I think you can look at Boon Satyr as 5 mana instead, a saviour post Supreme Verdict. As for Shock vs mono red, does it really helps that much ? What about Flames of the Firebrand instead, or 3 mana is just too late ?
Well I consider Satyr a three mana card because if you have the three mana available you will usually be casting it as a creature. If you have to five to Bestow that's a great thing too, but it's not a requirement to get good value out of it.
Shock is definitely a big help against the red decks. If you notice, they are much less burn heavy now than in the past, and rely on swarming with 2/2 creatures to deal damage. If you're killing a 2/2 on turn 1 and preventing it completely from attacking, that might save you just as much damage (if not more) than what you gain back from Disciple. Another huge advantage that Shock has over Disciple is that it can pick off Firefist Striker, which has the potential to deal a ton of damage if left unchecked. And then there's Fanatic of Mogis which is powered down when you can kill a creature.
Flames of the Firebrand is not the same here. The major value in Shock is that you get to stop their turn 1 play which saves you much more damage than waiting until turn 3 to make that play.
if you haven't already, read Valeriy's article on SCG (the free side) - he makes some interesting points; I don't necessarily agree with them all ... I'd like to see some more discussion on here about ...
1. Can we really get away with only 2 Elvish Mystic and move most of the ramp to the two-mana slots?
I've considered this, but Turn 2 Domri is extremely powerful and will almost surely lock up the game in itself. It's probably worth testing, but I would be really reluctant to give this up.
2. Does Burning-Tree Emissary into two-mana ramp spell pull enough weight to deserve a slot? Keep in mind it also provides some amount of color-fixing on later turns or should it be dropped
This thought also crossed my mind. But without BTE, you have absolutely no action until you start dropping your big 4-mana ground pounders. Opening with BTE allows you to attack and draw out a Supreme Verdict in the control matchups without having invested so much in your board. And it's still a pretty good card against the red decks because it will block and trade without sacrificing your early game development.
At times though it's true that it doesn't seem to pull it's weight. Again, another valid point that deserves looking into.
Ghor-Clan Rampager is definitely a great card, but in some matchups it shines more than others. I've been running three instead of four and can't think of a single time where I wanted one but didn't have it.
Boon Satyr is also a great card but the problem is that he costs three mana. A lot of the focus of the deck is skipping over three to get to four, so I think he will be slightly suboptimal here. If we're looking for ways to get BTE out of the deck though this might be a replacement. And obviously we're automatically back to 4x Mystic if we have Boon Satyr in the deck.
I don't like Ruric Thar because it's hard for the deck to hit six mana consistently at the times where you really want to be casting one (post Verdict). Or when you finally do, he just gets countered.
Mistcutter I don't have much experience with but I'm going to try it in the board to see if the Esper matchup improves.
Arbor Colossus is right on the fringe, but we already have so many other 4-5 mana cards that it's hard to justify it in the deck. Five toughness is every bit as good as six in this format, so Poluk and Ember Swallower win out for costing one mana less. Stormbreath Dragon has evasion so it can close games, so that too gets the nod over Colossus. After that, what is left to cut? And how many five mana cards can we afford to run?
4. I couldn't talk people into running 2-3 Thragtusk in the sideboard during last Standard season. This season I don't particulary want Nylea's Disciple as it packs less punch and doesn't leave another body behind after it dies. Am I being foolish and we have to be interested in some incidental life-gain from cards like Disciple or Bow of Nylea in order to survive even though we are supposed to be an aggressive deck?
I've been beating red decks by just bringing in Shock to help you stabilize until you can start hitting four drops. They have a very hard time dealing damage to you with a big five toughness guy sitting on the table. I don't particularly like Nylea's Disciple or Bow because they are very mana intensive, and having to take the time to spend mana to do things is something that the red decks are already built to punish you for.
Voyaging Satyr over Sylvan Caryatid is because "Zvi's seven concepts of hypermana deckbuilding" point no. 2
Sometimes it helps that your mana dorks can be attackers against control decks, especially for the first few turns. Also, to put pressure on them to cast their Supreme Verdict, sweeping two mana dorks as attacker rather than sweeping big guys. Although he is vulnerable to single target removal, it just the risk I think I'm going to take.
Do you really think this is a viable gameplan against a deck that can gain tons of life and refill their hand at will in the late game? To hold back threats and force them to act while you attack with Squire?
On Esper: This is obviously public enemy #1 for this deck. I'm trying to find a way to make this matchup more manageable but right now haven't had much luck.
What I've been trying recently is to board in 4x Pithing Needle and 3x Destructive Revelry and hope to set Needles on Aetherling and Elseph so they can't win. Revelry is there to hit their Spheres and Ratchet Bombs if they try to remove the Needles (destroying Sphere is always a great play though even if it isn't on Needle).
