bird of Paradise/Noble Hierarch can lead into turn 2 Leonin Arbiter + Ghost Quarter or Aven Mindcensor. There have been many times I play a dork on t1, my opponent plays a fetch and passes turn. I t2 drop a land and say pass, and then respond with Mindcensor when they EoT fetch. Also, if you can drop Arbiter on turn 2 off Bird/Hierarch (usually play prior to playing your land), you can then follow up with GQ blow up their t1/t2 land. This sets them back quite a bit, but because you have a mana dork you still curve out with your 3 drop on t3.
A couple notes:
I sometimes find it difficult to get 3 colored mana sources for Wilt-Leaf Liege with 7 colorless lands. There have also been times where I had to mulligan more than I would like due to not having lands that produce colored mana in my opening hand. I wouldn't recommend running more than 6 colorless lands, but people have had success with more.
As far as land destruction goes, I found that you need to have at least one LD card in addition to 4x Ghost Quarter to consistently hit it when you need it. Many of us run 1-3 Tectonic Edge as well as 4 GQ. Lately I have been considering looking at other options. Acidic Slime came to mind, but at 5cmc I am reluctant to test it out.
Some builds are running Swords, most notably 1-2 Sword of War and Peace. I've ran swords in the past, but feel that between Voice of Resurgence, Scavenging Ooze, Loxodon Smiter, Wilt-Leaf Liege and Baneslayer Angel, I usually don't have a problem with getting there. The Swords help a lot by turning your Bears that aren't as threatening into finishers, but with so many win conditions I don't currently feel they are necessary. That said, Mirran Crusader is insane with pretty much any Sword.
Match ups: These decks and match up analysis are based on what was seen at the Pro Tour Valencia. They are listed in order from most popular deck to least. While there are 25 different archtypes listed here, there are several others in the format as well. These are just the highest percent of the field at the said event.
| Tribal Zoo by Mattia Fornacini (27 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 25 2 Experiment One 3 Geist of Saint Traft 3 Ghor-Clan Rampager 1 Goblin Guide 4 Kird Ape 4 Loam Lion 4 Tarmogoyf 4 Wild Nacatl Other Spells: 15 4 Lightning Bolt 3 Lightning Helix 4 Path to Exile 4 Tribal Flames | Lands: 20 4 Arid Mesa 1 Blood Crypt 1 Breeding Pool 1 Hallowed Fountain 2 Marsh Flats 2 Misty Rainforest 1 Mountain 1 Sacred Foundry 3 Scalding Tarn 1 Steam Vents 1 Stomping Ground 1 Temple Garden 1 Verdant Catacombs | Sideboard: 1 Ancient Grudge 1 Combust 2 Delay 2 Kitchen Finks 1 Lightning Helix 1 Refraction Trap 3 Spell Pierce 2 Stony Silence 2 Wear // Tear |
Their Game Plan:
Zoo comes out fast with efficient critters. They want to drop threats on turns 1, 2 and 3, and hope to be able to finish their opponent off by turn 4. Their removal is mostly burn based, which they not only use to clear the path for their creatures, but also use to finish off opponents. They rely heavily on fetch lands to fix their mana base, and power up Wild Nacatl. They can also use Ghor-Clan Rampager to roll over their opponent's creatures.
How We Interact:
15 removal spells + 3x Ghor-Clan Rampagers can be a real pain for most of our critters. The plus side is that a lot of our bears are good against them as well. Anything with 4+ toughness or life gain is generally good. They also are dependent on a fragile mana base, giving our land destruction package a lot of targets. Flyers are also a real problem for them, since they have no way to block them. The match up is pretty even in game 1.
Sideboard:
Post board, we want more removal, more recursion, and more life gain. Expect them to bring in more removal as well. I run into Combust a lot post board, which I suspect is primarily for the Twin match up. All in all, both decks have cards that interact well with each other, making this a fairly even match up post board as well.
| UR Tempo Twin by Anssi Alkio (28 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 14 4 Deceiver Exarch 1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 2 Pestermite 4 Snapcaster Mage 1 Spellskite 2 Vendilion Clique Other Spells: 23 2 Cryptic Command 1 Dispel 2 Electrolyze 1 Izzet Charm 4 Lightning Bolt 1 Peek 3 Remand 4 Serum Visions 1 Spell Snare 4 Splinter Twin | Land: 23 1 Desolate Lighthouse 5 Island 3 Misty Rainforest 2 Mountain 4 Scalding Tarn 3 Steam Vents 1 Stomping Ground 3 Sulfur Falls 1 Tectonic Edge | Sideboard: 3 Ancient Grudge 2 Batterskull 2 Blood Moon 1 Dispel 2 Flame Slash 2 Grim Lavamancer 2 Relic of Progenitus 1 Threads of Disloyalty |
Their Game Plan:
Tempo Twin is a deck that can grind games out, but also has the ability to combo if they have an opening or are pushed into a threatened positioned. They use effective cards that provide card advantage and can strengthen their position. If they aren't countering your spells, they are burning out your creatures, and then using Snapcaster Mage to do it all over again. As soon as an opponent taps out, they flash in Deceiver Exarch at end of turn and combo out with Splinter Twin or Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker.
How We Interact:
Their threat to combo is very real for our deck, but we do have main deck playable cards that they have to fight through before they can go off. Qasali Pridemage can blow up Splinter Twin in response to it's activation. Spellskite can redirect Splinter Twin to itself. Junk builds can run Abrupt Decay in addition to Path to Exile. Linvala, Keeper of Silence also prevents them from being able to combo. Aether Vial and creatures with Flash are effective in this match up too. Without at least 4-5 pieces of hate for them to fight through (not including Path), this match up is in their favor pre board.
Sideboard:
They have a lot of stuff in the sideboard that is also really good against us. Anything we can bring in to turn off their combo is good for us. Torpor Orb is preferred over Damping Matrix, which shuts off our own Pridemage and Scavenging Ooze. Landing a Worship can also lead to situations where they can't win. I find it's best to load up as many layers of hate for them to fight through. The biggest issue is that they can bounce all of our answers up with Cryptic before they combo out. Due to this, the match up is still slightly unfavorable post board.
Recommendation:
You should have several ways to deal with this in your 75.
| Melira Pod by Martin Muller (25 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 28 1 Archangel of Thune 4 Birds of Paradise 1 Cartel Aristocrat 1 Eternal Witness 4 Kitchen Finks 1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence 1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast 2 Murderous Redcap 3 Noble Hierarch 1 Orzhov Pontiff 1 Qasali Pridemage 1 Ranger of Eos 1 Reveillark 1 Spellskite 1 Spike Feeder 1 Viscera Seer 2 Voice of Resurgence 1 Wall of Roots | Other Spells: 9 2 Abrupt Decay 4 Birthing Pod 3 Chord of Calling Land: 23 3 Forest 2 Gavony Township 1 Godless Shrine 4 Marsh Flats 2 Overgrown Tomb 1 Plains 3 Razorverge Thicket 1 Swamp 1 Temple Garden 4 Verdant Catacombs 1 Woodland Cemetery | Sideboard: 1 Aven Mindcensor 2 Dismember 1 Harmonic Sliver 1 Kataki, War's Wage 1 Obstinate Baloth 1 Scavenging Ooze 1 Shriekmaw 1 Sin Collector 4 Thoughtseize 2 Voice of Resurgence |
Their Game Plan:
Melira Pod has a lot of versatility and utility. They have a few different ways to infinite combo with the deck, as well as an effective midrange plan. Their ability to search out creatures makes the deck highly reliable, even if there are a lot of 1 ofs. They get a lot of recursion out of their creatures, such as Kitchen Finks, Murderous Redcap, Voice of Resurgence, Eternal Witness and Reveillark. This can help them grind out games that go longer than expected.
