Zendikar Decks Part VII: Time Sieve

Welcome to the final deck in the Zendikar Decks series: Time Sieve. This potent combo deck doesn't lose too much from the rotation, and can still be a competitor. It seems to have fallen out of favor...which is the perfect time for combo decks to strike.

Here's the list I used:

Lands (17)

4 Glacial Fortress
5 Island
3 Marsh Flats
3 Plains
2 Swamp

Creatures (4)

4 Architects of Will

Spells (39)

4 Angelsong
4 Fieldmist Borderpost
1 Font of Mythos
4 Howling Mine
3 Jace Beleren
4 Kaleidostone
4 Mistvein Borderpost
4 Open the Vaults
3 Tezzeret the Seeker
4 Time Sieve
4 Time Warp

Sideboard:

4 Baneslayer Angel
4 Wall of Denial
4 Day of Judgement
3 Path to Exile

I hopped on to MWS to do battle.

Round 1 vs. Boros Bushwhacker

He gets Goblin Guide, then Goblin Guide, then Steppe Lynx, a fetchland, and Bushwhacker. I exclaim disbelief over his Turn 3 kill. Jesus Christ.

Game 2 he gets Goblin Guide and Steppe Lynx, but I get Wall of Denial. He tries a swarm. I go for Day of Judgement. I get Howling Mine and Font. I set up my hand while using fogs to keep him at bay, then go off.

Game 3 he drops me down to 2 before I attempt to go off. I get numerous extra turns, but can't get 6 artifacts to let my Font stick. I eventually run out of Time Warps and Open the Vaults' and lose.

0-1

Round 2 vs. Landfall Ramp

He Pulses my double Howling Mine draw, and I play another Howling Mine. He gets Ob Nixilis and Empyrial Archangel, I get Tezzeret and go for Time Sieve -> Open the Vaults. With the Mines and Architects in the graveyard, I easily assemble enough artifacts to go lethal.

Game 2 he doesn't do much til he gets a Baneslayer. He plays Pithing Needle and names Time Sieve, then Identity Crisis blows me out.

Game 3 I whiff on an attempt to go off. He casts Baneslayer, and I get Open the Vaults to try again. I then spend a difficult 8 minutes comboing off. He quits halfway through, claiming I'm too slow, but he's tapped out, so I simply combo off anyway, since he couldn't do anything. I call that a win, since I eventually reach critical mass and would kill him.

1-1

Round 3 vs. Boros Bushwhacker

He gets some early beats. I lay Tezz and Jace, and he kills Tezz with his guys. I manage to stall him long enough to combo off.

Game 2 he gets 2 Steppe Lynxes and some fetchlands, knocking me down to 2 in short order. Luckily I manage to go off (there's not much details in these logs for a reason. It's a pretty consistent deck: either it goes infinite and wins, or it doesn't.)

2-1

Round 4 vs. Goblins

Game 1 he gets Goblin Guide and Warren Instigator, which brings in Siege-Gang Commander. I'm on 6 and trying to go off when I totally punt this: with 7 mana and 1 black source, I use my black source to play a Kaleidostone and then play another artifact before realising that I needed that black for Time Sieve, to combo off, and win. I deserve to lose this game.

Game 2 he gets Goblin Chieftain and assorted goblins. In 20 cards, I see one Time Warp and zero Time Sieves. I can't go off, and therefore cannot win. He beats me to death.

2-2

Salivanth's Rating: 4.5/5
Match Rating: 4/8

Total Rating: 8.5

Unlike some decks in this series, Time Sieve is a deck that takes some time to master. If my performance was the sole indicator of it's strength, I'd rate it a 3.5, but as it is, I know if I took the time to master the deck, I could do far better with it.

The next post will be an analysis of the decks' scores and attributes, and I'll make some recommendations, and then we'll move on to other things again! It only took about a month to do the series...

See you next time!

The Trap Of Rogue Decks

How many of you try to make decks for tournaments? Decks that try to beat the best decks, decks that are innovative, or fun, or cool...and decks that lose. I was That Guy. Now I'm not. Unless you're one of the top players in the world, you probably shouldn't be trying to innovate totally new decks. Play a Tier 1 deck. You'll win more.

And even further! Some people actually COMPLAIN about netdecks! That they're somehow stifling the originality and creativity of the game, that it's less 'skilful' to win with it. If it's not netdecks in general, it's one deck. Affinity, Faeries, Five-Color Control...

"Everyone uses that deck!"
"That manabase in cash could feed a starving child for a year."
"That deck's cheap / broken / not fun."

