Jujuhawk, I agreed with everything you said. My build is about recursive Doran, which doesn't necessarily need a card like Colossus. It might help, but I'm not convinced.
Notorious Throng is only relevant to Bitterblossom because it exploits Bitterblossom to it's fullest and provides a 2-card win, with each of its components solid cards by themselves. I mentioned it because that is how Bitterblossom "wants" to be played, or how it really shines.
Bitterblossom is still good enough to serve a general purpose with other decks outside faeries as well, but without synergy it plays slow when compared to how you expect Doran to play. I think it could hurt the tempo in this deck if Garruk doesn't hit the table, and that is why I would consider it a sideboard card only in Doran for the matchups mentioned, rogues and fairies. Does anyone have any results one way or the other?
The maindeck might benefit more to focus more on R/G Ramp and possibly Project R, depending on meta.
Bitterblossom and just about anything else works, but my personal favorite is Notorious Throng. The card just wins. But I digress. Loxodon is fine if Doran is gone, not so much if he isn't. The only thing I question about Bitterblossom here is how it affects tempo. If it doesn't I'm all for it.
Castigador,
Colossus is a straight clock, I agree, and changeling could help, but in my case I'm seeing it replace Riftsweeper in sideboard and come in for Shriekmaw when I'm playing against Chameleon Colossus. Otherwise, why is it needed?
Okay, Reveillark works with combo. I get that. Not sure about the evoke or CA comment, seems like Reveillark generates CA and there is synergy between Saffi and Reveillark, and the other 6 evoking creatures.
Is 16 creatures power 2 or less not enough, with 4 more wishable game 1 in sideboard? If you are playing Reveillark, there is probably a 90% chance you are doing it to bring back Doran, which is a solid play. The creature by itself is an evasive beater, so why restrict it to UW combo?
Damnation seems a bit abrupt, doesn't it? I suppose with the Treetop Village it isn't horrible but with efficient spot removal that is already in the deck so effective why mess with it? Maybe for Chameleon Colossus, but it is a bit of a stretch imo.
Really, you are playing Reveillark in this deck because your opponent has already used some disruption on the board. If they haven't then you have already won. It doesn't need backup, it is the backup.
I should have apologized upfront for not posting correctly (as I am a 2-post wonder, wait... this makes 3;)), and please mentally move the Garruks down to the "spells" section when you read it. Apologies to all offended:)
The 3 ofs on viper and goyf are light, but I started with four each and removed them to make room for Reveillark. How would you have done it, if someone forced you to play Reveillark?
Feel free to critique, because I'm interested in what you have to say, and I'm fully expecting people's criticism. I'm also hoping for feedback from others that have or want to try something similar. This deck has been playtesting well (against UW control, Faeries, Kithkin, et al.) and went undefeated in a small 10-man FNM in AZ, losing only one game all night (6-0 match record, 12-1 game record). The solitary loss was a mulligan into a very average hand, and the game was still a turn away from going the other way. It was my only mulligan of the night.
I'll be the first to admit the meta probably wasn't full of +1800 ranked players, and I haven't really been keeping up with the thread, so it may be old news, so take this with a grain of salt, or test yourself. This build has a couple of themes. First we all know how nice 4 Dorans in a deck is but I think 7 Dorans with multiple recursion outlets is even better:
The sideboard toolbox plays well by generating threats or disruption tailored to the opponent, and this creature base just begs for a Reveillark late game and closes the deal on games that would otherwise get out of hand.
The deck definitely plays slower, but I feel more consistent than regular turn 2 Doran, because while you may often get turn 2 Doran, I always get turn 3 Doran. Also Doran is stubborn and doesn't want to go away because of Saffi. Saffi is a bonus with Cloudthresher and Shriekmaw also, so the synergy isn't out in left field.
I like to think whoever gets the third Garruk on the table wins, so that's why we should win the mirror, and in the late game, Reveillark just asks you what two cards you would like the most right now and serves them up.
The sideboard certainly isn't optimal, but I think the only horrible choice was Teneb, because I actually boarded in the others at some point in the matches. The slivers were all-stars when fetched with the wish, providing timely disruption and a body without diluting the cardpool.
The land seemed remarkably consistent, and the only noticeable drawback is that I usually did more damage to myself than my opponent did. 12 pain lands will do that. The 4X Gemstone Mine really didn't prove to be a drawback because the Urborg and Garruk provided stable mana counts.
The other reason I'm posting this was that it was probably the most overpowering performance by any standard deck I've ever played in a tournament, and I am just wondering if the deck has legs or was just in the right place at the right time. The tournament was a couple of weeks ago and I didn't record the matchups, sorry about that, but if I play this week I'll let you know how it went. Also the meta is probably different because I'm in a different state so sideboard suggestions are appreciated.
I think Ajani is going to be the card to hate in standard, because:
turn 2: wall of roots
turn 3: ajani, gain 2 life
turn 4: brion stoutarm, gain 2 life
turn 5: X/X creature comes into play, hits opponent in the face for X, gain X life, gg
even if it was only R/W and hit a turn later it could be devastating. Ajani is my new favorite clock.
Notorious Throng is only relevant to Bitterblossom because it exploits Bitterblossom to it's fullest and provides a 2-card win, with each of its components solid cards by themselves. I mentioned it because that is how Bitterblossom "wants" to be played, or how it really shines.