How We Interact:
Fortunately, we have a lot of ways to disrupt their game plan. We hate on searching effects. We hate on their mana base. We hate on their grave. We have main deck playable answers to their combo in form of Scavenging Ooze and Linvala, Keeper of Silence. Creatures with Flash are effective too since you can hold mana open until their EoT. Aether Vial also proves effective against combo decks. Game 1 is usually in our favor, but it's far from an auto win.
Sideboard:
They would likely bring in removal post board, and if they suspect Torpor Orb coming in from the sideboard they might bring in the extra artifact hate. We should also bring in additional removal, grave hate and any other ways to stop their combo. This match up is slightly in our favor post board.
| RUW Midrange by Jingwei Zheng (22 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 13 4 Blade Splicer 2 Geist of Saint Traft 3 Restoration Angel 4 Snapcaster Mage Other Spells: 21 4 Cryptic Command 1 Electrolyze 4 Lightning Bolt 3 Lightning Helix 4 Mana Leak 3 Path to Exile 2 Spell Snare | Lands: 26 4 Arid Mesa 4 Celestial Colonnade 1 Glacial Fortress 2 Hallowed Fountain 2 Island 1 Mountain 1 Plains 1 Sacred Foundry 4 Scalding Tarn 2 Steam Vents 1 Sulfur Falls 3 Tectonic Edge | Sideboard: 2 Anger of the Gods 1 Aven Mindcensor 1 Counterflux 1 Engineered Explosives 2 Negate 2 Rest in Peace 1 Spellskite 2 Stony Silence 2 Threads of Disloyalty 1 Wear // Tear |
Their Game Plan:
Their early game involves counter magic, spot removal and landing a threat on turn 3, such as Geist of Saint Traft or Blade Splicer. Their plan from then on is to control the rest of the game with Cryptic Command and company, while maintaining the ability to flash in more threats with Restoration Angel and Snapcaster Mage. They can also burn you out real quick with a Bolt -> Snapcaster -> Bolt, so be wary.
How We Interact:
We have cards that dodge most of their answers. Loxodon Smiter and Thrun, the Last Troll can't be countered and survive Bolt and Anger of the Gods. Scavenging Ooze combats Snapcaster Mage effectively. Voice of Resurgence Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Aether Vial and creatures with Flash are good choices in this match as well. The match up is favorable pre board.
Sideboard:
I would expect more removal and Anger of the Gods coming out of the board. Torpor Orb is a good option for us to board in. This match is fairly even post board.
| Jund by Matej Zatlkaj (22 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 14 3 Courser of Kruphix 4 Dark Confidant 3 Scavenging Ooze 4 Tarmogoyf Other Spells: 22 3 Abrupt Decay 2 Anger of the Gods 2 Chandra, Pyromaster 4 Inquisition of Kozilek 4 Lightning Bolt 2 Liliana of the Veil 1 Maelstrom Pulse 2 Terminate 2 Thoughtseize | Land: 24 4 Blackcleave Cliffs 1 Blood Crypt 1 Copperline Gorge 1 Fire-Lit Thicket 1 Forest 2 Marsh Flats 2 Overgrown Tomb 4 Raging Ravine 1 Stomping Ground 2 Swamp 1 Twilight Mire 4 Verdant Catacombs | Sideboard: 2 Ancient Grudge 2 Anger of the Gods 1 Batterskull 3 Fulminator Mage 1 Grafdigger's Cage 1 Liliana of the Veil 1 Rakdos Charm 2 Thoughtseize 2 Thrun, the Last Troll |
Their Game Plan:
Jund wants to slow down their opponent and grind games out. It has one of the most well balanced game plans of the format. It plays efficient hand disruption in Inquisition of Kozilek and Thoughtseize. It has some of the best removal available, including Lightning Bolt, Abrupt Decay Terminate and Maelstrom Pulse. They want to wear down their opponents and finish them off with Tarmogoyf and Raging Ravine.
How We Interact:
We have effective tools at disrupting their game plan. They have a fragile mana base which is susceptible to our land destruction. They also have no way to block creatures with flying. We have main deck creatures that are generally good against them as well. Voice of Resurgence, Loxodon Smiter, Mirran Crusader, Thrun, the Last Troll, Wilt-Leaf Liege, and Sigarda, Host of Herons are all particularly effective against Jund, but in general pretty much all of our finishers are good against them. The match up is slightly favorable preboard.
Sideboard:
Post board they will be bringing in more removal against us, making the match up more difficult. Bringing in grave hate can help keep Tarmogoyfs from being a threat and shut off opposing Scavenging Ooze. The match up is slightly unfavorable post board.
| Bogle by Seamus Kelahan (25 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | |||
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Creatures: 10 2 Burrenton Forge-Tender 4 Gladecover Scout 4 Slippery Bogle Other Spells: 30 4 Daybreak Coronet 4 Ethereal Armor 4 Hyena Umbra 2 Path to Exile 4 Rancor 3 Spider Umbra 1 Spirit Link 4 Spirit Mantle 3 Suppression Field 1 Unflinching Courage | Lands: 20 4 Brushland 4 City of Brass 4 Horizon Canopy 4 Razorverge Thicket 4 Temple Garden | Sideboard: 2 Dismember 2 Grafdigger's Cage 2 Leyline of Sanctity 3 Nature's Claim 2 Path to Exile 1 Spirit Link 2 Stony Silence 1 Suppression Field | |
Their Game Plan:
Bogle wants to drop Slippery Bogle or Gladecover Scout on turn 1, and then load them up with enchantments to blow out their opponents. The deck wins by putting an incredible amount of pressure on their opponent in hopes that they have no way to deal with their Hexproof creatures. Hyena Umbra and Spider Umbra protect against sweepers, while other enchantments offer various utility to help get more damage through.
How We Interact:
Bogle has been a deck that has traditionally been a problematic match up for Hatebears. They don't fetch. We can't target their creatures with removal, and if they draw into Rancor, Ethereal Armor or Spirit Mantle, there is very little we can do to stop them. Creatures with First Strike can be good against Bogle. Qasali Pridemage is one of our best creatures. Mirran Crusader and Sword of Feast and Famine provide protection from green, which can sometimes stall long enough to get there with fliers. Elspeth, Knight-Errant can provide unlimited chump blockers while ticking toward indestructible permanents. Restoration Angel can blink a creatures after declaring blocks to buy time too. Junk builds can also get value out of Abrupt Decay and Maelstrom Pulse. Pre board the match up is typically unfavorable (although, some builds have started running EE main deck).
Sideboard:
Post board they will likely bring in more removal. We should bring in other ways to remove enchantments. Back to Nature and Engineered Explosives can go a long way in this match. It's also important to know that EE will not remove the creature if it has a 1 cmc totem armor on it such as Spider Umbra, but it will destroy all other 1 cmc permanents, which is still most of their deck. The Totem Armor trigger still happens even if both the Umbra and the creature are destroyed by the same effect. Post board the match up gets a little better, but is still slightly unfavorable.
Recommendation:
You should have some way to interact with Bogle in your 75.
| Affinity by Christian Seibold (22 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 26 4 Arcbound Ravager 3 Etched Champion 1 Master of Etherium 3 Memnite 4 Ornithopter 4 Signal Pest 3 Steel Overseer 4 Vault Skirge Other Spells: 18 4 Cranial Plating 1 Galvanic Blast 4 Mox Opal 4 Springleaf Drum 4 Thoughtcast 1 Welding Jar | Lands: 16 4 Blinkmoth Nexus 4 Darksteel Citadel 3 Glimmervoid 4 Inkmoth Nexus 1 Island | Sideboard: 2 Ancient Grudge 1 Blood Moon 1 Etched Champion 1 Galvanic Blast 1 Master of Etherium 2 Relic of Progenitus 1 Spell Pierce 2 Spellskite 2 Thoughtseize 1 Torpor Orb 1 Whipflare |
Their Game Plan:
Affinity is a deck that can potentially be explosive. It comes out quick by dropping lots of dudes and extra mana producing artifacts. They usually seal the deal with evasive creatures equipped with Cranial Plating. Beware the Cranial equipped Inkmoth Nexus, as it can kill surprisingly fast.