Well guess what? It wins. And if you want to win, you need to play the best deck or beat the best deck, and if you want to beat the best deck, generally you want another Tier 1 deck (unless you're happy to get beaten by every deck EXCEPT the Tier 1 deck. Then you can make a hate deck just fine.) if you want to win.

How many of you have been in PTQ's? Tournaments are hard enough without self-inflicting rules. Nobody other than you is going to obey your rules unless your rules are "Do whatever you legally can to win."

Note that I'm not saying 'always play the best deck'. You should play the deck you think has the best position and power in the metagame: the deck most likely to make you win. And it's almost certainly not your creation. Warp World is cute, but can it win? Vampires is new and shiny, but will it win?

If you're not doing your best with deck selection, you're not doing your best as a player. And that's the road to losing. Because if you're not doing your best and playing one of the best decks, you'll be competing against someone who is. And in the end, when the dust settles, the only thing that matters is who has won, and who has lost.

N.B: I do not condone cheating. That's not a legal way to win. Anyone who points to this article as justification for cheating is a fool. Play Magic to the best of your ability. A game of Magic where you cheat is not a game of Magic. So play legally: but play the very best you can within the legal limits.

See you next time, when I bring you Time Sieve.

Zendikar Decks Part VI: Soldiers

Welcome, people, to the penultimate article in the Zendikar Decks series. The series is almost over, and I'm quite glad for it. 4 matches can take as many hours in MWS due to the amount of people who don't play a full match.

Anyway, let's get to the deck: Soldiers.

Lands (23)

23 Plains

Creatures (20)

4 Elite Vanguard
4 Kazandu Blademaster
4 Kor Aeronaut
4 Kor Skyfisher
4 Veteran Armorsmith

Spells (17)

3 Ajani Goldmane
2 Brave the Elements
4 Conqueror's Pledge
2 Harm's Way
4 Honor of the Pure
2 Path to Exile

Sideboard:

2 Brave the Elements
4 Celestial Purge
3 Devout Lightcaster
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
2 Harm's Way
2 Path to Exile

I couldn't decide between the three awesome one-mana tricks, Brave the Elements, Harm's Way, and Path to Exile. However, having all 3 makes it impossible for my opponents to play around them all.

I hopped on to MWS. ThatDamnAussie from Twitter graciously took the first battle.

Round 1 vs. Bushwhacker Aggro

He plays Goblin Guide, which I trump with Kor Skyfisher. He plays a Geopede and a Teetering Peaks next turn. I keep playing Soldiers, but his fetchlands are going well with his Geopede and Lynx. I drop to 5, then get my fifth land and play Conqueror's Pledge. I play a SECOND Pledge and start trying to kill his dudes: not an easy proposition. Eventually he gets Ranger of Eos for 2 Goblin Guides and swarms me to death after I lose most of my Soldiers.

Game 2 I play Kazandu Blademaster, and he, Steppe Lynx. I play a second one, and he Paths the 3/3. He smashes me down at an alarming rate. I cast a Pledge at 6 life, but this time I have a trump. With 4 tokens still in play, I drop double Honor of the Pure! I crush him in short order.

Game 3 he gets out 3 Steppe Lynxes but misses his second land drop. He plays Goblin Guide and swings. When I block with my 2/3, he Paths his own Guide to landfall his Lynxes. Pretty clever. I manage to stabilise however, then play Conqueror's Pledge, then Ajani Goldmane! I win.

1-0

Round 2 vs. Bant

I get turn 2 Blademaster, he gets turn 2 War Monk. I Path it, he gets Dauntless Escort. He then plays Rafiq and Baneslayer. I concede pretty quickly.

Game 2 I have 3 3/5's in play by Turn 4, and I crush him to death.

Game 3 I get some early beats, he gets Elspeth and War Monk. He uses the combo to bring me to 7 while his life skyrockets. I get an Ajani and beat Elspeth to death. I then get a Conqueror's Pledge, he plays Day of Judgement. So what do I play? Another Pledge. With Ajani. What could possibly beat that? ANOTHER DAY OF JUDGEMENT! Talk about nut draws for both sides!

I get an Elspeth and start climbing loyalty with my two 'walkers. He plays a Baneslayer, and I topdeck another Pledge. He kills Ajani with Baneslayer. I play Honor of the Pure and attack for 24! I then play an Aeronaut to block with next turn, and then succeed in the impossible: winning a race against a Baneslayer Angel.

2-0

Round 3 vs. Grixis Megrim

I get a Vanguard, he Doom Blades it. He then plays Megrim, and Duresses my hand: of lands and Conqueror's Pledge. GAH! I play an Armorsmith with Honor of the Pure, and he Blades it, too. I play Aeronaut, he Twincasts a Blightning. Luckily I only have 2 cards to discard. I go to 7. I then teach him the finer points of the problem of discard by playing every card I draw: the first being a Pledge. Remembering I still have Honor of the Pure out. I win in 2 turns.

