After-action report (see deck two posts up, with updated mana). Went 2-2 in a local tournament, deck performed well for the most part and felt a lot smoother than the Smallpox build I tried last week. Matchups were:
1-2 UR Control: straightforward win in game 1, lost to unanswerable Jace in both postboard matches.
2-1 Vizier Combo: very tight match, I closed out game 3 with a bolt with a Kitchen Finks trigger on the stack after clearing the rest of their defenders with EE on 2 into Push on Shalai. Would have gone south fast if I'd drawn poorly.
2-0 Mardu Pyromancer: older build with Reveler and Unearth. My starts were faster, and my top end was bigger--this was the only match where Nahiri was able to go off.
1-2 Amulet Titan: lost the die roll in game 1 and was a turn away from lethal when he went off with Titan+Field of the Dead. He never reached 6 mana in game 2 thanks to land destruction + Chandra AOF. Game 3 was rough, I destroyed the first Amulet of Vigor but he had another; I then started to build up a substantial Pyro+elemental board only to be completely overwhelmed by back-to-back Titans with no answers to be found.
Mostly wound up playing the classic elemental swarm strategy, Nahiri only came into play a handful of times and mostly served as removal magnet. 22 lands + draw spell felt great, I was usually pretty happy to cast Night's Whisper, rarely flooded, and only got stuck on 2 lands once for a turn or two. The canopy lands may not belong; the deck has other ways to mitigate flood (10 discard outlets) and while I did end up cashing them in several times, the pain may not be worth it. Chandra's minus felt great, I could definitely see running 2 copies if I could something to cut. I didn't find myself boarding in Ajani at all, though perhaps his +1 would have contributed to the land denial strategy vs Titan. I might prefer some hard removal e.g. Path in that spot, or possibly in the main replacing Push since I'm not running Blood Moon.
Yeah, I think you're right on Duskwatch Recruiter. For your deck, I'd definitely drop the Appetite for the Unnatural--with your build, you ought to be countering any artifacts that can't be answered more efficiently with burn or Natural State.
Here's what I settled on for this week. The local meta remains something of a wildcard with more players expected over last week, so I've kept a little more variety than I might usually (e.g. running both Hydra and Wanderer).
Thanks! Went into the tourney blind but mostly saw midrange and aggro. Almost all UW flash and GR energy; we'll see if that holds next week, they're expecting higher attendance without the holiday weekend. In any case, I favored Woodland Wanderer based on my reading here--I figured the deck needs the help against GB delirium more than control. And the trample/vigilance combo has certainly served me well so far.
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1-2 UR Control: straightforward win in game 1, lost to unanswerable Jace in both postboard matches.
2-1 Vizier Combo: very tight match, I closed out game 3 with a bolt with a Kitchen Finks trigger on the stack after clearing the rest of their defenders with EE on 2 into Push on Shalai. Would have gone south fast if I'd drawn poorly.
2-0 Mardu Pyromancer: older build with Reveler and Unearth. My starts were faster, and my top end was bigger--this was the only match where Nahiri was able to go off.
1-2 Amulet Titan: lost the die roll in game 1 and was a turn away from lethal when he went off with Titan+Field of the Dead. He never reached 6 mana in game 2 thanks to land destruction + Chandra AOF. Game 3 was rough, I destroyed the first Amulet of Vigor but he had another; I then started to build up a substantial Pyro+elemental board only to be completely overwhelmed by back-to-back Titans with no answers to be found.
Mostly wound up playing the classic elemental swarm strategy, Nahiri only came into play a handful of times and mostly served as removal magnet. 22 lands + draw spell felt great, I was usually pretty happy to cast Night's Whisper, rarely flooded, and only got stuck on 2 lands once for a turn or two. The canopy lands may not belong; the deck has other ways to mitigate flood (10 discard outlets) and while I did end up cashing them in several times, the pain may not be worth it. Chandra's minus felt great, I could definitely see running 2 copies if I could something to cut. I didn't find myself boarding in Ajani at all, though perhaps his +1 would have contributed to the land denial strategy vs Titan. I might prefer some hard removal e.g. Path in that spot, or possibly in the main replacing Push since I'm not running Blood Moon.
1
Here's what I settled on for this week. The local meta remains something of a wildcard with more players expected over last week, so I've kept a little more variety than I might usually (e.g. running both Hydra and Wanderer).
2 Longtusk Cub
4 Servant of the Conduit
4 Voltaic Brawler
4 Lathnu Hellion
1 Tireless Tracker
3 Bristling Hydra
2 Woodland Wanderer
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
Planeswalkers (3)
1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
2 Nissa, Vital Force
Instant(7)
1 Blossoming Defense
4 Harnessed Lightning
2 Negate
4 Attune with Aether
2 Incendiary Flow
Enchantment (2)
2 Oath of Nissa
Land (21)
4 Aether Hub
3 Botanical Sanctum
4 Game Trail
5 Forest
1 Island
4 Mountain
1 Blossoming Defense
2 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Clip Wings
4 Galvanic Bombardment
2 Natural State
2 Negate
2 Weaver of Lightning
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