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Dec 1, 2017deaddrift posted a message on If You Can't Take Criticism of Jeremy Hambly, You're Part of the ProblemawesomePosted in: Articles
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Dec 1, 2017deaddrift posted a message on If You Can't Take Criticism of Jeremy Hambly, You're Part of the ProblemOutstanding piece, thank you.Posted in: Articles
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Jun 19, 2017deaddrift posted a message on Treasure Cruisin' with Norin's SistersY'know what's real good at getting rid of Norin? Wasteland Strangler, that's what.Posted in: Articles
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Many thanks to Beautox and Master_Hades for the banner and the excellent original primer, which first sold me on this deck at the end of 2015.
CBW Processors was originally inspired by a BR version, created and piloted by EternallyRamza, that 5-0'ed an MTGO event. The original deck strongly committed to Eye of Ugin and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in the land base, and to Relic of Progenitus and Scrabbling Claws maindeck, in order to quickly ramp into Blight Herder, Oblivion Sower, and finally Ulamog himself. Since then the build has changed significantly, losing the late-game inevitability package provided by Eye of Ugin and Ulamog, and modifying the curve, while eagerly adopting the best of the pushed Eldrazi from Oath of the Gatewatch.
Processors is a highly interactive, control-oriented, midrange deck. It is currently very low profile, despite having many favorable matchups, many close or even matchups, and only a few distinctly poor matchups. It uses abundant hand disruption and targeted removal to control the opponent’s game, while beating face mid-to-late game with large, powerful creatures and lots of 1/1 tokens. It attacks on many axes, including maindeck graveyard hate, manlands backed up by mainboard land destruction, and even interaction with the opponent’s exile zone (why hello there, Ancestral Vision!). Several lifegain sources offset the sometimes-painful land and spell mix.
Why to play this deck:
Sample Decklist
1x Cavern of Souls
4x Caves of Koilos
4x Eldrazi Temple
3x Ghost Quarter
2x Godless Shrine
3x Marsh Flats
1x Plains
3x Shambling Vent
2x Swamp
1x Vault of the Archangel
Planeswalker (1)
1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
3x Blight Herder
1x Matter Reshaper
4x Reality Smasher
4x Thought-Knot Seer
3x Wasteland Strangler
Instant (5)
1x Go for the Throat
4x Path to Exile
Sorcery (8)
4x Lingering Souls
4x Thoughtseize
Enchantment (1)
1x Oblivion Ring
Artifact (7)
2x Mind Stone
4x Relic of Progenitus
1x Anguished Unmaking
2x Damnation
1x Pithing Needle
2x Ratchet Bomb
2x Rest for the Weary
2x Stony Silence
3x Surgical Extraction
1x Timely Reinforcements
1x Zealous Persecution
Card Choices
Lands:
A note about lands: There are 11 turn one sources for B, and by turn two there are 14 lands that can supply B, with 13 each for C and W. Having the right balance of mana sources is challenging and the manabase is very tight. When modifying, it is essential to carefully consider and fully playtest any changes to the color mix. Conversely, cards with double color requirements should be minimized wherever possible. A great article outlining proper color balance for casting spells on-time can be found here.
Creatures:
Axes of Interaction
Lands: The land package is an important interactive axis for Processors. Fully a third of the land package can tamper with an opponent’s plans. Cavern of Souls wrecks the blue decks, Shambling Vent beats face while Ghost Quarter shuts down inconvenient opposing lands, and Vault swings late games, period. Sea Gate Wreckage and Westvale Abbey also do work in some builds. Playing utility lands as one of our “colors” is a major strength of this deck.
Graveyard: Graveyard hate is relevant against loads of builds. In the current meta it is powerful against BGx (Goyf, Scooze), URx (Snapcaster, Kolaghan’s Command, flashback in general), Abzan CoCo (can stop the combo if mana is up to activate Relic), Kiki Chord (stops Eternal Witness and Reveillark shenanigans), as well as more peripheral but still not uncommon decks like Dredge, Living End, Storm, Gifts Ungiven builds, UW Tron, Thopter/Sword, etc. It is important to note that in the current format, the maindeck Relics are good all by themselves; they are not there simply to power Strangler and Herder. They cantrip too so they are never completely dead.