How We Interact:
The longer it takes them to drop their hand, the better it is for us. A good plan for us is to have fliers to block and trade with their guys. Our land destruction is also good against their numerous man lands. Linvala, Keeper of Silence shuts off Ravager and Overseer. Removal is really good against them too. Qasali Pridemage is good here, and Junk builds can run Abrupt Decay, Maelstrom Pulse and Orzhov Pontiff. Pre board the match is unfavorable.
Sideboard:
Post board they will bring in more removal. Whipflare is good against us and I have seen it on several occasions. Obviously Artifact hate is good for us to bring in. Kataki, War's Wage, Stony Silence and Creeping Corrosion are very strong cards to board in. Chalice of the Void can be effective against them too. The match gets more even post board.
Recommendation:
You should plan to have some way hate out Affinity in your 75.
| Burn by Dominik Prosek (22 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 8 4 Goblin Guide 4 Vexing Devil Other Spells: 32 4 Boros Charm 4 Bump in the Night 4 Lava Spike 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Rift Bolt 4 Searing Blaze 4 Shard Volley 4 Skullcrack | Land: 20 4 Arid Mesa 2 Blackcleave Cliffs 2 Blood Crypt 2 Marsh Flats 4 Mountain 2 Sacred Foundry 4 Scalding Tarn | Sideboard: 2 Ensnaring Bridge 2 Flamebreak 2 Satyr Firedancer 3 Searing Blood 4 Smash to Smithereens 2 Torpor Orb |
Their Game Plan:
Burn decks want to kill you as quickly as possible. They basically just throw everything they got at your face and hope it's enough to kill you before they run out of cards. Most every card in the deck is an efficient Burn spell of some sort, and can usually get 3+ damage out for 1 mana. It's not uncommon for them to blow out their opponent with an End of Turn Lightning Bolt followed by some combination of 3x Bump in the Night, Lava Spike and/or Shard Volley during their next turn.
How We Interact:
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben can slow them down with her taxing effect and can hold off Goblin Guide. Lifegain is great against them as well, provided we can avoid walking it into Skullcrack. Spellskite can provide an alternative target for you to redirect burn spells to. Anyway we can slow them down and run them out of gas is generally good for us. Pre-board the match up is slightly unfavorable.
Sideboard:
Post board they are more likely to bring in removal and sweepers. Ensnaring Bridge seems good against us as well, so it might not be a bad idea to have a Qasali Pridemage on hand going into game 2. We can bring in Chalice of the Void, Burrenton Forge-Tender, Worship and any life gain effects to improve our chances. Post board the match up gets better and becomes slightly favorable.
| Scapeshift by Daryl Ayers (21 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 7 4 Sakura-Tribe Elder 3 Snapcaster Mage Other Spells: 28 4 Cryptic Command 3 Farseek 2 Firespout 4 Lightning Bolt 3 Peer Through Depths 4 Remand 4 Scapeshift 4 Search for Tomorrow | Land: 25 2 Breeding Pool 2 Flooded Grove 2 Forest 3 Island 4 Misty Rainforest 2 Mountain 4 Steam Vents 4 Stomping Ground 2 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle | Sideboard: 1 Combust 2 Counterflux 1 Dispel 1 Firespout 2 Inferno Titan 2 Nature's Claim 3 Obstinate Baloth 1 Primal Command 2 Shatterstorm |
Their Game Plan:
At its core, Scapeshift is a control deck with a very specific win condition. Scapeshift wants to ramp the early game, control the mid-game, and win via Scapeshift, getting Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle + several mountains, around turn 6-7. They tend to run sweepers such as Firespout as seen here, or Anger of the Gods. Bolt is in there for spot removal and extra damage. Remand and Cryptic Command can help them dig for answers while disrupting our game plan. You may notice that they need 6 mountains for this ability to occur after it's triggered, and they only run around 10 mountains in the entire deck. This gives them essentially one shot to win, so they will play carefully to ensure they go off at the most opportune moment.
How We Interact:
There are a couple of ways to interact with this deck. I think the preferred route is to target their mana base. Generally I will kill off a Valakut if I ever see one hit play. Otherwise I try to save my land destruction for when they go off. Cutting them down to 5 with the trigger on the stack will stop the effect from going off. Since we have uncounterable land destruction, there is really very little they can do to stop it. Additionally, Leonin Arbiter and Aven Mindcensor do a good job of hating on their ramping. Loxodon Smiter and Thrun, the Last Troll get around their counter magic and survive their sweepers. Aether Vial and creatures with Flash are good here too. You can also help push yourself out of lethal range via lifegain. Some builds can be geared to hate this deck effectively, but it's usually an even match up in game 1.
Sideboard:
Post board expect more removal. Inferno Titan looks solid against us. We can bring in more lifegain. Spellskite and Guardian Seraph can reduce the damage on those Valakut triggers by one. Worship can also make things more difficult for them, but it's still pretty even post board.
| Living End by Joao Andrade (24 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 23 4 Deadshot Minotaur 1 Faerie Macabre 4 Fulminator Mage 4 Monstrous Carabid 4 Pale Recluse 2 Shriekmaw 4 Street Wraith Other Spells: 18 4 Beast Within 4 Demonic Dread 3 Dismember 3 Living End 4 Violent Outburst | Lands: 19 4 Blackcleave Cliffs 1 Blood Crypt 1 Dryad Arbor 1 Forest 1 Godless Shrine 4 Grove of the Burnwillows 1 Overgrown Tomb 1 Stomping Ground 1 Swamp 4 Verdant Catacombs | Sideboard: 2 Damping Matrix 2 Faerie Macabre 2 Gnaw to the Bone 3 Ingot Chewer 3 Kitchen Finks 3 Ricochet Trap |
Their Game Plan:
The plan for the Living End player is to cycle through their deck with their creatures and use Shriekmaw and Fulminator Mage to disrupt us. Then once they feel it's going to bad advantageous to them, they will cascade into Living End with either Violent Outburst or Demonic Dread. Beware the Combat/EoT Violent Outburst.
How We Interact:
Fortunately, they do search a little bit. Pale Recluse fetches for lands, and they do run fetch lands. We can also hate on them effectively with graveyard effects, such as Scavenging Ooze. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben also does a good job of slowing down their game plan, effectively pushing them back two turns since they would need 5 mana to go off. Path to Exile and Condemn are particularly useful here, as are Batterskull and Sigarda, Host of Herons. Flash creatures and Aether Vial are also good. I find the match up in game one tends to be slightly unfavorable.
Sideboard:
They would probably board in Gnaw to the Bone and possibly Kitchen Finks against us. Whatever grave yard hate we can bring in is good against them. Relic of Progenitus and Rest in Peace are probably the most effective ones. Post board, the match up becomes slightly favorable.
| Storm by Chris Fennell (25 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 3 3 Goblin Electromancer Other Spells: 39 4 Desperate Ritual 3 Faithless Looting 4 Gitaxian Probe 3 Grapeshot 2 Lightning Bolt 4 Manamorphose 3 Past in Flames 4 Pyretic Ritual 4 Pyromancer Ascension 4 Serum Visions 4 Sleight of Hand | Lands: 18 3 Island 4 Misty Rainforest 1 Mountain 4 Scalding Tarn 3 Shivan Reef 3 Steam Vents | Sideboard: 2 Anger of the Gods 3 Defense Grid 1 Echoing Truth 3 Empty the Warrens 1 Lightning Bolt 3 Swan Song 2 Torpor Orb |
Their Game Plan:
Storm wants to spend their first 2-3 turns setting up to combo out by turn 3-4. They spend their first couple turns digging for the perfect set of cards to setup for one explosive turn. Untapping with Goblin Electromancer or an active Pyromancer Ascension usually means game. They then cast every ritual and draw spell they can before casting Past in Flames and doing it all over again. Then they cast Grapeshot or Empty the Warrens and hope to ride it to victory.
