MTG Salvation

Seems like a pretty solid forecast, though I wouldn't put too many eggs in the WW/Human basket. It just seems like a Vampire deck without any reach.

I've been really liking a few interactions and have began to shove them into a BW control deck...

Sun Titan + Liliana Of The Veil. Pretty obvious when Liliana was spoiled, but the deck is built to benefit from both cards immensly, but not fold without either or both.

Ghost Quarter + Leonin Arbiter. Arbiter is SB right now, but really cripples Birthing Pod, and makes Ghost Quarter a Strip Mine, which is pretty sweet. Both can be rebought with those Sun Titans I mentioned earlier.

The deck is able to play Timely Reinforcements, but otherwise seems susceptible to RDW, and if a blue-heavy control deck surfaces might have some issues there as well.

Also, about Tempered Steel only losing Ornithopter, I think Steel Overseer is the real hit the deck took. :/ It'll still be very popular.

I know what you mean, Small Pox is incredibly awkward to work with, and I would never want a second copy before turn 6 or so. The Spheres & Simulacrums help smooth out some of the issues from the looks of it, though. The game plan is basically hope that your first copy of either Despise or Doom Blade answers their most prominent threat and then you're able to start grinding advantage in a "rock"-style way. I wouldn't mind a 25th land, but not enough lands are multi-purpose without man-lands to justify going beyond 24 imo.

Just realized Small Pox might be the best or worst thing for the deck, so I'll have to give that a run also.

He means it takes a Vault Charge in the graveyard + cast = active, and a Staggershock in the graveyard + cast = active.

Staggershock is far superior imo, though. If they're main plan is creatures, then it can timewalk them because they can't just...play into the impending removal.

Vault Charge is only good when the PA has exactly 1 counter on it. I would consider it if I ran Planeswalkers or something that would make copied Proliferate relevant, but for now, the spell is a 1-for-1 and I try to minimize those (with the exception of the 1CMC spells.)

Virtually lowering the mana curve of the deck via Phyrexian Mana spells has drastically improved the decks efficiency.

I believe that I'll be changing my SB to the following...



I will also update the SB agenda when I have some more time on my hands. I'm having a really difficult time coming up with card #5 to remove vs. Twin decks, so far...-4 Staggershock, +3 Spellskite, +2 Urabrask The Hidden.

I run Preordain also. The thing with Staggershock is...it's not that I don't want it in those match-ups, because the extra burn power is ALWAYS welcome, it's just the weakest card in the deck, imo. If Staggershock wasn't, something else would be. I can't really justify removing any draw spells, as 12 feels right. Into The Roils are a must, and the 8 R-costed burn spells are the "win." That leaves the Ascensions and Mana Leak/Call To Mind. Staggershocks could be removed for a "SB-ish" card, like Slagstorm, that's good in some MUs and then swapped out when it's bad, but I simply don't have any other spells I'm willing to SB out typically.

Mystifying Maze is awesome and underrated. It becomes relevant right when you need it to, turns 5-7, when you barely run out of gas, but as soon as you draw anything relevant you have the win.

Well done, man. Grats on 2nd. The only thing I would add is how good Mystifying Maze is at making Gideon look really dorky against the deck, as well.

Removal of Koth was something I debated quite a bit...I came to the conclusion that he simply doesn't do anything for the deck itself. He's just Koth. A good dude, but an entirely seperate entity. I decided finally to pull him when I wanted something vs. Control, that didn't make Flashfreeze even more relevant. Also, I never really wanted to have enough Mountains in play to make Koth awesome, so he was usually a 4/4 haste, that would transform into a free Lightning Bolt every turn, which is awesome, but I'd rather pay R for 2 bolts, than pay RRR for 1 :/

I'm still torn on Mystifying Maze. I really like Depths, though. Turn 1 is awesome (I don't like to Preordain until T3/T4, so that way, I know if I'm looking for Slagstorms, or extra countermagic, or whatever.) Depths also offers additional digging with the Archive Trap plan. When you board that in, you simply want the maximum means to get 4 Archive Traps out of your deck as possible. With virtually 8 copies, as well as 3 Call To Mind, and the Ascension giving you double value, it's very reliable. I did lost to Valakut the last time I played against it, milled him to 1 card, but his Raging Ravine simply got him there, so I made some adjustments and included Spreading Seas (dealing with Man-lands via burn is such a loss of value most times.)

I can't decide if I want to roll the dice and actually test out the White-splash variant I brewed up, or stick with the tried-and-true strictly U/R list.

Also, Surgical Extraction ( the NPH Extirpate card) is actually a card I'm pretty excited to try out in the PA deck itself, seems pretty good.

Thanks dude! I've made some changes, wasn't digging crush, at all really. (it is great against rogue decks, if you have a heavily varied FNM, due to things like Mimic Vat, and Contagion Engine, etc.) The got replaced with Spreading Seas which is huge against obnoxious man-lands, and aids the Valakut MU a bit more, even.

I'll be updating this in the next day or two. I have 2 different lists, one utilizing the above Archive Trap SB, the other using Mark Of Mutiny + Teetering Peaks vs. Valakut, with Jace Beleren in the SB to shore up the Caw match-up, since it loses the slightly more efficient win.

I would (vs. Caw) take out all Into The Roil & Foresee, and keep the Burst Lightning, it's good with Kiln Fiend, and can finish once they're in burn range. Just my thoughts on the matter, otherwise looks good.

I guess it depends if you run Lotus Cobra. Lotus Cobra brings the late game into play faster (but about a turn, average compared to my set-up.) Without Cobra, I have space for said stabilizing spells, and thus can hold out until the Planeswalker/Titan -> DForce. Is it for sure optimal? I'm not certain, but it's won me enough games to justify 3 slots, and I'm only giving it 2.

I'm still swayin' on 3/2 SP/ML, or 4/1 as well.

I really like have a pair in the MD.

There were 3 games at FNM that it won for me. Garruk is the key with it, or a Titan, but then, yes it does feel a bit win-more. Of those 3 games, I probably would have lost 2, maybe even all 3 (the third was a Tezzeret deck that got my to 6 psn counters, so I'm not sure if he had the kill in-hand.)

If you can sweep Aggro's board with it, and retain a Garruk with 5 Loyalty (which is where he'll be if you +1'd the turn he came out, and +1'd to cast D-Force,) you win. Garruk won't win on his own.

Frost Titan doesn't do enough vs. Aggro. He can tap one guy, and block one guy. What if they have 3 guys? What if I can't block because it will give them a Highborn trigger and I'll lose anyway? (Of course in that instance, D-Force would also give them said trigger XD.) I prefer Inferno Titan. If they get anything on board that survives D-Force, then Inferno can do damage 6-8, or Frost Titan can tap the big threat for the rest of the game.

Force simply reduces their ability to ever play a threat outside of Pyroclasm-range before they're dead.

Against Valakut it actually turned out to be exactly what I was looking for (even though people say it's bad for this MU.) I was looking for the means to stop the Mountain assault, without exposing myself to the back-up Avenger plan. Now, if I kill even 2 Mountains with a Dforce, and just 3 other bunk lands, still, I probably just null'd 2 ramp spells, and slowed them way down. They don't want to be saccing Green sources, so say they get rid of 5 Mountains, wow...they only have 7 in the deck that can deal us damage via Valakut, so now they have 2.

DForce does come out against Control, though.