But so far in a dozen or so matches this has never happened. I don't know if it's just that I'm not drawing Needles or if this is just a bad plan. I might go back to Burning Earth soon, but that has never been that great either and can't be boarded in against UW.
I've already cut Burning Earth from the board in decks that I'm working on. If they even have one basic land in play (usually it's one or two for tri-color decks) the impact of this card is much diminished. Pre-rotation it was insane because most decks had ZERO basic lands in them.
I'd rather run Peak Eruption to be honest. Most of the tri-color red decks are also running white for Chained to the Rocks, so this card ends up being a huge blowout.
I don't think you should be overly worried about this card right now.
I agree. Nearly everything in this format with the exception of 2-3 cards "dies to removal". The fact is, Kalonian dies to Mizzium mortars the first turn its cast. After that the only thing that can remove it, is in fact, straight up removal which can remove nearly anything.
The difference is that Kalonian Hydra costs five mana. What other cards that cost five mana+ are played that are as vulnerable? The only one I can think of is Archangel of Thune, and as I said it's increasingly becoming a fringe card right now for that very reason.
Here's a list of practically every other 5+ creature that is seeing play (correct me if I missed any):
Aetherling
Blood Baron
Stormbreath Dragon
Obzedat
Shadowborn Demon
Prognastic Sphinx (fringe)
What do all these cards have in common? They all dodge one or more commonly played removal spells:
Aetherling - Everything but Pithing Needle
Blood Baron - All spot removal but Mizzium Mortars
Stormbreath Dragon - Sorcery removal/white removal
Obzedat - Sorceries, sweepers, and Doom Blade
Shadowborn Demon - Doom Blade and Mizzium Mortars
Prognastic Sphinx - Spot removal (but it's not very good in itself :P)
Because he costs five mana and dies to every removal spell in the format. He can't block particularly well either. The extra point of toughness matters a ton, so Polukranos and Ember Swallower are just hands down better cards.
Archangel of Thune is kinda in the same camp as the Hydra - she suffers from the same problem. But the difference is that she has lifelink that protects you from dying even when she's attacking. It's a step up from Kalonian Hydra.
I don't think Mistcutter is a very strong card at all and it's overrated if people continue to put it in their deck.
So, which card to drop for needle/ratchet bomb (which I feel is not needed at all, prove me wrong) or are there other cards I really should consider?
Short answer: I would say Anger of the Gods because it disrupts your own game plan too much. Most of your own creatures die to it. I think you are better suited in the red matchups with Shock in the board.
Long answer: There's more room for improvement in the sideboard as a whole. I'm not a huge fan of Ruric Thar or Mistcutter Hydra because it can be tough to build up enough mana to get them online. You have lots of mana bugs, but the matchups where you want these cards, all of them will get swept away with Supreme Verdict.
I see this card as a concession to the control decks. If you have a good handle on the Meta and don't expect to ever run into a deck that has Supreme Verdict, then you probably don't want this card. But if you want to improve your odds against that deck then you probably want at least one copy main.
It's a solid enough card that you don't feel bad about drawing it in the matchups where it's less than optimal. But if you are trying to configure your deck to specifically beat certain things, then there might be a better card to run in it's place.
Domri is one of the linchpins in the Gruul deck and is a firm requirement. He allows for card/tempo advantage that cannot be matched by any other card in the format for those colors.
Xenagos, I haven't played with yet but it's on my list to try. I suspect that you'd need to reconfigure the deck to take full advantage of him though because you'd need a place to sink all that mana.
Well I consider Satyr a three mana card because if you have the three mana available you will usually be casting it as a creature. If you have to five to Bestow that's a great thing too, but it's not a requirement to get good value out of it.
Shock is definitely a big help against the red decks. If you notice, they are much less burn heavy now than in the past, and rely on swarming with 2/2 creatures to deal damage. If you're killing a 2/2 on turn 1 and preventing it completely from attacking, that might save you just as much damage (if not more) than what you gain back from Disciple. Another huge advantage that Shock has over Disciple is that it can pick off Firefist Striker, which has the potential to deal a ton of damage if left unchecked. And then there's Fanatic of Mogis which is powered down when you can kill a creature.
Flames of the Firebrand is not the same here. The major value in Shock is that you get to stop their turn 1 play which saves you much more damage than waiting until turn 3 to make that play.
I've considered this, but Turn 2 Domri is extremely powerful and will almost surely lock up the game in itself. It's probably worth testing, but I would be really reluctant to give this up.
This thought also crossed my mind. But without BTE, you have absolutely no action until you start dropping your big 4-mana ground pounders. Opening with BTE allows you to attack and draw out a Supreme Verdict in the control matchups without having invested so much in your board. And it's still a pretty good card against the red decks because it will block and trade without sacrificing your early game development.
At times though it's true that it doesn't seem to pull it's weight. Again, another valid point that deserves looking into.