How We Interact:
We want to slow them down, gain life and hate on their grave yard. Search hate for their fetch lands (almost half the mana base), Thalia, Guardian of Thraben taxing their spells are good things to have. We want Scavenging Ooze to eat away their grave. We want Qasali Pridemage to keep Ascension off the field, and we want Path to Exile to do the same with Electromancer. Gaddock Teeg can prevent PiF and Warrens from being cast. Guardian Seraph is also very good in this match up. Our game 1 is slightly unfavorable.
Sideboard:
After game 1, I would expect more removal to come in. No worries though, because we've got a few cards that shut this deck down though. Ethersworn Cannonist and Rule of Law are probably the strongest cards for this match up. Rest in Peace is effective at shutting them down as well. Even Burrenton Forge-Tender and Worship are extremely effective against them. Post board the match up becomes favorable.
Recommended:
You should plan to have some way to interact with this deck in your 75.
| RUW Control by Shaun McLaren (22 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 5 4 Snapcaster Mage 1 Vendilion Clique Other Spells: 29 2 Ajani Vengeant 1 Anger of the Gods 3 Cryptic Command 3 Electrolyze 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Lightning Helix 4 Mana Leak 3 Path to Exile 2 Remand 1 Spell Snare 2 Sphinx's Revelation | Land: 26 3 Arid Mesa 4 Celestial Colonnade 2 Hallowed Fountain 2 Island 1 Mountain 1 Plains 1 Sacred Foundry 4 Scalding Tarn 2 Steam Vents 2 Sulfur Falls 4 Tectonic Edge | Sideboard: 1 Anger of the Gods 1 Celestial Purge 1 Counterflux 1 Crucible of Worlds 1 Izzet Staticaster 1 Logic Knot 2 Porphyry Nodes 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Stony Silence 1 Threads of Disloyalty 1 Timely Reinforcements 1 Wear // Tear |
Their Game Plan:
RUW Control is pretty much THE control deck of the Modern format. They play a lot of instants and the only creatures in their deck have Flash. They plan to out tempo decks in the early game with a suite of the most efficient counter magic and removal in the format. Once in the mid-late game they go full on control with Cryptic Command, Snapcaster Mage and Sphinx's Revelation to keep them ahead. Eventually they start wearing you down with Celestial Colonnade, Vendilion Clique, Ajani Vengeant and Snapcaster, and then burn you out with a flurry of back to back Lightning Bolt, Lightning Helix and Snappy.
How We Interact:
Fortunately for us, they have a costly 3 color mana base which includes fetch lands. We also don't have to fear a combo, so tapping out for Loxodon Smiter or Thrun, the Last Troll isn't something we have to worry about. Aether Vial and Flash creatures are good here as well. Scavenging Ooze is also effective at shutting off Snapcaster. Voice of Resurgence is really good here too. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben taxes most of their deck as well. The match up is pretty even pre board.
Sideboard:
Post board I would expect more removal, and quite possibly Anger of the Gods. I don't see a lot of players running Crucible of Worlds, which is in this list. It seems particularly good against us. There really isn't too much that we would want to bring in. Thrun if you don't run them main deck. This match up is still pretty even post board.
Their Game Plan:
Kiki Pod is a resilient deck that has the capability to chain into a combo during a single turn, through a variety of ways utilizing Birthing Pod. In addition to the threat of a combo, they can also tutor up any number of utility creatures from their variable toolbox of cards. Typically, they want Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker in combination with Deceiver Exarch, Restoration Angel or Zealous Conscripts, and they will often use Exarch and Conscripts to untap Pod for multiple uses during a single turn. They are capable of winning games through attrition rather than combo, although this is less common than you typically see with the Melira Pod decks.
How We Interact:
Our plan is to stop them from searching their deck, and close out the game before they can overcome our hate. You rarely want to tap out past turn 1-2, as it can open up an opportunity for them to combo. Even without Pod, they are still quite capable of drawing Kiki-Jiki and any one of the cards that can combo with him. Linvala, Keeper of Silence shuts off their combo, and they have very few ways of dealing with her main deck. This match up is slightly unfavorable pre board.
Sideboard:
I don't see them bringing in much for us post board outside of removal. Possibly Harmonic Sliver or Ancient Grudge to answer Torpor Orb if they suspect we are bringing it in (and we absolutely should if we have it in our 75). Extra copies of Linvala and layering up on extra hate with Worship isn't a bad plan either. Ghostly Prison is another card that is excellent in this match up, which becomes slightly favorable post board.
Recommended:
You should have ways to interact with this in your 75.
| Merfolk by Petr Sochurek (25 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 26 4 Cursecatcher 2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 3 Master of Waves 2 Merrow Reejerey 1 Phantasmal Image 4 Silvergill Adept 2 Tidebinder Mage | Other Spells: 14 4 AEther Vial 2 Remand 4 Spreading Seas 4 Vapor Snag Land: 20 16 Island 4 Mutavault | Sideboard: 2 Dismember 1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner 2 Relic of Progenitus 1 Remand 2 Spell Pierce 1 Swan Song 2 Tectonic Edge 2 Threads of Disloyalty 2 Tidebinder Mage |
Their Game Plan:
Merfolk has one of the most straight forward plans in Modern. Drop a bunch of dudes who pump each other in the first 3+ turns, and then swing for a bunch of damage via Master of the Pearl Trident and Spreading Seas. Against us specifically, they want to pump their guys up so they are bigger than our bears, or make clear a path for them with Vapor Snag or Islandwalk.
How We Interact:
Secret tech for us is to use Ghost Quarter on our land that has been enchanted with Spreading Seas. Removal, First Strike, Fliers and just having bigger guys in general is a good thing for us in this match up. Most of their mana base is basic lands. They don't search, or really care about stuff like Scavenging Ooze or Linvala, Keeper of Silence, which turns a lot of our deck into mediocre cards. Worship can be negated by Vapor Snag as well. This match is typically unfavorable.
Sideboard:
I'm not sure what I would expect them to bring in after game 1 other than more removal if they have it. Engineered Explosives, Ghostly Prison and more removal are the best cards we can bring in against them. The match up gets slightly better (although still somewhat unfavorable) post board.
Note:
It is very difficult to beat this deck without some effective way to interact with them. It's not a large enough of the meta to worry about boarding specific hate for this deck, but it can be a problem if we run into it with no way to disrupt their game plan.
| Blue Moon by Lee Shi Tiean (25 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 5 2 Master of Waves 3 Snapcaster Mage Other Spells: 33 2 Batterskull 4 Blood Moon 2 Cryptic Command 4 Lightning Bolt 2 Mana Leak 3 Remand 4 Serum Visions 4 Spell Snare 2 Spreading Seas 2 Threads of Disloyalty 2 Vapor Snag 2 Vedalken Shackles | Land: 22 10 Island 4 Misty Rainforest 1 Mountain 4 Scalding Tarn 3 Steam Vents | Sideboard: 3 Anger of the Gods 1 Combust 1 Counterflux 1 Flame Slash 1 Negate 2 Spreading Seas 1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir 2 Vandalblast 3 Vendilion Clique |
Their Game Plan:
This deck basically wants to counter and burn all of our early plays, land a Blood Moon or Vedalken Shackles and call it a day. It basically plays as a control deck until they can get a lock on our game plan. They can also stall out until they can get Master of Waves or Batterskull going.
How We Interact:
Our best bet are guys that can't be countered. Taxing effects. Aether Vial, creatures with Flash and anything with Hexproof of Shroud that can avoid being a target of Shackles. Qasali Pridemage can answer a majority of their biggest threats to us, making him one of the strongest cards for us in this match up. This match is unfavorable pre board.
