Thanks for the reply HanClinto! Stompy is the deck that I play on magic online, it's just the first time I'm playing in a paper tournament, but still thank you for putting your time into explaining tips and tricks, mostly with Vines of Vastwood. I feel Creeping Corrosion is way too slow without the dorks, and even if you can land it, it can be played around somehow. However I have never tried it.
@StompBee I have Kitchen Finks neither in paper nor in mtgo, and the store doesn't have them I guess, so I won't be able to try them tomorrow. However, I've been lucky in the 8th edition draft, found Ensnaring Bridge, and with the increased prices of Leyline of Punishments, sold a playset of them with a total of 12 tix profit, I'm planning to get Kitchen Finks and/or Obstinate Baloth in mtgo, I'll post an updated sideboard for my mtgo deck next week. But were you going to suggest finks instead of baloths?
Thanks for the replies melo86ita, Darkestofshadows & StompBee. All the suggestions look helpful and I'll make the changes if I can get my hands on any of those cards. The thing is I don't even have the 2nd treetop, I'll look for all those cards just before the tournament at the shop and I hope to find them there. If not I hope the meta would be full of bogles and zoo as my sideboard looks quite good against them
Thanks for the good wishes @StompBee, I'll certainly post the results!
I'll be joining a local tournament, which will be my first ever, this sunday and I am seeking some help with my sideboard. I've never played in this place before so I have no idea what the meta is like. I know that it's hard to comment on this situation but I just want to know what you guys would've done.
I built my sideboard with the cards that I own. I guess it is so focused on creature removal, until sunday if I can get my hands on some cards that I want, I'm thinking of updating the whole 75 as follows:
I feel like having some more 1 drops can help. For this purpose would you guys suggest 2x Skarrgan Pit-Skulks instead of 2x Kalonian Tuskers?
Would you include 2x Pithing Needles in the sideboard? If so, instead of which cards?
1x Melira, Sylvok Outcast for infect hate? Or is it too specific to hold even just one spot in the sideboard?
Finally, I'm thinking of adding 2x Obstinate Baloth to the sideboard as I somehow feel like the meta will be burn heavy (I might be totally wrong here). Would the baloths be too slow, or would they be unnecessary as I have 3x Feed the Clans? If you'd include them, which sb cards would you replace?
Once again, I have no idea about the meta at the store, so I know it'll be a bit of this and a bit of that.
If I remember correctly, for the additional one drop slot, Skarrgan Pit-Skulk is a really strong contender, mostly as a 2 of, which has a kind of an evasion with a little help from rancor and pumps.
As for your meta, I would say Young Wolf is a good one drop. Can block Glistener Elf all day long (as Strangleroot Geist can do), though I doubt anyone would attack if their elf wouldn't trample over the wolf. Also, the wolf can give you a kind of protection from sacrifice effects.
Another one drop that I can think of is Servant of the Scale, it's a bit more situational though, you can Dismember it to give one of your trample guys the needed last 1 damage or it can die while being the only creature you control on the battlefield.
As IrvRai said, Simic Initiate is a decent one also, it's just I feel it's even more situational then Servant of the Scale.
Oh, and I'd suggest 2x Dungrove Elder instead of 2x Kalonian Tusker, just because you said your meta is light on aggro and the elder can grow big enough.
Hello there stompy fellows. I'm fairly new to the game, it's been only 6 months since I've started playing the game, and I almost always play on mtgo. As the deck is fairly affordable and also because that I find the deck quite fun to play, I mostly play the stompy. Lately though I've been frustrated since I can hardly stick the baloth to the battlefield. It may be because of my poor piloting but I wanted to try something faster (in terms of no 3 cmc creatures). I do not take the credit to myself but I quite enjoy the Hardened Scales variant lately. I have removed the 3 cmc creatures and added in 3x Simic Initiate and 3x Servant of the Scales. I considered adding in Skarrgan Pit-Skulks also but they cannot grow E1 before the attacks on turn 1, but still I'd also love to have your opinion on him also. Having only 10 2cmc creatures and 4 vines, I decided to run 18 lands, not sure if it is so few or not. Anyway, here is the list:
Best opening hand that I can imagine is E1, Simic Initiate, Hardened Scales, Avatar, 2 lands and Vines. And hope for another land till turn 3. It goes like
Turn 1: E1
Turn 2: Hardened Scales + Simic Initiate, attack for 3
Turn 3: Play Avatar and keep Vines as protection. E1 becomes 5/5, I drop Simic Initiate to 1/1 and Avatar becomes 8/7 with vines protection.
