I decided to play Bogles last night at my very competitive FNM shop last night. I've never posted on this primer but I scroll through it once in awhile just to catch up on what the Bogles players are up to. I've been playing MTG a long time and even though this is not my main deck that I use at modern tournaments I'd just like to leave what advice and tips that I have to maybe preparing for going into a league or tournaments. I go to as much modern MTG tournaments as possible sometimes even 4 times a week. So I'll just leave my thoughts on the deck now.
One mistake I see many players make when they play any deck is incorrect sideboarding. Being prepared for the meta at any tournament is needed for success. Most people will netdeck thier sideboards and have a sideboard that is well rounded for many different decks. This is okay for a bigger playing field but at a 30 person Modern tournament it's quite different. For example, for the tournament I was going to I knew there was a abundance of Free Win Red, Lantern Control, and 8-rack. Well all those run ensnaring bridge which really stops our deck so I made sure to pack my sideboard with artifact/ enchantment removal. The decklists I took to the shop is as follows. (Sorry for the formatting)
Lands-19
4x Windswept Heath
4x Temple Garden
1x Forest
2x Plains
1x Dryad Arbor (I count it as a land)
1x Misty Rainforest
4x Razorverge Thicket
1x City of Brass
1x Sunpetal Grove
Creatures-12
4x Slippery Bogle
4x Gladecover Scout
4x Kor Spiritdancer
So in the main deck I decided to include 2 Suppression Fields because it slows the Lantern Control matchup game 1 if we can get it out. I dont really expect to win this matchup I want to draw to be honest. It also stops our opponents fetchlands along with our own. For some people that might bother them but I assure you it is fine. You can really play around it and Bogles really only needs to operate on 2-3 lands anyways. In the tournament it was actually really useful and slowed down my opponents just enough for me to slip in. I used to have Horizon Canopy's but I sold them when they spiked haha Nothing really else about the main deck it's pretty average.
Sideboard-
4x Leyline of Sanctity
2x Path to Exile
3x Rest in Peace
1x Spirit Link
2x Natural State
1x Fragmentalize
2x Stony Silence
So for the sideboard we have a lot of artifact hate for Ensnaring Bridge. I'll give a quick run down of what my thinking was.
Path to Exile- decks where we can take out Suppression Field and run more creature removal. Perfect for Merfolk, Mono-White Death and Taxes / Hatebears.
Leyline of Sanctity -Perfect for our 8-rack, Lantern, Burn, and Ad Nauseum matchups. Most of the time sideboard out Gryff's Boon and Spirit Mantles.
Rest in Peace- is the perfect graveyard hate card and if your running white you should always use it. Dredge, Living End, Snapcaster Control decks.
Spirit Link- we need this for when we need to gain life early and fast. Good for Burn and zoo decks.
Natural State and Fragmentalize- these are good for any Ensnaring Bridge deck. Why the split?? The answer is Surgical Extraction blows you out. Good for Free Win Red, Lantern, 8-rack
Stony Silence- any artifact deck that trys to touch use basically. Affinity and Lantern Control.
Well I've explained the whole deck list and sideboard so I'll get into the results.
ROUND 1
Lantern Control 1-0-0
It took awhile for him to kill me game 1 with suppression field on board. I didn't expect to win since he had Ensnaring Bridge out. Game 1 took around 35 minutes till I was milled out. Game 2 I have Leyline on board with Natural State in hand with a loaded Bogle on board. Thought I had it but when he got to 1 life he dropped the second bridge and kept me from drawing a second answer. Wasn't about to let this walking turd 2-0 me so we played it out till time.
Sideboard-
In- 4x Leyline of Sanctity, 2x Natural State, 1x Fragmentalize, 2x Stony Silence
Out- 2x Gryff's Boon, 3x Spirit Mantle, 2x Path to Exile, 1x Heyena Umbra, 1x Spider Umbra
ROUND 2
The best way to describe this deck I faced was that it was completely devoted to getting emrakul out as fast as possible. It was 5 colors too so really jank. 2-0
Anyways I just raced this guy as fast as I could and ended up winning both games. He was really utilizing his grave.
Sideboard-
In- 3x Rest in Peace
Out- 2x Suppression Field, 1x Path to Exile
ROUND 3
Humans Company 2-0
This is really just a slower and clunkier version of GW Hatebears and Merfolk to be honest. Game 1 my Suppression Field slowed his fetches down and I swung with a huge Bogle for the win. Game 2 I load up a big Bogle and do the same. Easy win.
Sideboard-
Even though Suppression Field helped a lot game 1 I took it out cause I'd rather have path
In- 2 Path to Exile
Out- 2 Suppression Field
ROUND 4
Grixis Delver 2-0
I didn't know this deck was still around. Game 1 Young Pyromancer was problematic but Spirit Mantle got us through. Game 2 he got stuck on 1 land and I grabbed the game easily.
