- Emracool
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Member for 10 years, 2 months, and 20 days
Last active Sun, Apr, 21 2019 22:51:07
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naokithegreat posted a message on [Primer] Ad NauseamEmracool on the wish version i think you are as good as you can get =)Posted in: Combo -
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Trigunner posted a message on RG Titan ScapeshiftSo, I played this deck the first time in tournament yesterday. FNM at our LGS, 29 players showed up and we played 4 rounds (we always play only 4 rounds).Posted in: Modern Archives - Proven
I played Emracool's list, except for 1 Melira in the side wich I switched for a Fracturing Gust. There are only 2 or 3 people playing Infect at our store and an Enchantment Prison Deck took 1st place last time and I wanted to have at least something against that in the side.
Round 1 against BW Humans:
A homebrew it seems, he started game 1 with Bloodsoaked Champion into turn 2 Thalia. I started with a t1 suspended Search for Tomorrow and a tapped land on t2. He put Xathrid Necromancer, Cartel Aristocrat and Dark Confidant into play over the course of the next turns. I Scapeshift him on turn 5 and won.
Playing this deck for the first time I was a bit unsure how to sideboard and diceded on the D&T plan, so Dismember and Inferno Titan came in.
After a Mulligan I kept Inferno Titan, Dismember, Search for Tomorrow and lands. He played t1 Inquisition, took the Dismember and I just proceeded to draw lands and Scapeshift but no ramp. He put down his dudes and beat me to death. At least I saw he also had Zulaport Cutthroat in the deck, something to watchout for.
Game 3 I kept a good hand and played turn 4 Primeval Titan into turn 5 Scapeshift while he only had beaters.
Win 1-0
Round 2 against Blue Moon:
Game 1 he played turn 3 Blood Moon and counters multiple Primeval Titans.
I board in more threats and kept a hand with a turn 4 Scapeshift kill, but he played turn 3 Blood Moon. I played multiple Primeval Titans over the course of the game, wich he always could handle, with things like double bolt, or Electrolye + block with 2 Snaps. He seemed to have a lucky draw. I drew all my 4 Scapeshift quite eary and didn't draw any Inferno Titans or Baloths.
Loss 1-1
Round 3 against UR Eldrazi
Game 1 he started with Endless One and 2 Mimics and just killed me turn 3.
I am boarding according to Emracool's plan.
Game 2 I keep an ok hand and he had a much slower start after 2 mulligans. There was a moment where I could have played Scapehift to put him down to 1 life and killed him next turn with another land, but I decided to just wait a turn and pass. Then I realized that I am f*cked if he draws a Thought-Knot Seer. Luckily he didn't and tapped out for Reality Smasher so I could kill him next turn with Scapeshift.
Game 3 I play turn 4 Primeval into turn 5 Primeval while he holds onto a Stubborn Denial, he showed me after the game.
Win 2-1
Round 4 against Eldrazi Tron
He played a Tron land and Expeition Map, cracks it turn 2 and has Tron and Oblivion Sower on turn 3. I could chump with Sakura Tribe Elder and he just drew another Oblivion Sower and more lands, so I could Titan into Khalni + Titan for the win.
He's starts slow in the second game too. He puts down a 3/3 Endless one and a Mimic, counters Search during my upkeep with a Warping Wail and I have Anger of the Gods to kill his guys. At some point I could kill him next turn with the Scapeshift in my hand but he could assemble Tron, activate Eye of Ugin and took the Scapeshift with a Thought-Knot Seer. The Game ends soon after.
The third game I had to mulligan I think and kept a hand with Lands, a STE, a Bolt and a Titan I think. He has turn 3 Tron again and puts on pressure this game, at a crucial point in the game he had Oblivion Sower, Reality Smasher and a 3/3 Endless One on the board. I was at 9 life played Primeval Titan, got lands to kill Reality Smasher and tought I can stabalize and probably win with the Inferno Titan and Bolt in my hand, but then put down Ulamog the infinte Gyre (11 Mana with some to spare on turn 5?!), destroys my Titan and suddenly my only out is to topdeck a Scapeshift, wich I didn't.
Lost 2-2
I really had fun with the deck and will play it again. I just look forward to the bannings so I don't have to play the Eldrazi and hopefully less Blood Moon decks in the future (there where quite a few at the tournament). -
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Trigunner posted a message on RG Titan ScapeshiftPosted in: Modern Archives - ProvenQuote from Emracool »Free Win Red: -4 Scapeshift -2 Anger of the Gods +2 Inferno Titan +3 Obstinate Baloth +1 Relic of Progenitus
Hi,
thanks for the guide, it's really comprehensive. I haven't read this thread for a while and tryin to catch up a bit....
So, this Free Win Red deck, I had to look it up, it's a deck that looks to put a turn 2 Blood Moon/Magus of the Moon onto the battlefield and win from there, mainly through Chandra and Koth. But it also plays Ensnaring Bridge! So why would you board in more creatures, but not Ancient Grudge? Relic of Progenitus doesn't seem to disrupt Free Win Red in any way and I am not sure that Bolt or Lava Mancer is important in that matchup, so I would probably cut some of those for Grudge? -
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Hi guys, I'm Kevin Rogers who placed 3rd. Expect a quick tournament report from me in the next few days. Tested Nikachu's list, loved it and rocked it. Todd Anderson drew hot fire both games against me. Vapor snag is not the nicest thing to see when they have snapcaters and goyfs.Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
In general decks like Tron and Eldrazi were hated out by round 3. As one of the very good tron players i followed put it. "I played infect, infect, burn, burn before I dropped 0-x."