Exile: Exile zone hate comes into play rarely but is always very satisfying when it does. There is nothing quite like the feeling of casting a T2 Strangler, processing a suspended Rift Bolt, killing a Goblin Guide, and then watching it eat a Bolt itself as a 3-for-1 play. Greatly improves the matchup against Ad Nauseam and any deck with Ancestral Vision while sometimes getting an early Search for Tomorrow or a suspended Living End. However, getting two cards into exile for Herder is not always possible, and sometimes Strangler needs to be played before he has a card to process or a target to hit.
Creatures: The large majority of the creatures are Bolt, Abrupt Decay, and Inquisition of Kozilek-proof. They also tend to be bigger and more numerous than most opponents’ big creatures. With lots of tokens as well, the deck plays both tall and wide, powerfully taxing opponents’ removal.
Hand Disruption: Thoughtseize/IoK/Thought-Knot Seer are a key aspect of the gameplan. Knowing when to cast these and what to take is a skill developed through lots of practice, and players will benefit from extensive knowledge of the format and opposing decks’ gameplans. A seminal article on the topic can be found here.
Card Advantage: Though not strictly interactive, CA is worth discussing. Blight Herder and Lingering Souls both create multiple bodies. Relic and Mind Stone cantrip. Reality Smasher requires discard to remove. Strangler can frequently be a 2-for-1 and sometimes even a 3-for-1. Reshaper replaces itself when it dies. There are several sweepers in the sideboard.
Guide to Playing the Deck
See this post for a general overview of what the deck is trying to do in the first several turns.
Matchups
Note: The Modern meta is wide open right now with tons of decks around, some changing significantly, and new decks cropping up frequently. I have tried to cover the matchups I am familiar with. I encourage other players to contribute their matchup notes to the discussion in the comments and will update this section periodically when needed.
BGx builds: Processors is strongly favored. Relic takes care of Goyf and Scooze while Spirit tokens resist removal and push through damage. Lingering Souls discards to Liliana while our Eldrazi are as big or bigger than their creatures and are resistant to many forms of their removal. Ghost Quarter takes care of Raging Ravine and Stirring Wildwood.
URx/UWx builds: Processors is strongly favored. These decks’ generally slow gameplan allows us to develop our own resources with plenty of time--Shambling Vent shines in these matches. Relic nukes Snapcaster Mage, K Command, and flashback in general, while Lingering Souls and Blight Herder push tokens through counterspells. When they delve their graveyards away they turn on our processors for us. Landing a Cavern of Souls can be game over because resolved Eldrazi can be hard to remove for these decks. Ghost Quarter answers their main late-game manlands, Celestial Colonnade and Creeping Tar Pit. Watch out not to overextend into sweepers. Thoughtseize is always a live draw against these decks and clears the way for our actual threats.
Graveyard decks (Living End, Dredge, Storm etc.): Processors is strongly favored. Four maindeck Relics, plus some number of Surgical Extraction out of the side, means we are pre-boarded in G1 and then very strongly boarded in G2/3. Never tap out when Relic is on the table.
Ad Nauseam: Processors is strongly favored. Ad Nauseam is weak to us because they are slow and vulnerable to hand disruption, processing and Stony Silence. Prioritize taking their protective spells, Angel's Grace and Phyrexian Unlife. Surgical Extraction is great out of the side, as with combo matchups in general.
Affinity/Infect: Processors is favored. Though fast starts from these decks can be tough to handle, our Ghost Quarters are very good against Inkmoth Nexus, and our Spirit tokens defend us very effectively. Abundant targeted removal deals with their important creatures. Both matchups get even better in G2/3; bring in Pithing Needle for both, if you have it. The top removal targets in Affinity are Arcbound Ravager and Steel Overseer, as Etched Champion is very bad against us. While playing Infect you should prioritize removing Blighted Agent. Our deck makes Apostle's Blessing a near-dead draw for them.
Burn: Even matchup. Careful management of life is important and mulling for lifegain in G2/3 is not a bad idea if the opening seven has none and isn’t otherwise amazing (e.g., two Temples plus a Thought-Knot Seer and a Smasher). Side out pain cards like Thoughtseize and Unmaking in this match.
Abzan CoCo/Kiki Chord/Bant CoCo: Even matchup. Graveyard hate is relevant against all three decks and sweepers from the board improve G2/3. It is smart to sandbag a Path, if possible, to stop the combo plans of the first couple of decks. Pithing Needle can be very good in these matchups--name a combo enabler, Spellskite, or even a fetchland. Ghost Quarter is relevant for Gavony Township.