Game 2 he plays a Howling Mine, and I play an Armorsmith. I Devout Lightcaster his Megrim, he Terminates my Armorsmith. I use Skyfisher to bounce the Lightcaster. He concedes after his next draw. I presume he got mana flooded.

I think he conceded too quickly, but still...

3-0.

Round 4 vs. Cruel Control

Unfortunately I lost the notes, but here's what I remember:

Game 1 he gets Wall of Denial and Kathari Remnant. His powerful cascades win while I fail to break through his guys.

Game 2 he doesn't get much, and I knock him to 8 before he plays his first spell. I'm able to defeat him with massive Soldiers.

Game 3 goes pretty long, and he Cruels me after I Pledge. I'm hoping I can win with my double Honor of the Pure, but he plays a second Cruel, and manages to Pulse the Honors of the Pure. It takes a long time, but he eventually wins with 18 cards left in his library (and 36 in mine. He drew a LOT of cards).

3-1

Salivanth's Rating: 4.5/5
Match Rating: 6/8

Total Score: 10.5

Overall, I'm quite satisfied with most of the Soldier deck. If I could do it over again, I'd cut the Harm's Ways and go up to 3 Paths and 3 BtE's, and also try to find a replacement for Kor Aeronaut, which didn't quite cut it. It was the weakest card in the deck and I was consistently siding him out. Perhaps Veteran Swordsmith would do better there.

Thanks for reading!

Zendikar Decks Part IV: Warp World

Welcome readers, to Part Four of the Zendikar Decks series. Today, we tackle Warp World.

Here's the decklist I chose:

Lands: (23)

4 Forest
5 Mountain
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Savage Lands
2 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs

Creatures: (29)

4 Birds of Paradise
2 Bogardan Hellkite
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Greenweaver Druid
2 Keeper of Progenitus
4 Lotus Cobra
2 Noble Hierarch
3 Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
4 Siege-Gang Commander

Spells (8)

4 Trace of Abundance
4 Warp World

I hopped on MWS to do battle.

Match 1 vs. U/B Mill

Game 1 he gets manascrewed while I get a Turn 4 Siege-Gang Commander and a Turn 6 Hellkite. His only plays are Hedron Crab and Jace.

Game 2 he plays a Turn 1 Hedron Crab. I play a Savage Lands. He plays a fetch, then Archive Traps me when I sacrifice my own fetch. I play Lotus Cobra.

I get to Warp World mana, and he mills me down to 12 cards in library. In my last turn before I die, I play Warp World and float 2 mana. He goes from 8 permanents to 4, and I get two Lotus Cobras and five lands so I can play another Warp World. This one gets him to one permanent, and I flip over Ob Nixilis. The landfall triggers kill him.

1-0

Match 2 vs. White Control

I get some early ramps, and lay out my hand. He casts Day of Judgement. He plays a Seraph and a Baneslayer, and I don't reach Warp World mana in time.

Game 2 I get a Turn 4 Ob Nixilis, and he uses Lapse of Certainty. He plays Guardian Seraph, I play Ob Nixilis, then play and sac a fetchland. He O-Rings it. I go for a Warp World, and he Lapses it. I play Warp World with one in hand. He gets Iona, Shield of Emeria and names red. He kills me with the giant flier next turn.

1-1

Match 3 vs. Naya

I play Lotus Cobra and Elvish Visionary: he plays Bloodbraid Elf into Trace of Abundance. He plays Cliffrunner Behemoth and a Garruk, then another Cliffrunner. When he uses his ultimate, I can't keep up with the raw power.

Game 2 We both play Trace of Abundance. He plays Cliffrunner. I play Keeper of Progenitus. He uses Bituminous Blast to cascade into another one, then finishes it with two Lightning Bolts to the dome.

1-2

Match 4 vs. Four-Color Midrange

He plays Noble Hierarch, I play Lotus Cobra. He Paths it, and plays Knight of the Reliquary. I get Ob Nixilis plus a fetch to out-do the 6/6 Knight. He passes. I swing, he goes to 2, and I Hellkite him to win.

Game 2 I curve out massively into a Turn 4 Warp World. Unfortunately, his 3 lands flip up 3 lands. I play Hellkite, he plays Rhox War Monk and Harrow. I get him to 4 life but he plays Baneslayer, then Realm Razer next turn. I chump with Birds and eventually Hellkite, but am never able to draw an answer.