166 players
My matches were
1 BW Tokens
2 GrishoalBrand(the guy who came in 15th, really cool guy)
3 Infect
4 BW Midrange(weird mix of Junk without green, Tokens and wraths postboard. Pack rat, dark confidant, the deck was awesome and he came in top 32. An Atlanta local I play a lot)
5 Burn without Nacatl
6 Affinity(only loss)
7 Infect
8 Affinity (draw)
9(top 8) Nacatl Burn
10 Temur Delver (Curse you Todd!) -
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lioncourt123 posted a message on MerfolkGreetings,Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
I am a long-time Soul Sisters player, and played with Burn for a little while. I usually get store cred at FNM with Soul Sisters when I can actually go, and I start the big tournaments 3-0 before ending 4-2 (went 3-3) once. So I almost miss out... barely.
A friend of mine played Merfolk for a long time, and I used to play Burn against it. His mainboard had 2 Spell Pierce and 3 Vapor Snag. The last time I actually played against him with Burn, I test Wild Nacatl against Merfolk and the results were...different, for Burn.
Long story short, traded a playset of Liliana to him for Merfolk because I love the deck. Took it to a tournament for the first time yesterday....
I went with 2 Dismember instead of Spell Pierce. I think my friend used Spell Pierce so much because he mostly played against me (when I had Burn).
Grand Prix Trial yesterday:
2-0 Vs Abzan... steamrolled.
2-1 vs. Abzan Company. Grindy. Couldn't draw the Lord I needed game two for island walk.
2-0 vs. Jund. Reclic of Progenitus is an amazing card against Jund.
So here I am, same story, 3-0.
Next opponent, I mull to five. I am on the draw. He drops an Affinty hand. Scoop.
Game two... I mull for Chalice of the Void and cast if for zero. I win game 2 but it wasn't a foregone conclusion by any means.
Game three... obviously, being on the draw, it's pretty difficult. I boarded out the Chalice because it would have been useless by the time I cast it. Didn't matter. 1-2
So I'm 3-1 and play against Scapeshift. I got to try out Swan Song from the sideboard (1 copy). Spreading Seas did a lot of work. I had to Vapor Snag my own creatures twice. Also got beat on by my own bird token a bit but managed. Won 2-0.
Round six. Win and in.
Burn.
I get burned.
I played terribly against Burn. I think because I am so used to getting beat by Merfolk WITH burn... that I really, really struggled. One turn took me a whole three minutes (it was like turn three or four). The sequencing is so critical. I have no desire to bring back Spell Pierce just because I had a bad experience against Burn. I will be using a full set of Vapor Snag from now on.
I think Vapor Snag is just a better card than Dismember. I know I haven't played with Merfolk as much as you folks have, but Vapor Snag is absolutely key. I am not a fan of Cavern of Souls... granted, I did not play against Twin or any other control deck, but I am not too worried about those decks, as strange as it sounds.
Anyway, thanks for listening. I would not have taken the leap into Merfolk without great players who put together a nice primer and consistently talk about how the deck can be successful. Thanks to everyone in this community, I feel comfortable with the deck going forward. -
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umtiger posted a message on [[Competitive]] Brago: Manifestation of The Next Level BlinkI've been using minimal walkers since they are expensive the cast. But you can ride them to victory so easily once Brago is online.Posted in: Multiplayer Commander Decklists
Here's what I've been running:
I really wanted to build a rock solid mana base with two colors. I know that I could probably play more utility lands and get away with it, but I Armageddon a lot. I could also be playing more walkers but I don't feel like the other ones hurt my opponents on their own enough to play them. I'm sure Narset and Venser are stronger than more than two cards that I'm playing.
When Reflector Mage comes out, it comes straight in. That card seems ridiculous and we're already trying to do that kind of stuff. -
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Leoj posted a message on Abzan Liege / Wilted Abzan / Liege RhinoThis topic seems like it's mostly about insulting people for playing variations of essentially the same deck but I'll add something constructive I guess.Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
izzetmage's comment about Forests is correct. Now that I've gotten to play the deck for a few weeks I agree. I honestly don't know if I even want a basic Plains in the deck, because our only real out to Blood Moon is abrupt decay, which we can cast off Forest+Swamp obviously. But maybe we have enough plays on just XGW where that's dumb and so I'll keep the Plains.
Township is probably questionable in a list that wants so much colored mana, but Vault is just insane in games where you get to activate it.
If I'm going to cut a card for a 24th land, it's probably either a Liege or a Decay. I'm not sure what the math is on going down from 8 to 7 4-drops. Decay would get the cut before a Path because I think Path actually answers more stuff in this meta weirdly. Too many Tasigurs and Anglers and crap running around. Cutting Liege feels awkward because that's the pay off for even playing most of our creatures.
You point on Marsh Flats might be correct in theory, but in practice there's basically no opening hands where I'd want to fetch a basic swamp on turn 1. Even for Thoughtseize, grabbing a basic swamp when your only other cards that even want B are Siege Rhino just feels bad. I also don't have unlimited Magic funds and blew a lot going to the GP, so I'm keeping my Heaths for now.