Sideboard- I probably should of put Rest In Peace but I didn't see Snapcaster so I didnt do anything.
ROUND 5
Mono-White Hatebears 2-1
Game 1 Slippery Bogle was loaded up with Daybreak Coronet and Spirit Mantle. Easily slid past his creatures. Thalia can be problematic but easily defeated. Game 2 I messed up attacking into a First Strike Thalia killing my Bogle :/. My fault. Game 3 goes like Game 1 and I over him easily.
Overall I got 2nd in the tournament and took many people by surprise with this deck. Which is were I think it shines the most. I think this deck can easily take over an unprepared meta unlike others. I wouldn't change the list I really like Suppression Field in there. If I had to leave advice about playing the deck or tips all I can say is. ADJUST TO THE META!!!! Even though the meta was probably bad for Bogles with all the Ensnaring Bridge running around I took them by surprise and did well.
Hey guys after a bit of a hiatus on Merfolk mtg Ive decided to dive back into the water. I'll be showing up at my local fnm this Friday. I'm a but undecided on what the deck should be. Since there is a lot of control and at least 3 decks running ensnaring bridge (lantern control, free win red, pillow fort). I'm lucky that there will not be any death shadows there hopefully. Any suggestions on what to run in a control infested meta??
I would be in favor of taking spreading seas out. I sided in 2x relic 3x dispel 3x negate and I can't really remember what I tools out. I think aether vial could come out because of EE and kolagahns command. Sadly I'm running 2 snags and 1 ET instead of dismember which kind of hurts me in this matchup.
So I had a rough time playing merfolk at a local tournament last night. The first two rounds were against grixis delver players. The first guy I faced was a very good control player and I always felt like I was under pressure. But the second wasn't that good. I lost to both of them and that was basically the end of my tournament right there. Is this a bad matchup? What should I be putting in and taking out for the future?
I think you'll find that they kind of play the same. If you get board wipes in both matchups it's kind of a blowout. I prefer elves because there is so many different ways to play and different variations
I run a very similar list compared to the one you run. But I found that board wipes were just to much of a problem. So I throw 2 selfless spirits in the main. That's my take.
Here's my new list that I will be taking to my local FNM that is very competitive and uses top tier decks along with some janky stuff. A problem I have at my local FNM is the board wipe... Whether it is Bonfire of the Damned or Anger of the Gods i get shut down. Which has made me come to the decision of running 3 Selfless Spirit. I think overall it will make the deck more resilient and just more competitive with how the format is right now. A lot of people don't like the Abzan version of this deck while I think it is completely fine. You need Shaman of the Pack because it makes a few unwinnable pesky match-ups more favorable and I'm not saying this because I have both Lantern Control and Turbo Fog at my local FNM. No one is safe with Shaman in the deck and I love him. While on the other hand we have some beautiful white sideboard cards that we need to cover all the bases. Here is my Sideboard.
So most of these are pretty obvious as of why they are here. I'm mainly running 2 Chameleon Colossus because there is a lot of grixis in my shop and they can't remove him once he gets in play.
One mistake I see many players make when they play any deck is incorrect sideboarding. Being prepared for the meta at any tournament is needed for success. Most people will netdeck thier sideboards and have a sideboard that is well rounded for many different decks. This is okay for a bigger playing field but at a 30 person Modern tournament it's quite different. For example, for the tournament I was going to I knew there was a abundance of Free Win Red, Lantern Control, and 8-rack. Well all those run ensnaring bridge which really stops our deck so I made sure to pack my sideboard with artifact/ enchantment removal. The decklists I took to the shop is as follows. (Sorry for the formatting)
Lands-19
4x Windswept Heath
4x Temple Garden
1x Forest
2x Plains
1x Dryad Arbor (I count it as a land)
1x Misty Rainforest
4x Razorverge Thicket
1x City of Brass
1x Sunpetal Grove
Creatures-12
4x Slippery Bogle
4x Gladecover Scout
4x Kor Spiritdancer
Enchantments- 27
4x Heyena Umbra
4x Spider Umbra
4x Rancor
3x Spirit Mantle
2x Gryff's Boon
4x Daybreak Coronet
2x Suppression Field
4x Ethereal Armor
Instant/Sorcery- 2
2x Path to Exile
So in the main deck I decided to include 2 Suppression Fields because it slows the Lantern Control matchup game 1 if we can get it out. I dont really expect to win this matchup I want to draw to be honest. It also stops our opponents fetchlands along with our own. For some people that might bother them but I assure you it is fine. You can really play around it and Bogles really only needs to operate on 2-3 lands anyways. In the tournament it was actually really useful and slowed down my opponents just enough for me to slip in. I used to have Horizon Canopy's but I sold them when they spiked haha Nothing really else about the main deck it's pretty average.
Sideboard-
4x Leyline of Sanctity
2x Path to Exile
3x Rest in Peace
1x Spirit Link
2x Natural State
1x Fragmentalize
2x Stony Silence
So for the sideboard we have a lot of artifact hate for Ensnaring Bridge. I'll give a quick run down of what my thinking was.