Remaining turns are mostly protect Avatar and swing.
I feel like it doesn't lack in pumps and interaction with vines, as I run the same instants as generic stompy decks, and it feels like it can be bit faster. Again, I do not take credit for Hardened Scales idea but I guess there are no other decks that run Simic Initiates
@StompBee I have Kitchen Finks neither in paper nor in mtgo, and the store doesn't have them I guess, so I won't be able to try them tomorrow. However, I've been lucky in the 8th edition draft, found Ensnaring Bridge, and with the increased prices of Leyline of Punishments, sold a playset of them with a total of 12 tix profit, I'm planning to get Kitchen Finks and/or Obstinate Baloth in mtgo, I'll post an updated sideboard for my mtgo deck next week. But were you going to suggest finks instead of baloths?
Thanks for the good wishes @StompBee, I'll certainly post the results!
4x Experiment One
4x Dryad Militant
4x Strangleroot Geist
4x Avatar of the Resolute
2x Kalonian Tusker
2x Scavenging Ooze
4x Leatherback Baloth
2x Dungrove Elder
4x Rancor
Instants(10)
4x Vines of Vastwood
4x Aspect of Hydra
2x Dismember
Lands(20)
18x Forest
2x Treetop Village
1x Dismember
2x Gut Shot
4x Unravel the Aether
1x Back to Nature
2x Ranger's Guile
3x Feed the Clan
2x Prey Upon
I built my sideboard with the cards that I own. I guess it is so focused on creature removal, until sunday if I can get my hands on some cards that I want, I'm thinking of updating the whole 75 as follows:
Once again, I have no idea about the meta at the store, so I know it'll be a bit of this and a bit of that.
If I remember correctly, for the additional one drop slot, Skarrgan Pit-Skulk is a really strong contender, mostly as a 2 of, which has a kind of an evasion with a little help from rancor and pumps.
As for your meta, I would say Young Wolf is a good one drop. Can block Glistener Elf all day long (as Strangleroot Geist can do), though I doubt anyone would attack if their elf wouldn't trample over the wolf. Also, the wolf can give you a kind of protection from sacrifice effects.
Another one drop that I can think of is Servant of the Scale, it's a bit more situational though, you can Dismember it to give one of your trample guys the needed last 1 damage or it can die while being the only creature you control on the battlefield.
As IrvRai said, Simic Initiate is a decent one also, it's just I feel it's even more situational then Servant of the Scale.
If you feel like Strangleroot Geist is enough protection from sacrifice effects, I'd say go for Skarrgan Pit-Skulk. Good luck on monday!
Oh, and I'd suggest 2x Dungrove Elder instead of 2x Kalonian Tusker, just because you said your meta is light on aggro and the elder can grow big enough.
4x Experiment One
3x Simic Initiate
3x Servant of the Scale
4x Strangleroot Geist
4x Avatar of the Resolute
2x Scavenging Ooze
4x Hardened Scales
4x Rancor
4x Aspect of Hydra
4x Vines of Vastwood
2x Dismember
18 Forest
1x Back to Nature
2x Oxidize
2x Unravel the Aether
2x Feed the Clan
2x Pithing Needle
2x Relic of Progenitus
2x Ranger's Guile
2x Gut Shot
Best opening hand that I can imagine is E1, Simic Initiate, Hardened Scales, Avatar, 2 lands and Vines. And hope for another land till turn 3. It goes like
Turn 1: E1
Turn 2: Hardened Scales + Simic Initiate, attack for 3
Turn 3: Play Avatar and keep Vines as protection. E1 becomes 5/5, I drop Simic Initiate to 1/1 and Avatar becomes 8/7 with vines protection.
Remaining turns are mostly protect Avatar and swing.
I feel like it doesn't lack in pumps and interaction with vines, as I run the same instants as generic stompy decks, and it feels like it can be bit faster. Again, I do not take credit for Hardened Scales idea but I guess there are no other decks that run Simic Initiates