Our current 23 lands:
- 3 Forest
- 1 Gavony Township
- 2 Godless Shrine
- 2 Overgrown Tomb
- 1 Plains
- 2 Stirring Wildwood
- 1 Sunpetal Grove
- 1 Swamp
- 1 Temple Garden
- 1 Vault of the Archangel
- 4 Verdant Catacombs
- 4 Windswept Heath
What I'd propose if we want to keep 23:
- 1 Forest
- 2 Godless Shrine
- 2 Llanowar Wastes
- 2 Overgrown Tomb
- 1 Plains
- 1 Razorverge Thicket
- 3 Stirring Wildwood
- 1 Swamp
- 1 Temple Garden
- 1 Vault of the Archangel
- 4 Verdant Catacombs
- 4 Windswept Heath
Again I think cutting Sunpetal for Thicket is correct if we go to Wastes because it will enter untapped on turn 2 and allow us to cast any combination of cards in our hand. Basically the only combinations that don't allow you to cast GB/BW/GW on turn 2 in this setup would require one of the lands to be a basic or vault. I'm honestly not sure what I'd add if we put in a 24th land but I'm open to suggestions on that as well.
I appreciate the time Emracool spent making this deck. Being able to play it now for a little while has given me some ideas on improvements I can make to the deck. I have the physical cards to play the other version as well, but I choose not to because in a meta that is more twin-heavy I think playing a discard spell turn 1 instead of a bird for them to bolt is a little better. But I think slamming decks because they "don't appear on mtgtop8" without trying it is a poor perspective to have, particularly when it takes an hour or two with a friend to fire up cockatrice and jam some games. But innovation is how we get new and exciting decks, better versions of existing decks and how we get things placed on mtgtop8.
I plan on trying those couple of manabase changes on MTGO anyway (which shuffles like crap compared to real life btw) in the interim and getting a better feel for it. - 3 Forest
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Leoj posted a message on Abzan Liege / Wilted Abzan / Liege RhinoGP Weekend List - http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/06-06-15-liege-rhino/ (Emracool's list)Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
Main Event
Round 1 - Grixis Delver
This was honestly my first round of paper magic since probably last August. I wasn't used to it so I played pretty slowly. Game 1 he had a Delver out that refused to flip and I eventually ran over him with big creatures and Rhino burn. Game 2 I made a greedy play where he had 3 pyro tokens and 2 unflipped delvers, and my options were either to cast rhino or to pop an EE I had on 0. If I played the Rhino and they both flipped, I lost exactly. I gambled and got burnt. Game 3 started with like 5 minutes left, I had sufficient creatures out (but no Rhino sadly) and he had a turn 2 Pyro that basically just chumped my guys until time. 0-0-1 was an auspicious start because I got put in the weird draw bracket and at a GP with 3,800 people a draw is as good as a loss. Kind of salty about this one because I needed 3 or 4 more turns but I know he was basically dead.
Round 2 - Burn
Not much to say here. I won the die roll and was fortunate to play turn 3 Finks turn 4 Rhino w/o worrying about Skullcrack. Game 2 he played Guide on turn 1 and 2 and that was basically that. Game 3 I curved out nicely with a pair of Finks and a Rhino and he only had one crack effect. 1-0-1
Round 3 - Grixis Twin
Game 1 he mulled and (based on my life pad) I must've curved out something like Inquisition, Smiter, Rhino, Liege. Game 2 I got him to 2 life, was out of removal anyway, so I tried to Rhino and he Remanded it. He then slammed Twin. Game 3 was much more back and forth but I drew enough removal to keep him off the combo and eventually got through his creatures. 2-0-1
Round 4 - Grixis Delver
Game 1 I kept a 2-land hand on the play like a moron and didn't draw a 3rd land until the game was over. I had a hand full of Finks and Rhinos mocking me. Game 2 was another of those "curve out perfectly" games where his life total drops by 8 on my pad a couple times before he scoops. Game 3 I draw an EE and a Rhino to get around his Pyro tokens and outrace his flipped Delver. 3-0-1
Round 5 - Junk
Game 1 my opponent had Thoughtseize and a pair of Paths for my early plays. I basically just didn't have any gas and he kept drawing it. Game 2 I got up to 29 life and had him at 7, then he stabilized behind a Tasigur that was flipping god-tier activations (my choices every turn were either path, decay or lili). He even commented on how busted of a card Tasigur is. 3-1-1
Round 6 - Junk
Well, I was now playing for my GP life. I lost both games in pretty similar fashion as the first. Early disruption stripped my removal and they were smart enough to not tick up Lili. Game 2 we had a crazy board stall where neither of us really had anything left but he managed to topdeck a Tasigur while I kept ripping lands and using it to refuel and kill me. 3-2-1
Round 7 - UW Faeries/Control
Decided to stick it out and play for pride. I run into a guy playing a UW deck with Spellstutter Sprite and Cliques, but also things like Dragonlord Ojutai, Sphinx's Revelation and Supreme Verdict. Game 1 I go Inquisition into Voice into Finks and he just gets smacked in the face. Game 2 I Scullered him to see 2 Verdicts and a Rev. I drew a Lingering Souls so I basically forced him to Verdict that, played a Smiter and Souls and forced him to Verdict that, then beat his face with a Wildwood and another Smiter. I topdecked an Ooze the turn before he cast Snapcaster for a desperation Verdict and that sealed it up. 4-2-1
Round 8 - Temur Twin
Game 1 I saw Stomping Ground into Mana Confluence and commented I hadn't seen either of those lands yet today. He offhandedly said it was a homebrew. On his turn 3 he decided to Pyroclasm my pair of Voices, and a Liege on my turn 4 meant he took 10 damage that turn and scooped after drawing. I boarded assuming he was on Jeskai Combo, but a Thoughtseize in Game 2 revealed him to be on Temur Twin. He had to desperation combo, which I had the path for, so we shook hands and talked about his "brew" some more. 5-2-1
Round 9 - Empty Chair
No show for the final round. Was kinda bummed honestly. 6-2-1
I was pretty upset about missing the cut for day 2, mostly because it was entirely down to my slow play in my first match. But I went into my first GP hoping to just be alive by round 5, and I definitely succeeded in that regard. Plus my friend on Melira combo (who ended up t8) was undefeated heading into day 2 so I was super happy for him. Then, thinking it was only going to be a few rounds, I registered for the...