Game 3 I get a Warp World, but he's lucky enough to Warp into Baneslayer while I fail to Warp into my finishers, and he bashes me to death.

1-3

Salivanth's Rating:

3.5/5

Matches x2:

2/5

Total Score: 5.5

I think the main reason Warp World failed was both my lack of knowledge of when to Warp, and the luck and raw power of some of my opponents' decks. When the metagame shifts to accommodate control, Warp World should become a lot better.

Next time: New Jund!

Zendikar Decks Part III: W/B/R Control

Hello everyone and welcome to Zendikar Decks Part III! Today's deck is W/B/R Control. Here's the decklist I chose to run:

Lands (26)

4 Arid Mesa
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Marsh Flats
4 Mountain
5 Plains
5 Swamp

Creatures (4)

4 Baneslayer Angel

Spells (30)

3 Ajani Vengeant
3 Chandra Nalaar
4 Day of Judgement
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Martial Coup
3 Path to Exile
4 Sign in Blood
3 Terminate
4 Volcanic Fallout

Sideboard:

3 Blightning
4 Celestial Purge
4 Deathmark
1 Martial Coup
2 Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
1 Path to Exile

I hopped on MWS to do battle.

Round 1 vs. Naya

Unfortunately I lost the notes for this match. I lost, but it went to 3 games. It was his bombs vs. my removal, and in Games 1 and 3 he drew better, and in Game 2 I drew better.

0-1

Round 2 vs. Jund Landfall Ramp

He plays a Turn 2 Lotus Cobra, which I Terminate. I lay a Chandra, and he gets a Harrow / Khalni Heart combo to put loads of land in play. I bolt an Ob Nixilis, and lay Ajani. I then have a fully charged Chandra. The game is over quickly as my planeswalkers burn him out.

Game 2 we play land-go for a while until I drop Ajani. He drops Ob Nixilis. I bolt it and start building up Ajani. He plays Broodmate Dragon. I Day of Judgement and get to 7 counters on Ajani. He Earthquakes for 7. Must be nice...

I drop Chandra and start building THAT up. He plays Baloths and Harrow for 14 power of dudes. I Day of Judgement again and build up to 8 counters on Chandra. I win next turn.

1-1

Round 3 vs. Mill.dec

He plays Birds of Paradise, I play Sign in Blood. He plays Grazing Gladehart. I'm confused. When in doubt, kill it. So I Volcanic Fallout. I drop Ajani, he drops Lotus Cobra and a fetch. Damn it. He plays a Khalni Gem. It could be worse. He kills Ajani next turn. I drop another one to kill Lotus Cobra. He Traumatizes me. Ow. I start building up Ajani, but he Archive Traps me, and then Trapmaker's Snares for Archive Trap #2. I  lose.

Game 2 I manage to get stuck on 2 land and he gets a Lotus Cobra. He Mind Funerals me, and plays Grazing Gladehart before I draw into red and manage to bolt the Cobra. He Traumatizes me. I Blightning him but he's gaining lots of life off Gladehart. He Traumatizes me again, and then searches for an Archive Trap a few turns later, still sittin' pretty at over 15 life.

1-2

Round 4 vs. Valakut Burn

He starts out with a Goblin Guide, revealing no lands several times. I Sign In Blood to find more land, but my life's plummeting. I manage to Path the Guide and play a Baneslayer, and he Lightning Bolts + Fallouts it. He lays Valakut and Bolts me to single-digits. This is NOT good. I fail to draw any stabilising cards, and die quickly.

This game made me want to kill myself painfully. He starts out with double Quest for Pure Flame and starts dropping burn creatures like Hellspark and Ball Lightning. I Path, Purge or Terminate each one of them. This continues for a LONG time but I can't draw a finisher, despite siding more in. Eventually he drops a Valakut and burns me to death. I didn't have any way of dealing with burn besides attacking with Baneslayer. Number of finishers in the deck: 8. Number of cards I drew in that game: 20ish.

1-3

Salivanth's Rating: 1.5/5
Matches Won x2: 2/8

Score: 3.5

This deck is terrible. I don't give it a one because when it did get the mana right, against a creature deck, it was hard to beat. All control decks should be though. The deck has several flaws:

Lack of ability to close the game. I should have added Luminarch Ascension.

Bad mana. This is a 2-color or shard based format. Even 4 colors are better than 3 enemy colors. Seriously. Don't play with an arc deck. It WILL FAIL.

Total inability to deal with non-permanents. This is not good in a deck that needs to be able to answer everything the opponent plays.

Do not play this deck, for the love of god. If you're desperate for a control deck I'll make another one, but don't play this one!

See you tomorrow with Warp World!