Ghor-Clan Rampager is definitely a great card, but in some matchups it shines more than others. I've been running three instead of four and can't think of a single time where I wanted one but didn't have it.
Boon Satyr is also a great card but the problem is that he costs three mana. A lot of the focus of the deck is skipping over three to get to four, so I think he will be slightly suboptimal here. If we're looking for ways to get BTE out of the deck though this might be a replacement. And obviously we're automatically back to 4x Mystic if we have Boon Satyr in the deck.
I don't like Ruric Thar because it's hard for the deck to hit six mana consistently at the times where you really want to be casting one (post Verdict). Or when you finally do, he just gets countered.
Mistcutter I don't have much experience with but I'm going to try it in the board to see if the Esper matchup improves.
Arbor Colossus is right on the fringe, but we already have so many other 4-5 mana cards that it's hard to justify it in the deck. Five toughness is every bit as good as six in this format, so Poluk and Ember Swallower win out for costing one mana less. Stormbreath Dragon has evasion so it can close games, so that too gets the nod over Colossus. After that, what is left to cut? And how many five mana cards can we afford to run?
I've been beating red decks by just bringing in Shock to help you stabilize until you can start hitting four drops. They have a very hard time dealing damage to you with a big five toughness guy sitting on the table. I don't particularly like Nylea's Disciple or Bow because they are very mana intensive, and having to take the time to spend mana to do things is something that the red decks are already built to punish you for.
Do you really think this is a viable gameplan against a deck that can gain tons of life and refill their hand at will in the late game? To hold back threats and force them to act while you attack with Squire?
Because there's a dedicated thread to this deck already:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=538269
What I've been trying recently is to board in 4x Pithing Needle and 3x Destructive Revelry and hope to set Needles on Aetherling and Elseph so they can't win. Revelry is there to hit their Spheres and Ratchet Bombs if they try to remove the Needles (destroying Sphere is always a great play though even if it isn't on Needle).
But so far in a dozen or so matches this has never happened. I don't know if it's just that I'm not drawing Needles or if this is just a bad plan. I might go back to Burning Earth soon, but that has never been that great either and can't be boarded in against UW.
I mean Maze's End is not a very good deck by any stretch, but if you specifically want to beat one deck, that might be a good option.
I'd rather run Peak Eruption to be honest. Most of the tri-color red decks are also running white for Chained to the Rocks, so this card ends up being a huge blowout.
I don't think you should be overly worried about this card right now.
The difference is that Kalonian Hydra costs five mana. What other cards that cost five mana+ are played that are as vulnerable? The only one I can think of is Archangel of Thune, and as I said it's increasingly becoming a fringe card right now for that very reason.
Here's a list of practically every other 5+ creature that is seeing play (correct me if I missed any):
Aetherling
Blood Baron
Stormbreath Dragon
Obzedat
Shadowborn Demon
Prognastic Sphinx (fringe)
What do all these cards have in common? They all dodge one or more commonly played removal spells:
Aetherling - Everything but Pithing Needle
Blood Baron - All spot removal but Mizzium Mortars
Stormbreath Dragon - Sorcery removal/white removal
Obzedat - Sorceries, sweepers, and Doom Blade
Shadowborn Demon - Doom Blade and Mizzium Mortars
Prognastic Sphinx - Spot removal (but it's not very good in itself :P)
In a lot of ways, they definitely are.
Archangel of Thune is kinda in the same camp as the Hydra - she suffers from the same problem. But the difference is that she has lifelink that protects you from dying even when she's attacking. It's a step up from Kalonian Hydra.
I don't think Mistcutter is a very strong card at all and it's overrated if people continue to put it in their deck.
Short answer: I would say Anger of the Gods because it disrupts your own game plan too much. Most of your own creatures die to it. I think you are better suited in the red matchups with Shock in the board.
Long answer: There's more room for improvement in the sideboard as a whole. I'm not a huge fan of Ruric Thar or Mistcutter Hydra because it can be tough to build up enough mana to get them online. You have lots of mana bugs, but the matchups where you want these cards, all of them will get swept away with Supreme Verdict.
It's a solid enough card that you don't feel bad about drawing it in the matchups where it's less than optimal. But if you are trying to configure your deck to specifically beat certain things, then there might be a better card to run in it's place.
Turn 2 - Forest, BTE, BTE, BTE, BTE, Reverent Hunter (11/11)
Turn 3 - Attack for 20.
Not shocked at all that all of these require BTE. Free creatures allow dumb things to happen.
Xenagos, I haven't played with yet but it's on my list to try. I suspect that you'd need to reconfigure the deck to take full advantage of him though because you'd need a place to sink all that mana.
Instead of Xenagos, maybe consider Chandra.
Unfortunately Nylea doesn't have trample, but there's always Ghor-Clan Rampager for that.
Continuing on with Nylea, Burning-Tree Emissary is the best devotion enabler ever.