Super Sunday Series
Round 1 - Grixis Twin
Game 1 I mulled and kept a 1-lander on the play, not much of a game. Game 2 he mulled twice and I went Inquisition->Sculler->Sculler and he scooped. Game 3 was such a bad beat. I kept a reasonable hand w/ just Plains+Gavony on the draw and a bunch of action. This meant I couldn't play around Blood Moon at all and I eventually got to 4 lands. I untapped and drew a Thoughtseize, so I Inquisitioned him, which he responded to by playing his Pestermite to join his Clique on board vs my Smiter. He then remanded my IoK and showed me a hand of Twin and a fetch. I then laughed a little, cast Thoughtseize and took his Twin. At this point I had a Rhino and Liege in hand and could've easily out-raced his threats. Unfortunately he ripped a Blood Moon, locking me completely out. My only out was to runner-runner Forest into EE for 3, but when my next draw was a Windswept Heath I just scooped 'em up. 0-1
Round 2 - Infect
Only 250 people and 9 rounds of swiss meant X-1 was still live for top 8 so I soldiered on. It helps that I resigned to basically play until my ride or I wanted to leave. Game 1 my opponent had a great hand and just splooged on me. Games 2 and 3 I just absolutely dominated, stripping his few threats and making quick work of him with my own. At one point he tried to Pierce my Decay, at which point I said uncounterable, and he just shrugged and toss the Pierce in the 'yard. 1-1
Round 3 - GR Tron
My opponent was a couple minutes late so the judge awarded him a game loss and told us to play a pre-board Game 2. He later told me he was late because he was in line to buy a foil Karn and Emrakul from a vendor and didn't hear the pairings go up. Game 2 he drops a turn 3 Karn which, as I'm sure you all know, is basically unbeatable for GBx. Wishing I had avoided tron all weekend, I then boarded for Game 3. He mulled, I IoK him turn 1 and see the following: Ugin, Wurmcoil, Sphere, Stirrings, Scrying, Tower. I thought about it for a second and realized my plan this game was a mana denial one, so I take the Sphere. He draws, plays Tower and casts a Star. Luckily, I have a Decay in hand, which I promptly cast on my turn 2, followed by a Smiter on turn 3. He drew another couple of cards, played nothing, and scooped. 2-1
Round 4 - BW Tokens
This guy was late but his bag got stolen so he wasn't given a game loss. Game 1 he overloaded my removal and got out of hand with an Angler+Vault. Game 2 I just drew my sideboard cards and rolled him over. I saw a Brimaz that game so I took out my Scoozes and put back in the Decays. Game 3 he ended up drawing something like 10 or 11 lands while I avoided Flooded and just beat him down after removing the little action he drew. 3-1
After that I dropped to grab lunch and drinks with my ride and his friend that lived nearby. I could've played another couple rounds before leaving for the airport but I wanted to spend some time with my friend who I don't see very often and I could've have played the top 8 anyway.
Thoughts
I know basic lands are a necessity but man are they brutal sometimes when you get the basic+colorless land draw. I'm not sure if dropping a Forest for a Swamp is correct, but given all of our t1 plays are black it might be. The only downside is we're kind of split on where to go from there...you want either GW or BW turn 2 and then basically nothing but green and white from there on out. Sculler was honestly probably my MVP, and the more I play with it the more I love the card. He's a bit more fragile w/ the Kologhan's Commands running around. With more Grixis colored stuff being played, Smiter actually felt a bit weaker than I thought he would. It's just so easy for him to eat a Terminate (or Path or Go for the Throat) that his uncounterable-ness felt a little weak. But then he's also a gigantic body so it's kind of a tradeoff. I'm glad I stuck with Scooze, even if he's a little trickier to resolve and protect now.
All in all, I had a great weekend and had a lot of fun. I'd also highly recommend going to a nearby event if RK Post is there. His tokens are the best.
BONUS PIC - The friend I rode up with got this alter done by Noah Bradley.
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FoodChainGoblins posted a message on [Primer] G/W Auras (Bogle)Posted in: Aggro & TempoQuote from DB0013 »Looks like a normal build to me, a little heavy on the PTE's but some players run 4. With 2 x Dryad Arbors it wouldn't be a bad idea to run 3 Temple Gardens and 3 Wooded Foothills for extra fetches.
I agree with this. Other than that, his list looks like 71 of the 75 I run, so I can't really give any poor feedback. I played in a 67 person PPTQ today in Santa Clarita, CA at Tapped Out Gaming. Because some people came late, they did 6 rounds instead of 7.
Round 1 vs. Burn. This was a ridiculously close game. He actually had me at 1 life with Eidolon of the Great Revel in play. However, I had a Kor Spiritdancer with 2 Umbras on him. I keep swinging with that and chump blocking with a Bogle and 2 Dryad Arbor. Meanwhile he doesn't draw the burn and I eventually win at 1 life. The next game is scarily close, despite my turn 0 Leyline of Sanctity X 2. On turns 2 and 3, he does Destructive Revelry on them and I get Daybreak Coronet on a Bogle that also has Spider Umbra. This is where it gets scary. He does Bolt, Bolt, Boros Charm. On the next turn, he does Bolt, Shard Volley after playing the Monastery Swiftspear that he drew for the turn. He already had one in play and after the burn, I was at 4 life. He swings with two 3/4 creatures, but my last card I had in hand was Path to Exile. I win at 1 life again. 2-0.