Zendikar Decks Part II: B/R Bloodchief

Hello readers, and welcome to part two of my Zendikar decks series. Today's post will be about B/R Bloodchief. This deck focuses on playing a Bloodchief Ascension and activating it as quickly as possible. It then uses cards such as Blightning and sweepers to put cards in the opponent's graveyard and deal lots of damage.

Here's the decklist I used:

Lands (20)

4 Akoum Refuge
4 Dragonskull Summit
8 Mountain
8 Swamp

Creatures (16)

4 Goblin Guide
4 Hell's Thunder
4 Hellspark Elemental
4 Vampire Lacerator

Spells (24)

4 Blightning
4 Bloodchief Ascension
4 Burst Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Volcanic Fallout
4 Earthquake

Sideboard:

4 Deathmark
3 Duress
4 Goblin Outlander
4 Hideous End

I hopped onto MWS to do battle.

Round 1 vs. Four-Color Control

We start off with ETBT lands. I play Vampire Lacerator, which he Agony Warps. He Esper Charms, and I counter with Blightning and another Lacerator. He plays Baneslayer Angel, then another a couple of turns later, and beats me to death with them.

Game 2 he mulligans to 5. I use Hellspark Elemental, and get some early Goblin Guide action. He gets rid of it  already at 10 life. We pass for a couple of turns, then he Time Warps twice. I drop a Lacerator, and hit him a couple of times. Lightning Bolt and Earthquake are enough to end it.

Game 3 he Spell Pierces a Bloodchief Ascension and Burst Lightning. He Blightnings me, and Pierces another Ascension. I play a third Ascension and beat down with a Lacerator. I activate it and he Esper Charms it. I knock him to 8 with double Lacerator before he Day of Judgements them. I Goblin Guide him to 6, and he plays Baneslayer Angel. I Hideous End it and he scoops it up.

1-0

Round 2 vs. BGW Landfall

He plays a Turn 2 Lotus Cobra. I Bolt it. I swing with a Hellspark, he plays another Cobra and Cobras into a Bloodghast. I kill the Cobra again. He hits with Bloodghast, and then drops a Knight of the Reliquary. He plays an Ob Nixilis a turn or two later and when he plays another fetchland I scoop.

Game 2 I kill a Lotus Cobra, but he plays a second and third one. I don't find enough removal. He plays double Steppe Lynx and landfalls his way to victory over a few turns. I barely get him to 10.

1-1

Round 3 vs. Naya

He opens with a Nacatl. I Bolt it and play Goblin Guide. With the aid of his fetchlands I start beating him down. He plays a 5/5 Reliquary. He plays a Behemoth Sledge, but I trick him into a block and then double Burst Lightning it. I get him down to 5, but he equips a Nacatl with Behemoth Sledge and manages to outrace me.

Game 2 I open with a Goblin Guide, and he opens with a Birds. He plays a Nacatl and a Ranger of Eos. When he plays Behemoth Sledge, I Fallout the board, leaving him at 11. He plays a Nacatl and equips it, but I quake for 5. I Deathmark his next Nacatl. He plays 2 Hierarchs and equips Behemoth Sledge. I pray for a quake off the top, and I get it.

Game 3 I mulligan to 6 and play a Turn 2 Bloodchief Ascension. He plays Behemoth Sledge. I Hellspark him. He plays a Nacatl and I Bolt him at EOT. I play Fallout leaving him at 12 life. He Purges my active Ascension. I swing him to 8, but he gets a 5/5 lifelink Nacatl, and I never draw another Deathmark.

1-2

Round 4 vs. Soldiers

I play a Turn 1 Bloodchief Ascension, and he plays Elite Vanguard. I pass, he plays Honor and attacks. I ho-hum, and take 3. I Burst Lightning him at EOT, then Goblin Guide him. He plays Kor Aeronaut. I swing, he Paths the Guide. I Earthquake for 3 to activate my Ascension. He attacks. Next turn I Blightning him, then I manage to Blightning + Hellspark for exactly lethal the turn after that.

Game 2 He passes. I play Goblin Guide and attack, and he plays White Knight. I Bolt it. He plays Honor of the Pure, I play Bloodchief Ascension and swing. He plays a second Honor and Sigilled Paladin, which I Deathmark. I swing. He Paths my Guide, so I Fallout an empty board to activate Ascension. He plays Kor Aeronaut. I Blightning him to 3 life and 0 cards in hand, then Deathmark his one creature. I win shortly after.

2-2

Salivanth's Rating: 3.5/5
Matches Won x2: 4/8

Total Score: 7.5

I like B/R Bloodchief, but I think B/R Blightning is better. The Bloodchief often gets killed or doesn't activate and it warps your game too much. Goblin Guide is awesome, I don't know about Lacerator. I'd recommend upping the curve by removing the Bloodchief Ascensions and the Lacerators and adding in some strong 3-4 mana cards.