Bant Eldrazi/RG Eldrazi: I haven't played against these builds very much yet, but right now my sense is that they are roughly even--Damnation will be a big help post-board. Tokens are terrible against opposing Reality Smashers but we have a lot more hand disruption and our removal outperforms their limited (Bant's four Paths) or small-scale (RG's four Bolts) removal options.
Death and Taxes variants: Variable; if they get Vial T1 and a good mix of creatures this can be quite tough; on the other hand, if they miss their Vial drop and we get early hand disruption they are usually pretty easy to beat. Pithing Needle and Ratchet Bomb are stars here but it is probably not right to side in Stony Silence for Vial.
Tron Variants: Favorable to somewhat unfavorable for Processors. Mono-U and UW Tron are considerably easier because of their slowness and over-reliance on counterspells. RG Tron is very unfavorable G1 without a very fast clock and a good amount of hand disruption; Lingering Souls is very bad against RG Tron, though it's great against the blue Tron builds. Hand disruption is very good in all cases vs. Tron. In G2/3, Stony Silence, Surgical Extraction, Pithing Needle and Anguished Unmaking/O-Ring are all all-stars, and greatly improve all the Tron matchups. Important note: Ghost Quarter is not enough by itself! They are too consistent, and they can easily fight through one or even two removed Tron lands unless we can both strongly pressure their life total and keep Karn from resolving. However GQ into Extraction is backbreaking if you can put it together.
Elves/Merfolk/Zoo/BW Tokens: Variably close-to-slightly-unfavorable for Processors. Elves and Fish tend not to fill the graveyard, making Relic (and Herder and Strangler) much worse. Tokens neuters our targeted removal plans. All these matchups obviously get better with more sweeper effects in the board. Damnation is better than Flaying Tendrils for Fish and Zoo, but Tendrils can be better against Tokens and Elves. Damnation may be a surer bet, as a general rule. Ratchet Bomb and Zealous Persecution are great against all these decks, while Pithing Needle shines against Fish and against Ezuri, Renegade Leader, and may be useful against Naya Zoo builds (name a fetch land, Ooze, or possibly Grim Lavamancer). Hard G1s, and we are hoping to find our sweeper sideboard hate G2/3 in most cases.
Scapeshift and RG Titan/Land Ramp variants: Unfavorable for Processors. Save hand disruption for later to try for Primetime or Scapeshift itself. In G2/3, try to sandbag Ghost Quarter in case they play an early Valakut that you might be able to Extract. Scapeshift comes in several versions that require different approaches, and can be hard to disrupt when piloted well.
Lantern Control: Unfavorable for Processors. We need to remove their Ensnaring Bridge which is their main win con against us. Stony Silence, Ratchet Bomb (though a nonbo with Stony), Pithing Needle and Anguished Unmaking/O-Ring are strong out of the board, but you want them in your opening hand so they don’t get milled away. A little trick here is Pathing your own Thought-Knot Seer, making them draw so you can get a swing in under their Bridge with your Spirit and Scion tokens.
8-Whack: Unfavorable for Processors. They can be very fast and wide and are killing us while we are still setting up. Legion Loyalist is a nightmare for our chump-blocker plan and our sweepers can be too slow. Flaying Tendrils, Zealous Persecution, and Ratchet Bomb are much better than Damnation in this match.
Bogles: Strongly unfavorable for Processors. This match gets a lot better if you side a couple Spellskites and/or more Ratchet Bombs or even Engineered Explosives. Zealous Persecution can get a guy in response to an enchantment when we have the play. Best hope here is to Thoughtseize away their guy after winning the die roll.
RG Land Destruction/RW Prison: Strongly unfavorable for Processors. If these decks see play in your meta, consider Crucible of Worlds and/or Sacred Ground. But these cards are probably too narrow for a general meta.
Sideboarding Overview
Sweepers: Sweepers to run include Damnation, Wrath of God, Flaying Tendrils, Ratchet Bomb, Declaration in Stone, and/or Zealous Persecution. Damnation and Wrath hit every creature, but leave behind Persist/Undying creatures, are slow, and cost WW or BB. Tendrils exiles, which is good, but misses important X/3+ creatures and also needs BB. Persecution is a nasty combat trick and is amazing both with and against tokens. Ratchet Bomb is slow, but can get Blood Moon and Ensnaring Bridge and is also very good against tokens and mana dorks. In this deck, Engineered Explosives can only get to 2 in most circumstances and should be avoided. Play 2-4 sweepers depending on meta expectations.