Round 2 vs. Skred Red. This guy is from my LGS and rode in the carpool with me and 2 others. The first game goes about how the matchup goes. I get lifelink and swing and he can't do much but burn me a couple of times once I'm over 30 life. In the next game, I kept a hand with just 1 Aura and Bogle, but Nature's Claim and Krosan Grip. These end up dead cards when turns 5 and 6 Stormbreath Dragon put me low enough to kill me next turn. I sit there with the 2 enchantment destruction and Bogle with 1 Aura and am sad. In the final game, I kept a nuts hand that needs exactly 1 White mana to go off. I have Bogle, 2 Ethereal Armor, 2 Daybreak Coronet, Windswept Heath, and Hyena Umbra. He mulls to 4 and doesn't play a land on the first turn. I draw the 2nd White source immediately and go off. He ended up winning out and making the top 8. 2-1.
Round 3 vs. Grixis Twin. This is another guy from my LGS, but he plays at a lot of places. In the first game, I put a lot of early pressure and while at 3 life on turn 4, he has to go for Twin. I have Path to Exile. In the next game, I just have too many answers. He makes a mistake of trying to redirect my Daybreak Coronet to his Spellskite. He pays the life and I still get my Daybreak Coronet on my guy. I swing away and then Path to Exile his Spellskite next turn so I can put Rancor on my guy. He makes a mistake of not using Snapcaster Mage in response to my Gaddock Teeg to counter it and tap my creatures with the Cryptic Command that is in his graveyard. He thought he had enough mana to do that AND Lightning Bolt on my Gaddock Teeg, but he didn't. I still had 2 mana open and Path to Exile AND Nature's Claim in hand anyway. It feels good to have more than enough answers. 2-0.
Round 4 vs. Jund. I have an early Bogle that gets suited up, despite his turn 1 Inquisition of Kozilek. My hand was that good and I had protection against Liliana too with Kor Spiritdancer AND fetch. I get there pretty crushingly. When an opponent has to double chump block with Goyf and Tasigur, you're looking pretty good. In the next game, I kept a hand with double Bogle, Kor Spiritdancer, 3 land, and Hyena Umbra. He does Thoughtseize and gets the Hyena Umbra. He draws several Abrupt Decay and Golgari Charm. Sometimes they get more of those than you draw Auras. In the final game, my opening hand is pretty good. Leyline of Sanctity, Bogle with Umbra, and then Rest in Peace. He stabilizes with Abrupt Decay and Golgari Charm. He eventually draws the Maelstrom Pulse for my Leyline of Sanctity and gets 2 Liliana of the Veil with removal on my Dryad Arbor so that he could kill both of my creatures and then Huntmaster of the Fells to finish me off. What did I draw during these draw steps? I drew 5 land. I was pretty frustrated and the guy even admitted that he got pretty lucky for me to blank for that many turns. But it happens when I play nearly as many lands as Auras. 1-2.
Round 5 vs. UG Infect. I think I was on tilt a bit after that match. I thought I would get an easy win here until I saw Infect. In the first game, he gets me before my Kor Spiritdancer gets there by drawing Distortion Strike with me at 7 poison and Noble Hierarch in play. In the next game, I get a Bogle with Spider Umbra and Daybreak Coronet, so I have pressure and defense. He gets a bunch of creatures and nearly gets there if I didn't also have a Path to Exile in hand. In the final game, I punt. My plan is to win with a Kor Spiritdancer. I Path to Exile his Spellskite and on turn 3 with Kor Spiritdancer in play, I have two Rancor and 2 Spider Umbra in hand. I also have another Path to Exile. I play a Rancor and draw a card. I play another Rancor, hoping to draw a land to use my Path to Exile, but I fail to draw a 3rd land and play a land drop on turn 3, despite drawing 3 cards this turn. He topdecks Vines of Vastwood and kicks it for exact lethal, just like in the 1st game. 1-2.
Round 6 vs. GW Ramp. This was a crazy mana dork, Lotus Cobra, big mana deck. The guy is 3-1-1. In the first game, he makes a huge mistake of chumping a huge Bogle with his freshly played Wilt-Leaf Liege. He didn't need to do it because it wasn't lethal, but he didn't know if I had pump. Because of this, my last card, Path to Exile prevents me from lethal and I survive at 1 life. However, his next card is Sigarda, Host of Herons and I am 2 damage short of lethal, but any Aura will win it since I have 1 Ethereal Armor and Rancor on my dude. I topdeck Spirit Mantle and that's the game. In the next game, I just go crazy with Kor Spiritdancer. On my turn 2, I cast Kor Spiritdancer, taking a chance since he missed his 2nd land drop, but played Lotus Cobra off his Birds of Paradise. This gamble pays off and I have a huge clock that ends with many Auras, drawing many cards and then putting some other Auras on a Bogle that I drew since I saw Path to Exile in his deck in the first game. He did get Worship out, which would have normally been pretty strong. However I had a Nature's Claim already in hand and drew another off the many Auras I put on my Kor Spiritdancer. I attack and when there are no blockers, I do Nature's Claim on his Worship. The 4 life didn't matter too much when I have a Spiritdancer with 4 Auras attacking for much more than potential lethal. This guy was a SUPER cool guy and even asked me for a concession, but I didn't feel that 4-1-1 could make it, so I declined. It turns out that because I beat him, his friend playing the guy from my LGS in round 3, gave the concession to push him to 4-1-1 and make the 8th seed. I was happy for him. 2-0.