Make sure to vote for tomorrow's deck in the polls!

See you tomorrow!

Zendikar Decks Part I: Vampire Aggro

Welcome to the first article in my series on Zendikar decks. Polls will be running through the week to determine the next deck in the series, and the first one you guys picked was Vampire Aggro. Don't forget to vote for tomorrow's article!

Here's the deck I ended up using:

Lands (24)

24 Swamp

Creatures (26)

4 Bloodghast
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Guul Draz Vampire
2 Malakir Bloodwitch
4 Vampire Lacerator
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Vampire Nocturnus

Spells (10)

4 Doom Blade
2 Duress
4 Sign in Blood

Sideboard:

4 Vampire Hexmage
2 Malakir Bloodwitch
3 Bloodchief Ascension
4 Deathmark
2 Duress

I hopped on MWS to do battle.

Round 1 vs. Mono-Red Burn

He wins the die roll, and we both mulligan to 6.

He plays a land and passes. I play Guul Draz Vampire. At EOT, he Burst Lightnings me. (18, 20) He plays Hellspark Elemental and swings. I take it. (15, 20). I untap, and swing. (15, 19). I play Bloodghast.

He passes, and I swing for 3. (15, 16). I play Vampire Nighthawk. He Bolts it. He plays Hell's Thunder and attacks. (11, 16). I swing back. (11, 13). I play another Bloodghast. He plays a second Hellspark and swings. (8, 13).

I attack with everything. (8, 8) and then play a Vampire Lacerator. He untaps, and unearths both Hellsparks. I Doom Blade one, and take 3. (5, 8). I attack with my Bloodghasts. (5, 4). He plays Goblin Ruinblaster and passes. I untap, and swing for the win.


Game 2 he elects to play. He keeps, and I mulligan to 6. He plays a land and passes, I play Guul Draz Vampire. Turn 2, he plays a land and passes. I Duress. I take Fallout, and attack. (20, 19). I then play a second Guul Draz Vampire.

He untaps, and Earthquakes for 1. (19, 18). He passes. I play Vampire Nighthawk. He plays double Burst Lightning to kill it. I untap, and play Bloodchief Ascension. He plays Hell's Thunder, and swings. (15, 18). I pass. He unearths Hell's Thunder and attacks. I Doom Blade it.

I untap and play another Bloodchief Ascension. Not the best topdecks. He plays Elemental Appeal and attacks. I Doom Blade it. I pass. Another land. He plays Quest for Pure Flame and Elemental Appeal. He swings. (8, 18). I draw nothing but lands for the next two turns and he plays and unearths Hell's Thunder to kill me.

Game 3 I choose to play, and we both mulligan to 6. Turn 1 I play Guul Draz Vampire. He plays a land and passes. I play Turn 2 Duress, and he aims a Bolt at me in response. (17, 20). I take Elemental Appeal, and swing. (17, 19). He plays a land and passes. I swing (17, 18) and play Vampire Lacerator.

He plays a land and passes. I swing (16, 15) and pass. He passes yet again. I swing, and he plays Fallout (13, 13).  I play Guul Draz Vampire and Bloodghast. He lays a land and passes. I swing, he plays another Fallout. (11, 11). I play another Bloodghast. He plays Elemental Appeal and swings. (4, 11).

I play a land, returning Bloodghast, then play Vampire Nocturnus. I swing with a 4/2 flying Bloodghast. (4, 7). I pass. He draws, plays Earthquake for 2 (2, 5) then Burst Lightnings me for the win.

0-1

Round 2 vs. Vampire Aggro

Note: My computer crashed while writing these, so the rest of the post will be fairly short.


Game 1 I keep a slow hand. He curves out basically perfectly and beats me before I put up much resistance.

Game 2 we trade for a while until I manage to get out multiple Bloodwitches and win that way.

Game 3 he gets the advantage, then I play Nocturnus. Unfortunately I then draw 3 swamps in a row and die.

0-2

Round 3 vs. Bant

Game 1 he plays Great Sable Stag with Rafiq of the Many. I die about as horribly as you'd expect.

Game 2 I play lots of guys, and by the time he stabilises I have 3/2's with fear to seal the deal.

Game 3 we play a long game. I eventually stick a Gatekeeper of Malakir with FOUR removal spells in hand. I then bash him to death over six turns killing everything he plays.

1-2

Round 4 vs. B/R Bloodchief

Game 1 his deck works perfectly, getting 3 counters on Bloodchief Ascension and Blightninging me to death.