Sideboard:
They are likely to bring in more removal after game 1. We should bring in anything to hate on their enchantments or artifacts. Stony Silence can turn off the activated abilities of Batterskull, as well as shut down Shackles. Damping Matrix can avoid being shut down by Blue Moon's Shackles and Batterskull, although it also shuts down our own Pridemages as well. Batterskull is also pretty good for us here since it also doesn't care about Moon. Seal of Primordium has been popping up in lists lately as well, and would be a fine card to bring in for this match up. Unfortunately, the match up doesn't get much better after game 1.
Recommended:
You should have some way to deal with artifacts and enchantments in your 75, and you're going to need them if you run into this deck.
| Tron by Kenichirou Arai (21 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 9 2 Spellskite 2 Sundering Titan 1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre 4 Wurmcoil Engine Other Spells: 33 1 All Is Dust 4 Ancient Stirrings 4 Chromatic Sphere 4 Chromatic Star 4 Expedition Map 4 Karn Liberated 4 Mishra's Bauble 4 Oblivion Stone 4 Sylvan Scrying | Land: 18 1 Cavern of Souls 1 Eye of Ugin 2 Forest 1 Ghost Quarter 1 Grove of the Burnwillows 4 Urza's Mine 4 Urza's Power Plant 4 Urza's Tower | Sideboard: 3 Defense Grid 1 Dismember 3 Nature's Claim 3 Relic of Progenitus 1 Sundering Titan 3 Torpor Orb 1 Vandalblast |
Their Game Plan:
The game plan for Tron is simply to fetch up Urza's Mine, Urza's Power Plant and Urza's Tower their first 1-2 turns, and then cast crazy big spells like Wurmcoil Engine and Karn Liberated as early as turn 3. They use Expedition Map and Sylvan Scrying, which we can disrupt with our search hate. Ancient Stirrings on the other hand does not care about search effects. The rest of the deck is mostly cantrips to help them draw into whatever they might need. Tron players like to run sweepers as well. Here we see Oblivion Stone and All is Dust, both of which are devastating against us. I've seen lots of Tron decks running Pyroclasm and Firespout as well, so be on the look out for those.
How We Interact:
Naturally, we want to keep them off of having the full set of Tron lands, and we should be using our Ghost Quarter and Tectonic Edge to do so. A good rule of thumb is to target the last one they fetched for. Good cards for us in this match are Qasali Pridemage, Path to Exile, Condemn, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Thrun, the Last Troll and Sigarda, Host of Herons (to prevent sac effect of Annihilation triggers). Pre board is slightly unfavorable for us.
Sideboard:
Post board they will likely bring in more sweepers and removal to combat against us. Stony Silence, Pithing Needle and Damping Matrix are among some of the best cards we can bring in against them. Post board is also slightly unfavorable for us.
Recommended:
I recommend having cards that are particularly effective against Tron somewhere in your 75.
| Infect by Olle Rade (18 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 16 4 Blighted Agent 4 Glistener Elf 4 Ichorclaw Myr 4 Noble Hierarch Other Spells: 24 3 Apostle's Blessing 2 Distortion Strike 1 Giant Growth 4 Groundswell 4 Might of Old Krosa 4 Mutagenic Growth 4 Vines of Vastwood 2 Wild Defiance | Lands: 20 2 Breeding Pool 1 Dryad Arbor 3 Forest 4 Inkmoth Nexus 4 Misty Rainforest 2 Pendelhaven 4 Verdant Catacombs | Sideboard: 3 Dismember 2 Hurkyl's Recall 2 Nature's Claim 3 Spell Pierce 3 Spellskite 2 Twisted Image |
Their Game Plan:
They want to drop a guy with infect on turn 1-2, and hopefully kill you with poison counters by turn 3-4. They run a lot of pump spells and will try to finish you off with one lethal strike. Beware letting attackers through against this deck. Groundswell + Mutagenic Growth is +6/+6 for one Green, and anything else would likely be lethal. They also have Vines of Vastwood and Apostle's Blessing to protect their dudes from spot removal. Additionally, Distortion Strike and Blighted Agent are both particularly good against us.
How We Interact:
Our biggest issue here is that we don't have a whole lot of removal, so Path to Exile becomes the most important card in our deck. Our best plan in a removal light deck is to throw down bigger dudes in front of them. They do have pump spells, but it's better for us to force them to trade a pump spell for our creatures, and then drop another blocker the following turn. They need those spells to hit us for lethal, and if we can keep going 1 for 1 against them they will run out of gas. They do run fetch lands, so search hate is helpful. With only 20 lands, there will be games where we can just shut off their mana base. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben also does an effective job at taxing their pump spells. We can also use Spellskite to redirect their pump spells. Since they aren't actually trying to kill us with damage, it doesn't usually matter if we pay life to use his ability. Despite all this, the match up is still unfavorable in game 1.
Sideboards:
Post board they are likely to bring in removal. We see Dismember in the sideboard here. They might bring in Twisted Image to answer Spellskite. We want more removal as well. Anything to take out their guys and that we can respond to Vines or Blessing with. Engineered Explosives set to 1-2 will kill most of their guys, and doesn't care about any of their spells either. Chalice of the Void set to 1 can to amazing things against Infect. Rule of Law and Ethersworn Canonist effects do an okay job at slowing them down, but aren't the best choices. Same thing with Ghostly Prison. The match up is still slightly unfavorable.
| Faeries by Shota Yasooka (21 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 11 3 Mistbind Clique 1 Snapcaster Mage 4 Spellstutter Sprite 3 Vendilion Clique Other Spells: 24 1 Agony Warp 4 Bitterblossom 3 Cryptic Command 2 Go for the Throat 3 Inquisition of Kozilek 2 Liliana of the Veil 2 Mana Leak 1 Smother 2 Sword of Feast and Famine 2 Thoughtseize 2 Tragic Slip | Land: 25 2 Creeping Tar Pit 4 Darkslick Shores 2 Island 4 Mutavault 4 River of Tears 4 Secluded Glen 3 Sunken Ruins 2 Swamp | Sideboard: 2 Batterskull 3 Deathmark 2 Flashfreeze 2 Glen Elendra Archmage 2 Jace Beleren 1 Relic of Progenitus 1 Thoughtseize 2 Threads of Disloyalty |
Their Game Plan:
They want to play pretty much every spell in their deck during our turn. There are a few things in there for disruption, such as Inquisition of Kozilek and Thoughtseize. Bitterblossom is generally their preferred turn 2 play, to pump out an army of tokens. It is also a Faerie, which can be used as part of Mistbind Clique's Champion ability. They also run Liliana of the Veil. And while Sword of Feast and Famine is in the deck, I think the plan is to swing the turn it's played and untap so they can still react to their opponent's plays. It does give protection from Green though, which is a concern for us. Everything else is just counters, removal, and creatures with flash, and it's almost always going to be played during our turn.
How We Interact:
First of all, a deck like this doesn't want to see Voice of Resurgence, so we have that going for us. Qasali Pridemage can blow up their BB, while the Loxodon Smiter and Thrun, the Last Troll package ruin their day. Aether Vial and creatures with Flash are also really good against them. Landing a Worship can be huge against them, as their only answer for it is to bounce with Cryptic Command. The biggest issue we have is getting damage through an army of flying x/1s. Rancor is pretty good for that. You really want to put pressure on early and get 3-4 guys that are of a good size out to keep them on the defensive. You want to be aggressive. Playing the long game is usually going to be in their favor. The match up seems unfavorable, but I have not had a chance to play this build yet.