I finish 4-2 with 2 tough rounds. I wish I would have tightened up my play, but the Infect round was tough. The first two times that I used Path to Exile on his creature, he didn't even search for anything. It was very odd and it seemed that after a while, I could guess his exact draw step. However with the cards I had, I should have won. I have no excuse for attempting to draw a land on turn 3 by playing 2 Auras with Kor Spiritdancer in play. I should have just stopped at 1. I get 10th place. Four players from my LGS make the top 8, but only 1 made the top 4 unfortunately. -
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Mellotp posted a message on Abzan Liege / Wilted Abzan / Liege RhinoJust played Emracool's dorkless build today at a 48 man pptq and finished 4-2 in 10th place.Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
The two decks I lost to were grixis control and a twin deck.
I haven't had very much practice on this deck and I was satisfied with how I did today. I'm hoping to get more practice before an SCG IQ on the 27th.
This list is really good, I never felt like I had a bad match and all the games I lost were long and drawn out other than the couple games I lost to mana screw.
I wish i had taken some notes today so I could do a write-up however at the IQ I will definitely take notes and plan to do a tournament write-up. - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
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Hey guys! There was enough interest generated on the Skred Red subreddit, as well as some people I knew personally. Thus, I am ecstatic to officially be starting the channel titled "Skreddit"! This first video is a podcast style for a series titled "Skred Talks". Upcoming videos will be more Skred Talks (various topics), playtesting different variants against different matchups, and (once I can afford to buy into it) MTGO tournaments! Any constructive criticism is welcome, but if you enjoy the content, it would mean the world to me if you would help me start getting the channel out there more by subscribing and potentially sharing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqMngmnamRU
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Round 1: Abzan Midrange
I get to the event 10 minutes late and yet they don't give me a match loss because someone had the bye! Game 1, I play a Titan turn 4 into Scapeshift turn 5. Game 2, he turn 3 Lost Legacy'd my Primeval Titans after thoughtseizing two Scapeshift. My baloths and thrun only prevented the inevitable doom because of his Fulminator mage/K Command taking away valakuts. Grim double grim flayer+double lingering souls flashback is a clock! I should mention every time I went to search for something in game 2 Scapeshift was on top, which was a feel bad. Game 3, he thoughtseizes and surgical extractions my Titan turn 1. I don't draw my Scapeshift just a bunch of ramp and die to grim flayers.
I should mention this was my first loss against Abzan normally I had no problems. He is a great player/ good friend of mine and I had no issues losing to him.
Round 2: UW Spirits
So this was an obviously budget deck. Game 1, he remanded my turn 4 titan but had nothing for turn 5 titan. Game 2, he got me by surprise because he had a figure of destiny I tried to bolt, but he had a rattlechains into next turn dragscol captain (if he didn't have the captain I won with scapeshift next turn). Game 3, I bolt and sudden shock away some spirits and titan for the win. He was a nice guy!
Round 3: Jund
Game 1, he wins the die roll and puts me on the play. he has turn 1 thoughtseize into turn 2 goyf into turn 3 K Command with Scapeshift as my only card in hand ready to ramp, into two more goyfs! If he had one less Goyf I would have lived long enough to play the Titan I would have topdecked next turn. Game 2+3 played out basically how you expect the match to go; turn 4 titan steals the game, then turn 5 Scapeshift steals the game.
Round 4: Merfolk
Game 1 he pressured me down to 12 life before I scapeshifted. Game 2, he gets me down to 8 but he emptied his entire hand and it had only one lord, so I anger of the gods away the game to buy enough time for titan.
At this point, I have the worst tie breakers of the X-1s and am in 7th, so I have to play it out.
Round 5; Coco Merfolk
He didn't want to spend money on Vials since he thinks they will be reprinted in the upcoming Modern Masters (which I can't help but agree with). Game 1, he pressured me, but not before turn 5 Scapeshift after turn 4 titan, but he had double spreading Seas on the valakuts I searched with Titan. Game 2, he pressured me and seas on one of the two green sources I had, but Search for Tomorrow into Scapeshift gets there.
I end up in 4th place! The same 75 I have had for months and it is still going strong.
In terms of playing against affinity/infect/GBx, I play against those quite a bit. The deck crushes GBx, I have 9 cards of sideboard hate for affinity (not all of it is direct hate it just happens to be good against them) and I have not lost much to it at all, and infect got worse after the probe ban, but the matchup is still not great (but in my opinion not horrible). There are some hands that you can't beat and there are some hands they can't beat from you. I would totally take the deck in that meta
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http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/23-09-16-sEm-stompy/ the list
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Round 1: Kiki Evolution
Game 1, he Evolutioned for an aven mindcensor, but anger of the gods takes care of his boardstate shortly after and I scapeshift for the win. Game 2, he had the same one of in his hand and he got me to stop me from ramping quickly. However, I answer it with a sudden shock (take THAT selfless spirit!) and then scapeshift for the win.
2-0 Games 1-0 Match
Round 2: Dredge
Honestly, the games were pretty easy. He could not interact with us and I killed him in 2 games.Very good matchup for us.
4-0 Games 2-0 Match
Round 3: Affinity
Game 1, he has a master of etherium, a memnite, a ravager, and 2 inkmoths swinging. He has the ability to kill me with infect in 2 turns if he sacrifices his board to infect kill me since I cant block his dude effectively in the air or deal with it game 1. Instead, he goes for regular damage, which enables me to use Sakura to block the master, drop a titan and wipe his board with the titan at 3 life. Game 2, I had my one of scapeshift in the opening hand(as in the sideboard guide we side 3 of them out) , and that plus sudden shock and ramp got there in time to pressure him for the win.