Game 2 he stalls for a bit and I end up winning with Vampire Nocturnus's buff.

Game 3 we race. He eventually sticks an Ascension and Earthquakes my guys to activate it, but he's at 2 and I manage to kill him even with his active Ascension.

2-2

My Ranking: 2/5
Matches Won x2: 4/8

The ranking system will work as follows. I will rank the deck by consistency and power out of 5, then the amount of matches out of 4 won, x2, will be the rest of the score. At the end, I'll rank them all up.

Frankly, I don't think Vampire Aggro is that great, and B/R hate will keep it down. I rate it Tier 2.

See you soon with the next deck!

Zendikar Decks Part II

I promised in my original Zendikar Decks article here that I'd eventually flesh out these decks. Now is the time for me to do that. I'll propose 7 decks, and I intend to test them, one per day, (except for Saturday) for a week. I'll allow people to vote on their choice. Here are the decks:

W/B/R Control.

Lands (26)

4 Arid Mesa
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Marsh Flats
4 Mountain
5 Plains
5 Swamp

Creatures (4)

4 Baneslayer Angel

Spells (30)

3 Ajani Vengeant
3 Chandra Nalaar
4 Day of Judgement
3 Lightning Bolt
3 Luminarch Ascension
3 Martial Coup
4 Path to Exile
4 Sign in Blood
3 Terminate

Sideboard:

4 Celestial Purge
4 Oblivion Ring
3 Solemn Offering
4 Volcanic Fallout

The deck has 7 Wraths, and ample finishers. It can finish from several angles. It has card draw in Sign in Blood, and plenty of spot removal. It's a rough draft, but could turn into quite a deck.

New Time Sieve

Lands (18)

7 Island
5 Plains
6 Swamp

Creatures (0)

Spells ()

4 Day of Judgement
4 Fieldmist Borderpost
3 Font of Mythos
4 Howling Mine
4 Kaleidoscope
4 Mistvein Borderpost
4 Obelisk of Esper
4 Open the Vaults
3 Tezzeret the Seeker
4 Time Sieve
4 Time Warp

Sideboard:

4 Celestial Purge
4 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Meddling Mage
4 Path to Exile

The deck loses a bit, and doesn't gain much, but the deck still has Tier 1 potential. An extra Tezzeret has been added for the non-combo finish. Obelisk of Esper acts as Borderposts 9-12, and the Day of Judgement is there to stop Vampires.

Vampire Aggro

Lands (24)

24 Swamp

Creatures (26)

4 Bloodghast
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Guul Draz Vampire
2 Malakir Bloodwitch
4 Vampire Lacerator
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Vampire Nocturnus

Spells (10)

4 Doom Blade
2 Duress
4 Sign in Blood

Sideboard:

2 Bloodchief Ascension
4 Deathmark
2 Duress
2 Malakir Bloodwitch
3 Ravenous Trap

The deck is fast, has some late-game plans, light disruption, removal and card draw, and it's VAMPIRES. Who doesn't like Vampires? The Ravenous Trap in the sideboard is against Time Sieve. Absolutely destroys them.

B/R Bloodchief Blightning

Lands (24)

4 Akoum Refuge
4 Dragonskull Summit
8 Mountain
8 Swamp

Creatures (18)
2 Ball Lightning
4 Goblin Guide
4 Hellspark Elemental
4 Goblin Outlander
4 Vampire Lacerator

Spells (18)

4 Blightning
4 Bloodchief Ascension
4 Burst Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Volcanic Fallout

Sideboard:

3 Banefire
4 Deathmark
4 Duress
2 Terminate
2 Volcanic Fallout


This deck is a fairly simple B/R deck. The idea is to beat the opponent to death, either with or without a Bloodchief Ascension.

New Jund

Lands (25)

4 Dragonskull Summit
3 Forest
3 Mountain
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Savage Lands
3 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs

Creatures (16)

4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Lotus Cobra
4 Putrid Leech
4 Vampire Nighthawk

Spells (19)

4 Bituminous Blast
4 Jund Charm
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Sign in Blood

Sideboard:

4 Deathmark
4 Great Sable Stag
3 Jund Hackblade
4 Volcanic Fallout

A Jund list with many of the same traits as pre-Zendikar Jund: the ability to play as aggro or control, a malleable sideboard, and a lot of sheer power, and Cascade.

New Warp World

Lands (23)

7 Forest
9 Mountain
3 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs

Creatures (29)

4 Birds of Paradise
2 Bogardan Hellkite
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Keeper of Progenitus
4 Lotus Cobra
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
4 Siege-Gang Commander

Spells (8)

4 Trace of Abundance
4 Warp World

Sideboard:

4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Thought Hemorrhage
4 Vithian Renegades
3 Volcanic Fallout

Most of the deck remains the same. The main additions are Ob Nixilis, who is a BEATING if you get 3-4 lands off Warp World, and Lotus Cobra to power out more fast starts.