Sideboards:
They are likely to bring in more removal against us. Batterskull doesn't seem like a bad idea either, but they may not bring it in if they already saw a Pridemage. We want Torpor Orb. They only have a handful of creatures, but it turns them all into sub-par cards and they lose a lot of value. More Thrun and Worship can do work here. Junk builds can run Maelstrom Pulse. Still, the match up probably won't change too much from game 1.
| Amulet by Matthias Hunt (18 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | |
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Creatures: 11 4 Azusa, Lost but Seeking 4 Primeval Titan 3 Simian Spirit Guide Other Spells: 21 4 Amulet of Vigor 2 Hive Mind 2 Pact of Negation 4 Serum Visions 1 Slaughter Pact 4 Summer Bloom 4 Summoner's Pact Lands: 28 1 Boros Garrison 1 Cavern of Souls 3 City of Brass 1 Forest 4 Gemstone Mine 2 Glimmerpost 1 Golgari Rot Farm 3 Gruul Turf 1 Selesnya Sanctuary 4 Simic Growth Chamber 1 Slayers' Stronghold 1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion 1 Tendo Ice Bridge 3 Tolaria West 1 Vesuva | Sideboard: 1 Bojuka Bog 1 Chalice of the Void 3 Firespout 1 Ghost Quarter 3 Leyline of Sanctity 4 Seal of Primordium 1 Slaughter Pact 1 Thragtusk |
Their Game Plan:
They want to get to 6 mana and drop either a Primeval Titan or Hive Mind, and with cards like Amulet of Vigor and Summer Bloom, they can do this as early as turn 1 (with the help of Simian Spirit Guide. With Titan they can go fetch Boros Garrison and Slayers' Stronghold, to give Titan haste and fetch up two more lands. Hive Mind can auto win by playing pretty much any Pact in their list. The deck has the capability to be that explosive on turn 1. They can also use the Kangaroo lands to bounce up Tolaria West and then use it to fetch for another land, or any of the Pacts, such as Summoner's Pact. They really want to draw into the right pieces and go off as quickly as possible.
How We Interact:
Well, they want to be quick by searching up all kinds of stuff. We want to stop them from searching with Leonin Arbiter and Aven Mindcensor, blow up their mana base with Ghost Quarter, and tax their spells with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. Path to Exile is our best answer to Primeval Titan. We really need for them to not go off before we have a chance to interact with them. If we can make it to turn 3+, we should be able to shut them down, but there is still the threat of them hitting the Hive Mind combo. The match up does not look good in game one.
Sideboard:
They will likely bring in removal and sweepers. Firespout in this list looks pretty solid against most of our deck. Thragtusk would also get value against us. To be completely honest, I have no idea what we would bring in against this. Maybe Gaddock Teeg or Mana Tithe to counter Hive Mind? There really isn't a whole lot. Chalice of the Void set to 0 still doesn't stop the copy of a Pact being triggered, so we would still lose. It really looks like one match up we want to dodge all together if possible. Anyone have any advice on this?
| WU Control by Gabriel Nassif (21 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 10 2 Snapcaster Mage 3 Vendilion Clique 3 Wall of Omens 2 Wurmcoil Engine Other Spells: 24 2 Cryptic Command 2 Gideon Jura 4 Mana Leak 4 Path to Exile 2 Remand 4 Spell Snare 1 Sphinx's Revelation 3 Supreme Verdict 2 Think Twice | Lands: 26 1 Arid Mesa 2 Calciform Pools 4 Celestial Colonnade 4 Ghost Quarter 1 Glacial Fortress 2 Hallowed Fountain 4 Island 1 Misty Rainforest 1 Mystic Gate 2 Plains 2 Scalding Tarn 2 Seachrome Coast | Sideboard: 1 Celestial Purge 2 Condemn 1 Dispel 1 Grafdigger's Cage 1 Hallowed Burial 3 Negate 1 Rest in Peace 1 Rule of Law 2 Stony Silence 1 Supreme Verdict 1 Think Twice |
Their Game Plan:
Their plan is to out tempo the early turns, relying heavily on counter magic. They want to use Supreme Verdict to stabilize mid-game, and continue to use it's suite of counter magic to draw into the late game. They want to wear us down with Vendilion Clique and Snapcaster Mage before finishing with Wurmcoil Engine, Gideon Jura or Celestial Colonnade. It's a pretty straight forward control deck with counter spells, spot removal and sweepers. Generally the longer a game goes, the more favored the UW Control player is.
How We Interact:
We want to drop disrupting creatures early game, such as Voice of Resurgence and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. Loxodon Smiter and Thrun, the Last Troll can force their way through counter magic. Thrun can also survive Verdict with the help of his regeneration ability. Aether Vial and creatures with Flash can also give them problems by dropping at EoT. Scavenging Ooze is also good at eating away their graveyard in response to Snapcaster Mage. Batterskull is a good choice here. The worst thing we can do is over-extend into a sweeper in this match. Only keep as much pressure on the board as you need. This match up seems slightly favorable for us in game 1.
Sideboard:
Post board I would expect more removal and sweepers coming in. Nothing really outside of the normal should be expected here. We want creatures with more recursion. Extra copies of Voice of Resurgence and Kitchen Finks aren't bad here as they are resilient to Wrath effects. More Thalia, Guardian of Thraben helps too. Worship is alright, but not as good as other decks due to the number of Wrath effects they run. It might be worth running Crucible of Worlds to try and just eat away their mana base. Post board, the match up seems slightly unfavorable for us.
| Ad Nauseum by Bryan Gottlieb (25 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 4 4 Simian Spirit Guide Other Spells: 36 4 Ad Nauseam 4 Angel's Grace 1 Conjurer's Bauble 1 Lightning Storm 4 Lotus Bloom 1 Mystical Teachings 3 Pact of Negation 2 Peer Through Depths 4 Pentad Prism 3 Phyrexian Unlife 4 Serum Visions 1 Slaughter Pact 4 Sleight of Hand | Lands: 20 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All 1 Gemstone Caverns 4 Gemstone Mine 1 Hallowed Fountain 1 Island 2 Marsh Flats 1 Plains 2 Scalding Tarn 1 Seachrome Coast 1 Swamp 2 Temple of Deceit 2 Temple of Enlightenment 1 Watery Grave | Sideboard: 1 Drown in Sorrow 1 Echoing Truth 3 Hurkyl's Recall 3 Leyline of Sanctity 1 Patrician's Scorn 1 Phyrexian Unlife 1 Silence 1 Slaughter Pact 1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir 1 Tolaria West 1 Tormod's Crypt |
Their Game Plan:
Their game plan might not be as obvious as a traditional deck. They want to setup for the combo during their first couple of turns. Eventually they want to resolve Phyrexian Unlife or Angel's Grace, followed by Ad Nauseam. With that, they will draw up their entire deck, cast Lightning Storm via Simian Spirit Guide and then discard all of their lands to hit you in the face for a bunch. They also run Pact of Negation in multiples to ensure it resolves.
How We Interact:
So what do we do? They have almost no creatures, so the first thing we want to do is tax them with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. This can slow them down quite a bit, as they won't be able to setup for their combo efficiently when they have to pay 2 for their can trips. The down side is that they can get 3 counters on their Pentad Prism, but that is only marginal since she makes everything cost 1 more for them. Spellskite can redirect Lightning Storm. Qasali Pridemage can blow up their Prism prematurely. They also have some fetch lands, making our search effects not entirely useless. I've played this deck once, and it's been a while so I could use some more feedback on how this match up looks.