6-0 Games 3-0 Matches
Round 4: Boggles
This is such a swingy matchup and I am never comfortable against it. Game 1 he pressures me and gets to 24 life with lethal next turn, but I had a turn 4 Scapeshift hand on the play, so I got it (with 8 lands). Game 2, he had an insane hand with drawing an umbra for the nuts hand and he stomps me. Game 3 is super close... My hand was two natures claims, Scapeshift, Valakut, two fetches, and a stomping ground. I keep it because of the claims, and it wins me the match when I blank a Daybreak Coronet by Claiming the first enchantment. This buys me enough time to scapeshift him for plenty more life total then he was. I had a Titan for blocking, but he pathed it in response to the etb trigger (like a smart man. This is something not many people do actually).
To note, I have a new sideboard plan for boggles. I bring in Thrun and 2 Nature's Claims still, but I only take out the 2 Angers and 1 Bolt on the draw, while all 3 bolts come out On the play, I think Angers lead to blowouts as they stop Gaddock Teeg and a Boggles hand that is early. On the draw, it would be slow.
8-1 Games 4-0 Match
Round 5: UW Control
I had played against this guy with his deck quite a few times for the past few days, and I won all of the games. However, here the deck decided I was too confident in this match since I had done very well against the deck in the past (frankly had not lost to it even crushing it as early as last sunday at the PPTQ).I draw a hand with a Scapeshift, Explore, Farseek, Farseek, Search for Tomorrow, Mountain , Mountain. I keep because if I draw a green source (which I should have time against this deck), I feel I can win... Only one problem... I don't draw a green source the entire game (10 turns or so), and I die to his slow clock he presented. Game 2, he had a timely blessed aliance on my thrun with a couple of counterspells for my action I drew. Problem is, this time I drew a lot of mana and no action cards besides thrun a baloth and a scapeshift (All in opening hand or first draw), so that was annoying.
8-3 Games 4-1 Match
Round 6: BR Eldrazi
At this point, I am second in standings... I draw with the guy I am playing because I had honestly never seen the deck before, so I was not sure of the matchup. It was a combination of Bant Eldrazi and Jund and was super cool. However, we played the matchup for fun after (I boarded same way as I do against Bant Eldrazi and it worked very well), and I won in 2 quick games ( game 2 despite double TKS and Smasher). Now I know the matchup is as good as the other two decks!!
Overall, the deck is still going strong! I feel confident in the deck choice, my piloting ability, the decks consistency, and the good/even matchups almost across the board. Excited for next week!
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Round 1: Merfolk
Game 1, he had TRIPLE spreading seas and it threw off the titan plan for one too many turns. The last spreading seas was on the turn before he would have died without it, so it was clutch for him. Game 2 was a turn 4 win without trouble. Game 3, he double spreading seas'd , but the bolt and anger shut him down and I casted two Titans for victory. He Phantasmal Imaged my prime time, but it was not enough.
2-1 Games 1-0 Match
Round 2: Affinity
This was an interestning match to say the least. I mulled to 5 but he mulled to 4. On the play, I kept a hand of scapeshift two lands (one a fetch), khlani, and search. I turn 4 him and he had the crackback swing because of a chain of overseer into plating early topdecks. Game 2, he turn 2 blood moons. I kept a very interactive hand and I had fetched a forest turn 1. I used my interaction to keep his creatures off the board, and his moon was screwing him over since he could not attack with manlands. I casted two Prime Times and won through the moon ( I have stil in quite a few matches not lost to moon). We played a few games after preboard and postboard and I won all of them but one. I really think the matchup becomes favrable once you know how to beat it.
4-1 Games 2-0 Match
Round 3: Goblins
This was the Atarka Goblins deck that flowed around, not 8 Whack. I personally think Artarka Goblins is much scarier due to the reach and lifegain resiliency. I have the turn 4 and go down to 1 life game 1 for the win (thank you Sakura!). Game 2, I baloth turn 3 to buy time (I find out he topdecked skullcrack the turn after, but I only played into it because he only had one mana untapped at the time) to cast titan turn 5 for the win (Sakura again did work!).
6-1 Games 3-0 Match
Round 4: Grisshoalbrand
I was originally paired against Jund, but then repairs occured and I got paired against this deck (I hate Grisshoalbrand for reference as a deck). This was the guy who is letting me borrow the deck (since I am missing a couple of cards to finish the list on paper, I borrow it when I can untill the cards are available here, which should be in a week or two). I was very concerned about this matchup and it was down to the wire. I kept a solid 7 card hand with the turn 4 Scpaeshift, but he turn 2ed me on a mull to 5 game one. Game 2, I turn 4 Scapeshift him because he didn't play the moon in his hand (I was bluffing the Nature's Claim but it was a scapeshift). Game 3 is down to the wire.. I Scapeshift on turn 4 to get him down to 3 to kill him with a land, but he Nourishing Shoals into Through the Breach for Wurm to get me to 5 and kill me next turn. I had another scpaeshift in hand though and just scapeshifted again for the lands I needed left. I really do not feel comfortable playing against the deck at all, as it always feels like a huge coinflip.
8-2 Games 4-0 Match
Round 5: Abzan
Game 1, he got stuck on 2 landsand I turn 5 Scapeshifted him without much trouble. Game 2, I just had Prime Time pick up the slack for me through multiple discard spells. I hope I am paired against GBx all the time!