Soldiers

Lands (24)

23 Plains

Creatures ()

4 Captain of the Watch

4 Elite Vanguard

4 Kazandu Blademaster

4 Kor Aeronaut

4 Veteran Armorsmith

4 Veteran Swordsmith

Spells ()

2 Conqueror's Pledge

4 Honor of the Pure

4 Path to Exile

3 Brave the Elements

Sideboard:

3 Baneslayer Angel

1 Brave the Elements

4 Celestial Purge

3 Devout Lightcaster

4 Harm's Way

This is an archetypal White Weenie deck: plenty of guys, some modern token-producers, and the Anthem of choice, Honor of the Pure. Also features the anti-removal Brave the Elements as a new addition.

So those are our seven. Be sure to vote for which one should be tested first in the poll!

Zendikar Decks

What kind of decks are going to show up in Zendikar? Of course, we don't know yet. But I have some ideas (ideas which I'll flesh out as more of Zendikar is revealed). Here are some decks I can see entering the mix:

W/B/R Control

Lands (26)

4 Arid Mesa
4 Obsidian Flats
6 Mountain
6 Plains
6 Swamp

Creatures (0)

Spells (34)

2 Ajani Vengeant
2 Chandra Nalaar
4 Day of Judgement
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Luminarch Ascension
4 Path to Exile
4 Pitfall Trap
4 Quest for the Gravelord
1 Sorin Markov
4 Terminate
3 Volcanic Fallout

The idea of this deck is to stick a quest early, then ride that or a planeswalker to victory. Wrathing the board then putting a 5/5 into play is very effective. The deck has plenty of Wrath effects and spot removal, as well as some threats that have to be dealt with.

Modern Suicide Black

Lands (25)

4 Crypt of Anadeem
20 Swamp

Creatures (19)

4 Black Knight
4 Vampire Lacerator
4 Vampire Nighthawk
4 Vampire Nocturnus
3 Bloodghast

Spells (17)

4 Quest for the Gravelord
2 Consume Spirit
4 Doom Blade
4 Sign in Blood
3 Tendrils of Corruption

This deck has plenty of removal, as well as a lot of reach in the late-game in the form of Bloodghast, Quest for the Gravelord and Consume Spirit combined with Crypt of Anadeem (likely to provide 4-5 mana if all your creatures are killed). Sign in Blood also refills your hand.

Jund Redux

Lands (25)

3 Dragonskull Summit
2 Mountain
2 Forest
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Savage Lands
2 Swamp
4 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Verdant Marsh

Creatures (16)

4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Jund Hackblade
4 Putrid Leech
4 Vampire Nighthawk (hopefully replacable)

Spells (19)

4 Bituminous Blast
4 Jund Charm
4 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Sign in Blood

Vampire Nighthawk is hopefully replacable by a better three-drop (Sprouting Thrinax?), especially if one is spoiled. Anathemancer is no longer a reliable maindeck, as the fetchlands don't stay in play long enough to burn players when Anathemancer is played. Boggart Ram-Gang and Kitchen Finks are also being removed. Hopefully we get a cool card to fill in our three-drop slot in Zendikar.

Other than that, most of the deck is pretty solid. Jund Hackblade replaces Boggart Ram-Gang, and the manabase is still excellent.

OMG Goblins

Lands (24)

24 Mountain

Creatures (28)

4 Goblin Chieftain
4 Goblin Deathraiders
4 Goblin Guide
4 Goblin Outlander
4 Goblin Razerunner
4 Siege-Gang Commander
4 Warren Instigator

Spells (8)

4 Dragon Fodder
4 Lightning Bolt

A big stupid Goblin deck. Obviously you want to get out a Warren Instigator and smash things with it, and thanks to Razerunners and Siege-Gang, you even have a mid-game. An alternate plan is to drop Goblin Chieftain, and then start smashing. A Siege-Gang with nine hasted power? Awesome. Note that this deck has a potential Turn 4 kill easily.

Turn 1 Goblin Guide, hit for 2.
Turn 2 Warren Instigator, hit for 2.
Turn 3 Goblin Chieftain, hit for 7.
Turn 4 hit for 9 plus whatever you dumped into play with Warren Instigator.

And those are a few decks I think could see play in post-Zendikar Standard. Once most of the set's been spoiled, I'll go over the decks again and see how they can be improved.

Until next time, may you jump the gun.