Path to Exile- decks where we can take out Suppression Field and run more creature removal. Perfect for Merfolk, Mono-White Death and Taxes / Hatebears.
Leyline of Sanctity -Perfect for our 8-rack, Lantern, Burn, and Ad Nauseum matchups. Most of the time sideboard out Gryff's Boon and Spirit Mantles.
Rest in Peace- is the perfect graveyard hate card and if your running white you should always use it. Dredge, Living End, Snapcaster Control decks.
Spirit Link- we need this for when we need to gain life early and fast. Good for Burn and zoo decks.
Natural State and Fragmentalize- these are good for any Ensnaring Bridge deck. Why the split?? The answer is Surgical Extraction blows you out. Good for Free Win Red, Lantern, 8-rack
Stony Silence- any artifact deck that trys to touch use basically. Affinity and Lantern Control.
Well I've explained the whole deck list and sideboard so I'll get into the results.
ROUND 1
Lantern Control 1-0-0
It took awhile for him to kill me game 1 with suppression field on board. I didn't expect to win since he had Ensnaring Bridge out. Game 1 took around 35 minutes till I was milled out. Game 2 I have Leyline on board with Natural State in hand with a loaded Bogle on board. Thought I had it but when he got to 1 life he dropped the second bridge and kept me from drawing a second answer. Wasn't about to let this walking turd 2-0 me so we played it out till time.
Sideboard-
In- 4x Leyline of Sanctity, 2x Natural State, 1x Fragmentalize, 2x Stony Silence
Out- 2x Gryff's Boon, 3x Spirit Mantle, 2x Path to Exile, 1x Heyena Umbra, 1x Spider Umbra
ROUND 2
The best way to describe this deck I faced was that it was completely devoted to getting emrakul out as fast as possible. It was 5 colors too so really jank. 2-0
Anyways I just raced this guy as fast as I could and ended up winning both games. He was really utilizing his grave.
Sideboard-
In- 3x Rest in Peace
Out- 2x Suppression Field, 1x Path to Exile
ROUND 3
Humans Company 2-0
This is really just a slower and clunkier version of GW Hatebears and Merfolk to be honest. Game 1 my Suppression Field slowed his fetches down and I swung with a huge Bogle for the win. Game 2 I load up a big Bogle and do the same. Easy win.
Sideboard-
Even though Suppression Field helped a lot game 1 I took it out cause I'd rather have path
In- 2 Path to Exile
Out- 2 Suppression Field
ROUND 4
Grixis Delver 2-0
I didn't know this deck was still around. Game 1 Young Pyromancer was problematic but Spirit Mantle got us through. Game 2 he got stuck on 1 land and I grabbed the game easily.
Sideboard- I probably should of put Rest In Peace but I didn't see Snapcaster so I didnt do anything.
ROUND 5
Mono-White Hatebears 2-1
Game 1 Slippery Bogle was loaded up with Daybreak Coronet and Spirit Mantle. Easily slid past his creatures. Thalia can be problematic but easily defeated. Game 2 I messed up attacking into a First Strike Thalia killing my Bogle :/. My fault. Game 3 goes like Game 1 and I over him easily.
Overall I got 2nd in the tournament and took many people by surprise with this deck. Which is were I think it shines the most. I think this deck can easily take over an unprepared meta unlike others. I wouldn't change the list I really like Suppression Field in there. If I had to leave advice about playing the deck or tips all I can say is. ADJUST TO THE META!!!! Even though the meta was probably bad for Bogles with all the Ensnaring Bridge running around I took them by surprise and did well.
Here's my new list that I will be taking to my local FNM that is very competitive and uses top tier decks along with some janky stuff. A problem I have at my local FNM is the board wipe... Whether it is Bonfire of the Damned or Anger of the Gods i get shut down. Which has made me come to the decision of running 3 Selfless Spirit. I think overall it will make the deck more resilient and just more competitive with how the format is right now. A lot of people don't like the Abzan version of this deck while I think it is completely fine. You need Shaman of the Pack because it makes a few unwinnable pesky match-ups more favorable and I'm not saying this because I have both Lantern Control and Turbo Fog at my local FNM. No one is safe with Shaman in the deck and I love him. While on the other hand we have some beautiful white sideboard cards that we need to cover all the bases. Here is my Sideboard.
2 Chord of Calling 1 Phyrexian Revoker 2 Melira, Sylvok Outcast 1 Scavenging Ooze 1 Thragtusk 1 Eternal Witness 1 Kataki, Wars Wage 2 Reclamation Sage 1 Spellskite 1 Yixlid Jailer 2 Chameleon Colossus
So most of these are pretty obvious as of why they are here. I'm mainly running 2 Chameleon Colossus because there is a lot of grixis in my shop and they can't remove him once he gets in play.
PS Sorry the format is sloppy