10-2 Games 5-0 Match
Pairings go up and there is me and one other undefeated with Dredge, but the payout is basically the same, so we draw. He is a great dredge player, so we played a couple of games and I won them (this is a fun matchup since they can't interact much with us). I also played 10 preboard games and 10 postboard games against Bant Eldrazi, and I only lost two of them (one of them when I drew all the lands in my deck without gas). I was curious how the matchup played, but it seemed very favorable. I even won through double TKS multiple times! I walked away with 42 dollars in credit (to help buy some of the cards missing when it becomes available), and a good feeling of testing a lot for the PPTQ I am aiming to win! Pumped for Sunday and will come back with a report
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Burn: Out 4 Khalni Heart Expedition 3 Scapeshift 2 Farseek on draw 2 explore on play In 3 Baloth 3 Sudden Shock 1 Bolt 1 Anger
Dredge: Out 3 Bolt In 1 Anger 2 Baloth
Jund: Out 2 Bolt 2 Anger In 3 Baloth 1 Thrun
Bant Eldrazi: Out 2 Anger 4 Khalni In 3 Baloth 1 Thrun 1 Bolt 1 Sudden Shock
Merfolk: Out 4 Khalni 1 Farseek on Draw 1 Explore on play In: 3 Sudden Shock 1 Lighting Bolt 1 Anger of the Gods
Jeskai: Out 2 Anger 3 Bolt 1 Expedition In: 3 Baloth 1 Thrun 2 Reverberate
Infect: Out 4 Khalni 1 Farseek on draw 1 Explore on play In: 3 Sudden Shock 1 Lightning Bolt 1 Anger
Zooicide: Out 4 Khalni 2 Scapeshift In: 3 Baloth 1 Thrun 1 Bolt 1 Anger
Affinity: Out 4 Khalni 3 Scapeshift 2 Explore on Play 2 Farseek on Draw In 1 Bolt 1 Anger 2 Nature’s Claim 2 Ancient Grudge 3 Sudden Shock
Abzan Coco: Out 4 Khalni 1 Explore on Play Farseek on Draw In 1 Bolt 1 Anger 3 Sudden Shock
Kiki Chord: Out 4 Khalni 1 Explore on Play Farseek on Draw In: 1 Bolt 1 Anger 3 Sudden Shock
Zoo: Out 4 Khalni Heart Expedition 3 Scapeshift 2 Farseek on draw 2 explore on play In 3 Baloth 3 Sudden Shock 1 Bolt 1 Anger
D and T: Out 4 Khalni 2 Scapeshift 2 Farseek on Draw 2 Explore on play In 1 Bolt 1 Anger 3 Sudden Shock 3 Baloth
Ad Nauseam: Out 2 Anger 3 Bolt In 2 Nature Claim 2 Ancient Grudge 1 Baloth
Grixis Delver: Out 4 Expeditions 2 Anger In 2 Reverberate 3 Baloth 1 Thrun
RG Tron: Out 3 Bolt 2 Anger In 2 Claim 2 Ancient Grudge 1 Reverberate
U Tron: Out 3 Bolt 2 Anger 1 Khalni In 2 Claim 2 Ancient Grudge 2 Reverberate
Abzan: Out 2 Bolt 4 Khalni In 3 Baloth 1 Thrun 1 Anger
Mirror Out 2 Anger 3 Bolt in 2 Reverberates 3 Sudden Shock
Elves: Out 4 Khalni 1 Farseek on draw 1 explore on play In 1 Anger 1 Bolt 3 Sudden Shock
Grisshoalbrand: Out 2 Anger 2 Bolt In 2 Nature’s Claim 2 Ancient Grudge
RUG Delver: Out 4 Expeditions 2 Anger In 2 Reverberate 3 Baloth 1 Thrun
Bant Coco: Out 4 Khalni 1 Explore on Play Farseek on Draw In 1 Bolt 1 Anger 3 Sudden Shock
Soul Sisters: Out 4 Khalni 1 Farseek on Draw 1 Explore on play In 3 Sudden Shock 1 Bolt 1 Anger
8 Rack: Out: 2 Anger 3 Bolt 2 Khalni In 3 Baloth 2 Ancient Grudge 2 Natures Claim
Esper: 2 Anger 3 Bolt 1 Expedition In: 3 Baloth 1 Thrun 2 Reverberate
Goblins: 4 Khalni Heart Expedition 3 Scapeshift 2 Farseek on draw 2 explore on play In 3 Baloth 3 Sudden Shock 1 Bolt 1 Anger
RG Breach: Out 2 Anger 3 Bolt In 3 Sudden Shock 2 Reverberate
Grixis Control: Out 2 Anger 3 Bolt 1 Expedition In: 3 Baloth 1 Thrun 2 Reverberate
Boggles: Out 2 Anger 1 Bolt In 2 Nature Claim 1 Thrun
Living End: Out 2 Anger In 2 Reverberate
Lantern: Out 2 Anger 3 Bolt In 2 Ancient Grudge 2 Natures Claim 1 Obstinate Baloth
Mardu: Out 1 Anger 3 Bolt In 3 Baloth 1 Thrun
Storm: Out 3 Khalni In 2 Natures Claim 1 Bolt
BW Tokens: Out 2 Bolt 4 Khalni In 3 Baloth 1 Thrun 1 Anger
Blue Moon: Out 2 Anger 3 Bolt 1 Khalni In 3 Baloth 1 Thrun 2 Natures Claim
If you have any questions feel free to ask, and I will answer them as best as I can :).
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I board in 3 Leylines as I dont want to draw multiples but I want them. Also, I board in the 4th pact for obvious reasons. I cut the 4 lotus blooms because of remand and because prism is still acceleration. Been winning a lot with this plan in this match.