Sideboard:
I'm not entirely sure what they would bring in based on looking at this sideboard. It doesn't seem like anything in particular is meant for decks like Hatebears. Maybe Drown in Sorrow would come in. They might bring in that enchantment hate if they expect Leyline of Sanctity from us. We could also try to bring Worship in. Gaddock Teeg shuts down Ad Nauseam, so there's that. Rule of Law and Ethersworn Canonist both look like solid options for this match up. Post board looks better for us, provided we have the proper cards on hand.
| Gifts by Marco Cammilluzzi (22 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 13 4 Birds of Paradise 1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite 1 Iona, Shield of Emeria 4 Snapcaster Mage 2 Sylvan Caryatid 1 Thragtusk Other Spells: 22 4 Gifts Ungiven 2 Inquisition of Kozilek 1 Life from the Loam 3 Liliana of the Veil 2 Lingering Souls 1 Maelstrom Pulse 3 Path to Exile 1 Raven's Crime 1 Slaughter Pact 2 Thoughtseize 1 Timely Reinforcements 1 Unburial Rites | Lands: 25 1 Breeding Pool 1 Celestial Colonnade 2 Creeping Tar Pit 1 Forest 1 Ghost Quarter 1 Godless Shrine 1 Hallowed Fountain 1 Island 2 Marsh Flats 2 Misty Rainforest 1 Overgrown Tomb 1 Plains 1 Swamp 1 Tectonic Edge 1 Temple Garden 1 Twilight Mire 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth 4 Verdant Catacombs 1 Watery Grave | Sideboard: 1 Aven Mindcensor 1 Damnation 2 Negate 3 Nihil Spellbomb 1 Stony Silence 1 Supreme Verdict 1 Terra Stomper 1 Thragtusk 3 Timely Reinforcements 1 Wrath of God |
Their Game Plan:
Gifts is a combo deck that plays like a control deck, but can also win through attrition like a tempo deck. They have a modest suite of disruption and removal. Their plan is to ramp and disrupt early game with Birds of Paradise, Sylvan Caryatid, Inquisition of Kozilek and Thoughtseize. Once they get to 4 mana, they will (probably at the end of our turn) cast Gifts Ungiven and search up Unburial Rites and either Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite or Iona, Shield of Emeria. By default, the opponent has to choose 2 cards them to discard, so both go to the grave and then on their next step they reanimate using Unburial's flashback. On top of the Unburial Rites trick, they can also use Gifts to access a toolbox of ways to attack their opponent's deck. Removal, hand disruption, attrition. If the combo seems like a bad option, they will simply grind out opponents through attrition and they can drag games out like a champ and then hardcast their finishers. Timely Reinforcements + Snapcaster Mage + Lingering Souls + Thragtusk + Unburial Rites can do a lot to slow us down.
How We Interact:
Path to Exile and Scavenging Ooze are two of our best cards here. Keeping their grave empty and their threats exiled is a good way to keep them from putting pressure on us. Searching is also a central strategy of their deck, making Leonin Arbiter and Aven Mindcensor effective in hindering their strategy. The worst thing for us is Elesh Norn, so we want to avoid that if at all possible. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben also taxes a good deal of their deck. Voice of Resurgence is also pretty good against Gifts. Game 1 is generally pretty even, and comes down to who gets the better draw.
Sideboard:
They will likely bring in more removal, more sweepers, and more cards to stall us out like Thragtusk and Timely Reinforcements. We want to hate on their graveyard with our Rest in Peace, Relic of Progenitus etc.., and consider options for masses of tokens such as Engineered Explosives or Orzhov Pontiff. More Thalia isn't a bad idea, and the Thrun, the Last Troll + Worship combo can save you from a loss if they don't specifically run Damnation or Wrath of God. This is a match up where Gaddock Teeg really shines, as he stops Gifts, Unburial Rites and Wraths. With the right sideboard, this match up can stay even, but generally it gets less favorable after game 1.
| Tokens by Craig Wescoe (18 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 4 4 Squadron Hawk Other Spells: 31 4 Doom Blade 2 Engineered Explosives 4 Honor of the Pure 2 Inquisition of Kozilek 4 Lingering Souls 4 Path to Exile 4 Spectral Procession 3 Sword of War and Peace 4 Thoughtseize | Land: 25 4 Arid Mesa 3 Fetid Heath 4 Godless Shrine 3 Isolated Chapel 4 Marsh Flats 2 Plains 1 Swamp 3 Tectonic Edge 1 Vault of the Archangel | Sideboard: 3 Disenchant 2 Grafdigger's Cage 3 Liliana of the Veil 3 Rest in Peace 3 Stony Silence 1 Tectonic Edge |
Their Game Plan:
It's not so much a strategy as much as it's putting out a bunch of dudes and force your opponent to deal with it. Inquisition of Kozilek and Thoughtseize help them carve out the game they want to play. Honor of the Pure turns their 1/1's from Spectral Procession and Lingering Souls, as well as the Squadron Hawks into considerable clocks. Swords, such as the Sword of War and Peace listed here, can also help speed up their clock. Vault of the Archangel is a must kill for us. One other thing against us is the number of removal spells. I count 8 in this deck, which is not good for us.
How We Interact:
I'm going to be honest. We historically have had problems with Token decks. But this is a different breed of Tokens than what I'm used to playing against, so who knows until we can get some testing in. We do have Qasali Pridemage for Honor and Swords, but we won't have enough for all of them so we have to be conscious about when and how we use them. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben taxes a lot of their deck, and can buy us some time. The First Strike also does a lot of work against Tokens, so stuff like Student of Warfare, Mirran Crusader and Baneslayer Angel tend to be good. Polukranos, World Eater, Rancor and Sword of Light and Shadow/Sword of Fire and Ice are all good here. If you're playing Junk, you can run Orzhov Pontiff, Maelstrom Pulse and Abrupt Decay. Some players have been running maindeck Engineered Explosives, which would also be amazing in this match up. Without some specific tech, this match is generally unfavorable in game 1.
Sideboard:
I don't see anything I would expect them to bring in against us from this sideboard, but they are likely to bring in extra removal if they have it. Anything I mentioned above should probably go in if you aren't running it maindeck. EE in particular is amazing against tokens. Worship is also extremely difficult for them to get around if they haven't brought in enchantment removal. Ghostly Prison can slow them down too, but it's not a permanent solution. Without specific cards on hand, this match up is still unfavorable post board.
| UR Delver by Quentin Martin (18 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 16 4 Delver of Secrets 4 Snapcaster Mage 2 Thundermaw Hellkite 2 Vendilion Clique 4 Young Pyromancer Other Spells: 25 1 Burst Lightning 4 Electrolyze 4 Lightning Bolt 2 Mana Leak 2 Remand 4 Serum Visions 4 Sleight of Hand 4 Spell Snare | Land: 19 7 Island 4 Misty Rainforest 1 Mountain 4 Scalding Tarn 3 Steam Vents | Sideboard: 2 Batterskull 2 Blood Moon 1 Combust 1 Damping Matrix 3 Deprive 1 Izzet Staticaster 2 Magma Spray 1 Shatterstorm 2 Threads of Disloyalty |
Their Game Plan:
Delver decks want to drop Delver of Secrets turn 1 and/or Young Pyromancer turn 2. Once they land a threat, they want to play a tempo game while protecting their threat. There is a suite of efficient burn spells, counter spells, and card draw, as well as Snapcaster Mage and Vendilion Clique to apply additional pressure. Thundermaw Hellkite provides an additional win condition. This deck hopes to win by the midgame through attrition and constant pressure. It also runs Lightning Bolt in addition to Snapcaster, so beware the Bolt, Snap, Bolt and try to give yourself a bit of a cushion if you can.
How We Interact:
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben is great here, along with anything else that comes with First Strike. Scavenging Ooze can fight against Snapcaster all day, and Voice of Resurgence proves a hurdle for their counter magic. Not only that, but Thrun, the Last Troll and Loxodon Smiter also power through their counter magic and resist their burn spells. Additionally, Aether Vial and those other creatures with flash such as Restoration Angel are good here too. One last thing I want to point out is their land. This list only has 19! Sure, they have extra draw, but we can easily cut off that resource when they run 8 fetch lands. This match up is slightly favorable in game 1.