Artifact Hate: Stony Silence is invaluable against Affinity, Tron, Lantern Control, and Thopter Foundry builds. Like other white decks, we should play 2-3. Watch out for nerfing your own artifacts like Relic, Mind Stone, Ratchet Bomb, etc. Also see the "Utility" section below for more cards that deal with problem artifacts.
Lifegain: Timely Reinforcements can help against aggro, while both it and Rest for the Weary come in against Burn. Rest works better in a deck that runs fetch lands. Run at least three; early iterations of Processors had as many as five of these effects.
Combo Hate: Surgical Extraction is a good way to get key cards out of play altogether. Use with Ghost Quarter for Tron or Scapeshift, and with Thoughtseize for all combo decks. Run 2-4 in the 75.
Utility: Anguished Unmaking, Oblivion Ring, Disenchant, Celestial Purge, Pithing Needle, and Ratchet Bomb can all come in for a wide variety of catch-all reasons. Some mix of these cards should be present in the 75 in at least a quantity of 3-4.
Other sideboard options: Depending on local meta and personal play style, you may want to consider Ghostly Prison for metas with lots of aggro, or Spellskite for Bogles and/or lots of targeted removal (but this is not usually necessary, because Processors already taxes removal with lots of tokens and big creatures). More peripheral choices like Worship, Runed Halo, or Aven Mindcensor might make sense for some players. White has a ton of good SB options to tune the deck for small and/or unique local metagames.
What about Jötun Grunt? It messes with Tarmogoyf, Snapcaster, etc. Imposing Sovereign maybe? Suture Priest gives life gain and punishes opponents for their creatures.
Also there is Swarm of Rats as a weak sister to Pack Rat.
I have played a few games with Shields of Velis Vel as a 3-of and Blade Splicer as a 4-of and Shields is a very nasty trick indeed; today it made my one Pack Rat on the board into a 7/8 with first strike for W. (If I had cast another Pack Rat instead of the Lingering Souls I played the turn before, I would have had two 6/7 first strikers.) Plus everybody else--little 1/1 Splicer herself, Confidant, and my Souls--all had first strike too. It needs Rat or Splicer to be good but it works on offense or defense, after blockers are announced. And even if all you have out are Souls it's not useless; it buffs their defense so they can be slightly more survivable. That could be important in some cases. It's conditional, no doubt. Being Tribal it also buffs 'goyf, as well.
I lost the SoFaI and Lili to make room for the new cards.
I will take it to Modern Monday at my LGS and report back.
4 Marsh Flats
4 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
1 Fetid Heath
2 Swamp
2 Plains
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Mutavault
2 Tectonic Edge
Creatures: 15
4 Dark Confidant
4 Pack Rat
3 Blade Splicer
2 Restoration Angel
2 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Liliana of the Veil
Other Spells: 18
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
4 Lingering Souls
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
4 Path to Exile
2 Dismember
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Disenchant
2 Pithing Needle
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
2 Stony Silence
2 Damnation
2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Memoricide
Anyway, I have been wondering about Liliana; she doesn't seem like a great fit. I like the forced discard, but if I have Bob and Pack Rat out she is competing for the discard slot, possibly making me discard 2/turn to make use of her. And her -2 is an expensive edict effect if she isn't going to hang around. Blade Splicer also has not seemed particularly good in play. I have thought about replacing one of those cards with Kitchen Finks (x3) as a lifegain card that plays well with Restoration Angel.
Then today I had the idea to try Mirror Entity (x3) instead of Finks, thinking that it buffs the Rats like crazy and also gives all creatures first strike while Blade Splicer is out. If I did this they would go in the Liliana slot, the way I'm thinking about it right now.
Looking for feedback on that idea before I buy the cards; also hoping to get some perspective on the sideboard. I have a lot of cards in my maybeboard that I'm considering siding in. Thanks for looking.
(EDIT) Well, Mirror Entity won't work. It would replace the P/T of Rat with X, not set Rat's P/T to (X + # of creatures you control) which is how I was imagining it. But what about Shields of Velis Vel as a nasty combat trick that would work the same way? It could make Rat bigger with Bob, Splicer, Resto, and spirit tokens, and it could make all those things first strikers if Splicer was on the field. Though it does mess up the mana curve.