Bitterblossom is still good enough to serve a general purpose with other decks outside faeries as well, but without synergy it plays slow when compared to how you expect Doran to play. I think it could hurt the tempo in this deck if Garruk doesn't hit the table, and that is why I would consider it a sideboard card only in Doran for the matchups mentioned, rogues and fairies. Does anyone have any results one way or the other?
The maindeck might benefit more to focus more on R/G Ramp and possibly Project R, depending on meta.
Bitterblossom and just about anything else works, but my personal favorite is Notorious Throng. The card just wins. But I digress. Loxodon is fine if Doran is gone, not so much if he isn't. The only thing I question about Bitterblossom here is how it affects tempo. If it doesn't I'm all for it.
Castigador,
Colossus is a straight clock, I agree, and changeling could help, but in my case I'm seeing it replace Riftsweeper in sideboard and come in for Shriekmaw when I'm playing against Chameleon Colossus. Otherwise, why is it needed?
Thanks for the comments
Is 16 creatures power 2 or less not enough, with 4 more wishable game 1 in sideboard? If you are playing Reveillark, there is probably a 90% chance you are doing it to bring back Doran, which is a solid play. The creature by itself is an evasive beater, so why restrict it to UW combo?
Damnation seems a bit abrupt, doesn't it? I suppose with the Treetop Village it isn't horrible but with efficient spot removal that is already in the deck so effective why mess with it? Maybe for Chameleon Colossus, but it is a bit of a stretch imo.
Really, you are playing Reveillark in this deck because your opponent has already used some disruption on the board. If they haven't then you have already won. It doesn't need backup, it is the backup.
Is anyone else Johnny enough to give it a go?
I should have apologized upfront for not posting correctly (as I am a 2-post wonder, wait... this makes 3;)), and please mentally move the Garruks down to the "spells" section when you read it. Apologies to all offended:)
The 3 ofs on viper and goyf are light, but I started with four each and removed them to make room for Reveillark. How would you have done it, if someone forced you to play Reveillark?
Feel free to critique, because I'm interested in what you have to say, and I'm fully expecting people's criticism. I'm also hoping for feedback from others that have or want to try something similar. This deck has been playtesting well (against UW control, Faeries, Kithkin, et al.) and went undefeated in a small 10-man FNM in AZ, losing only one game all night (6-0 match record, 12-1 game record). The solitary loss was a mulligan into a very average hand, and the game was still a turn away from going the other way. It was my only mulligan of the night.
I'll be the first to admit the meta probably wasn't full of +1800 ranked players, and I haven't really been keeping up with the thread, so it may be old news, so take this with a grain of salt, or test yourself. This build has a couple of themes. First we all know how nice 4 Dorans in a deck is but I think 7 Dorans with multiple recursion outlets is even better:
26 Creatures:
3 Doran, the Siege Tower
3 Ohran Viper
3 Saffi Eriksdotter
3 Tarmogoyf
4 Shriekmaw
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Llanowar Elves
2 Reveillark
1 Cloudthresher
12 Spells:
4 Nameless Inversion
4 Glittering Wish
4 Garruk Wildspeaker
22 Land:
4 Treetop Village
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Murmuring Bosk
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Llanowar Wastes
4 Brushland
15 Sideboard:
1 Doran, the Siege Tower
1 Necrotic Sliver
1 Harmonic Sliver
1 Saffi Eriksdotter
1 Nath of the Gilt-Leaf
1 Teneb, the Harvester
1 Hypnotic Specter
1 Cloudthresher
1 Tarmogoyf
4 Riftsweeper
2 Oblivion Ring
The sideboard toolbox plays well by generating threats or disruption tailored to the opponent, and this creature base just begs for a Reveillark late game and closes the deal on games that would otherwise get out of hand.
The deck definitely plays slower, but I feel more consistent than regular turn 2 Doran, because while you may often get turn 2 Doran, I always get turn 3 Doran. Also Doran is stubborn and doesn't want to go away because of Saffi. Saffi is a bonus with Cloudthresher and Shriekmaw also, so the synergy isn't out in left field.
I like to think whoever gets the third Garruk on the table wins, so that's why we should win the mirror, and in the late game, Reveillark just asks you what two cards you would like the most right now and serves them up.
The sideboard certainly isn't optimal, but I think the only horrible choice was Teneb, because I actually boarded in the others at some point in the matches. The slivers were all-stars when fetched with the wish, providing timely disruption and a body without diluting the cardpool.
The land seemed remarkably consistent, and the only noticeable drawback is that I usually did more damage to myself than my opponent did. 12 pain lands will do that. The 4X Gemstone Mine really didn't prove to be a drawback because the Urborg and Garruk provided stable mana counts.
The other reason I'm posting this was that it was probably the most overpowering performance by any standard deck I've ever played in a tournament, and I am just wondering if the deck has legs or was just in the right place at the right time. The tournament was a couple of weeks ago and I didn't record the matchups, sorry about that, but if I play this week I'll let you know how it went. Also the meta is probably different because I'm in a different state so sideboard suggestions are appreciated.
turn 2: wall of roots
turn 3: ajani, gain 2 life
turn 4: brion stoutarm, gain 2 life
turn 5: X/X creature comes into play, hits opponent in the face for X, gain X life, gg
even if it was only R/W and hit a turn later it could be devastating. Ajani is my new favorite clock.
Edit: boy was I ever wrong on this one.