Sideboard:
They will likely board in the rest of their removal. Blood Moon and Batterskull are both particularly effective against us, so don't dump Qasali Pridemage after every game 1. We can rock the Worship + Thrun combo here. Chalice of the Void set to 1 also shuts off a good portion of their deck. If those Elemental tokens become troublesome, Engineered Explosives is always an option (it also kills flipped Delvers). Post board the match up is pretty even.
| GB by Matthew Costa (24 points)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 18 4 Dark Confidant 2 Kitchen Finks 4 Phyrexian Obliterator 4 Scavenging Ooze 4 Tarmogoyf Other Spells: 18 3 Abrupt Decay 4 Inquisition of Kozilek 4 Liliana of the Veil 2 Maelstrom Pulse 2 Slaughter Pact 2 Thoughtseize 1 Victim of Night | Land: 24 1 Forest 2 Marsh Flats 2 Overgrown Tomb 4 Swamp 4 Treetop Village 4 Twilight Mire 2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth 4 Verdant Catacombs 1 Woodland Cemetery | Sideboard: 3 Creeping Corrosion 2 Deathmark 3 Fulminator Mage 2 Grafdigger's Cage 1 Kitchen Finks 1 Sword of Light and Shadow 2 Thoughtseize 1 Thrun, the Last Troll |
Their Game Plan:
Their plan is to disrupt us with hand disruption, such as Inquisition of Kozilek, run out powerful and efficient creatures, and get value out of their removal suite. Phyrexian Obliterator is their win condition (in addition to Tarmogoyf), and one we don't want to block. There's not really much to say here. There are no real secret tricks or inner workings of the deck. It's pretty straight forward.
How We Interact:
We want to keep their Goyfs small via Scavenging Ooze, and Path to Exile their Obliterators. They also run some fetch lands, so we can try to disrupt their mana base if they get stalled out. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben taxes a good portion of their deck. First strike is also good vs Dark Confidant and Kitchen Finks. Mirran Crusader is really strong here. Loxodon Smiter and Wilt-Leaf Liege hate on Liliana of the Veil, and Thrun, the Last Troll dodges most of their removal. You may also notice they don't have any fliers, which makes stuff like Baneslayer Angel very good against them. Win conditions that cost 4+ tend to be good since they dodge Abrupt Decay and IoK. Junk builds also can use Decay and Maelstrom Pulse. Game 1 looks unfavorable for us.
Sideboard:
They will likely bring in any extra removal they have on hand. Graveyard hate isn't a terrible thing here, as we can use it to shrink Goyf and turn off opposing Scooze. Pulse is their only answer to a resolved Worship, which can also do some work against BG decks. More removal for those Obliterators is a good idea as well. Unfortunately, outside of some very narrow cards, this match up is still unfavorable post board.
The Meat and Potatoes These deck lists are intended as starting points for players looking to run Hatebears. The videos listed here are meant to help players learn the intricacies of various match ups, as well as thoughts on sideboarding.
| GWB Hatebears by Michael Stenborg (10th place, GP Toronto)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 29 4 Noble Hierarch 3 Birds of Paradise 1 Deathrite Shaman 4 Fauna Shaman 1 Gaddock Teeg 1 Qasali Pridemage 1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 4 Loxodon Smiter 1 Aven Mindcensor 1 Orzhov Pontiff 4 Wilt-Leaf Liege 1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence 2 Baneslayer Angel 1 Shriekmaw | Other Spells: 8 4 Lingering Souls 4 Path to Exile Lands: 23 4 Verdant Catacombs 4 Razorverge Thicket 3 Stirring Wildwood 3 Gavony Township 2 Horizon Canopy 1 Godless Shrine 1 Misty Rainforest 1 Overgrown Tomb 1 Temple Garden 2 Forest 1 Plains | Sideboard: 3 Chalice of the Void 2 Dismember 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Rule of Law 2 Stony Silence 1 Creeping Corrosion 1 Ethersworn Canonist 1 Kataki, War's Wage 1 Spellskite |
| GW Hatebears by Richard Likht (13th place, GP Brisbane)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 29 4 Noble Hierarch 3 Birds of Paradise 4 Leonin Arbiter 3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 2 Spellskite 3 Aven Mindcensor 2 Loxodon Smiter 2 Mirran Crusader 2 Linvala, Keeper of Silence 4 Baneslayer Angel | Other Spells: 7 4 Path to Exile 2 Sword of War and Peace 1 Crucible of Worlds Land: 24 4 Razorverge Thicket 4 Tectonic Edge 4 Temple Garden 4 Ghost Quarter 4 Horizon Canopy 3 Plains 1 Forest | Sideboard: 2 Torpor Orb 2 Rest in Peace 2 Stony Silence 1 Auriok Champion 1 Back to Nature 1 Creeping Corrosion 1 Fracturing Gust 1 Kataki, War's Wage 1 Phyrexian Revoker 1 Qasali Pridemage 1 Sigarda, Host of Herons 1 Thrun, the Last Troll |
| Jacob Wilson's Abzanbears from Pro Tour DCMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creature (27) 4 Noble Hierarch 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Voice of Resurgence 2 Qasali Pridemage 3 Kitchen Finks 3 Loxodon Smiter 4 Siege Rhino 3 Wilt-Leaf Liege Sorcery (6) 4 Lingering Souls 2 Thoughtseize Instant (4) 4 Path to Exile | Land (23) 3 Gavony Township 3 Forest 1 Swamp 1 Plains 3 Razorverge Thicket 1 Godless Shrine 1 Overgrown Tomb 1 Temple Garden 4 Verdant Catacombs 4 Windswept Heath 1 Marsh Flats | Sideboard (15) 2 Thoughtseize 2 Chalice of the Void 2 Fracturing Gust 1 Relic of Progenitus 1 Stony Silence 1 Zealous Persecution 2 Sword of War and Peace 1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes 1 Rule of Law 1 Slaughter Pact 1 Leyline of Sanctity |
| Original GW List by Valeriy ShunkovMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures: 31 4 Noble Hierarch 4 Dryad Militant 4 Judge's Familiar 4 Qasali Pridemage 4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 3 Gaddock Teeg 4 Knight of the Reliquary 2 Aven Mindcensor 2 Kitchen Finks Other Spells: 7 4 Mana Tithe 3 Path to Exile | Land: 22 4 Temple Garden 4 Verdant Catacombs 2 Gavony Township 2 Horizon Canopy 2 Tectonic Edge 1 Cavern of Souls 1 Sejiri Steppe 4 Forest 2 Plains | Sideboard: 4 Ghostly Prison 3 Ethersworn Canonist 2 Sword of Feast and Famine 2 Spellskite 2 Aven Mindcensor 1 Obstinate Baloth 1 Bojuka Bog |
GW Build:
Ad Nauseaum 4/21/14
Amulet 4/21/14
Melira Pod 3/29/14
Melira Pod 3/29/14
UW Control 3/18/14
RUW Control 3/18/14
BG Rock 3/22/14
BG Rock 3/14/14
BG Rock 3/14/14
Zoo 2/28/14
Zoo 2/28/14
Domain Zoo 2/9/14
Zoo 2/9/14
Grixis Faeries 2/9/14
Grixis Faeries 2/9/14
Dredgevine 2/8/14
Kiki-Pod 2/7/14
Kiki-Pod 2/7/14
Jund 2/1/14
Mono R Burn 2/1/14
URW Geist Midrange 1/31/14
RUG Twin 3/29/14
Tempo Twin 1/27/14
Tempo Twin 1/25/14
Tempo Twin 1/25/14
Gr Nykthos 1/23/14
Junk 1/23/14
Junk 1/23/14
Junk 1/23/14
Norin Soul Sisters 1/21/14
Ninja Bear Delver 1/19/14
Bogle 1/11/14
Shamanism 1/8/14
Merfolk 1/6/14
GWB Build:
Rb Burn 1/18/14
WB Tokens 1/17/14
Skred 1/16/14
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