Lessons From States
- Thread starter Encaen
- Start date
Damn, maybe I should have taken my half formed BG Counters deck [http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/bg-golgari-counters/] to states.
Though I'm more eagerly awaiting some trades going through to get my humans deck back up to fighting shape, and hopefully in a good position to transition into some kind of Boros Aggro when Gatecrash comes out.
Though I'm more eagerly awaiting some trades going through to get my humans deck back up to fighting shape, and hopefully in a good position to transition into some kind of Boros Aggro when Gatecrash comes out.
Thanks a lot for the tournament report, nice to hear how people were doing. While tokens did win the SCG Providence open, that was a deck much less focused on token as a primary strategy but just one package of win cons. For your build I might suggest a little more ramp, cutting the parallel lives as you don't really want to be going make tokens on turn three then skipping turn four to make more tokens with parallel lives. Sever the Bloodline is just to common and the format is too fast to assume you can build a bunch of tokens and smash in turn six and 7. Other suggestion I might make is if you are on the ramp strategy Collective blessing might not be out the the question in game one. Golgari charm will probably solve it game two and three, but if you can ramp drop 4 spirits on turn 4 with ramp into lingering souls then a turn five blessing you might actually be able to get there. Hope some of this tech is real good luck in your next tournament.
It is interesting to see what people are playing, though I'm not much into building decks for competitions. I like to be able to use whatever cards I own, and that is how I and my friends play our games and make our decks.
I don't play planeswalkers. In fact, last Sunday, in a pack of Return to Ravnica, I got the most expensive card in the set.
[mtg_card=Jace, Architect of Thought]
I turned around and sold it to the card shop I just bought the pack from, for 25 dollars in store credit. I ended up buying four more packs of cards and a pack of 100 deck sleeves(practically a steal for turning in a card I will never use). In those packs, I got some rares I will actually use.
[mtg_card=Herald of War]
[mtg_card=Bruna, Light of Alabaster]
[mtg_card=Angel of Serenity]
And in relation as being mentioned in the article:
[mtg_card=Mizzium Mortars]
I had been away from Magic for almost two years, I think my luck has built up since then, because of late my luck with packs has been insane. In the 17 packs I've got since I started up again, I've got 5 mythic rares, and most of the rares I want and ones my friends want(they are pissed lol).
That pack with the Jace in it was a loaded pack, because it also had this funny little card sitting behind it, and it was a foil too.
[mtg_card=Azor's Elocutors]
The guy that was working the counter and bought the Jace from me, he wants it for one of his decks. It told him I would think about it. The problem for him is that I have an almost unnatural fascination in collecting foil cards even if I don't use them.
I don't play planeswalkers. In fact, last Sunday, in a pack of Return to Ravnica, I got the most expensive card in the set.
[mtg_card=Jace, Architect of Thought]
I turned around and sold it to the card shop I just bought the pack from, for 25 dollars in store credit. I ended up buying four more packs of cards and a pack of 100 deck sleeves(practically a steal for turning in a card I will never use). In those packs, I got some rares I will actually use.
[mtg_card=Herald of War]
[mtg_card=Bruna, Light of Alabaster]
[mtg_card=Angel of Serenity]
And in relation as being mentioned in the article:
[mtg_card=Mizzium Mortars]
I had been away from Magic for almost two years, I think my luck has built up since then, because of late my luck with packs has been insane. In the 17 packs I've got since I started up again, I've got 5 mythic rares, and most of the rares I want and ones my friends want(they are pissed lol).
That pack with the Jace in it was a loaded pack, because it also had this funny little card sitting behind it, and it was a foil too.
[mtg_card=Azor's Elocutors]
The guy that was working the counter and bought the Jace from me, he wants it for one of his decks. It told him I would think about it. The problem for him is that I have an almost unnatural fascination in collecting foil cards even if I don't use them.
I'm thinking that red/blue suckerpunching will soon be the order of the day. With all the board-brooming, there's not a whole lot of benefit to playing tokens. Terminus was basically the reason I opted out of playing my W/G humans in tournament.
Thanks much! That is definitely sound advice, and yeah, I forgot to mention [mtg_card=Sever the Bloodline], I got hit with one of those plus the flashback in one game, though I managed to take it in stride and win with an EOT [mtg_card=Midnight Haunting]. All the same, yeah, it's around and it's devastating to tokens.karp250 said:
I have definitely considered [mtg_card=Collective Blessing], though I'll probably save that for when I build a base-Selesnya tokens deck with ramp, splashing Black for [mtg_card=Lingering Souls], rather than splashing Green.
The problem doesn't seem to be that you're running a token deck. The problem seems to be that you're running a small token deck. While [mtg_card=Midnight Haunting] will get you creature advantage, it's only a pair of 1/1 creatures. If you were running something like [mtg_card=Call of the Conclave] which nets you a larger token for a lower CMC, it does tend to survive a bit longer.
I actually have a Rakdos build that can't win after turn 6. It burns out too fast. It uses "undercosted" cards, like [mtg_card=Gravecrawler], [mtg_card=Vexing Devil], [mtg_card=Rakdos Shred-Freak], and [mtg_card=Rakdos Cackler] for creatures that are fast and do some damage. If the game does go on long enough, I can use [mtg_card=Thundermaw Hellkite] as a finisher. There is spot creature removal so I can try to get my creatures through unblocked. I might add in Rakdos himself if I can find the room.
One of the strangest questions I get is why I have [mtg_card=Sudden Disappearance] in my WU sideboard. I answered that question against a token deck one game.
I actually have a Rakdos build that can't win after turn 6. It burns out too fast. It uses "undercosted" cards, like [mtg_card=Gravecrawler], [mtg_card=Vexing Devil], [mtg_card=Rakdos Shred-Freak], and [mtg_card=Rakdos Cackler] for creatures that are fast and do some damage. If the game does go on long enough, I can use [mtg_card=Thundermaw Hellkite] as a finisher. There is spot creature removal so I can try to get my creatures through unblocked. I might add in Rakdos himself if I can find the room.
One of the strangest questions I get is why I have [mtg_card=Sudden Disappearance] in my WU sideboard. I answered that question against a token deck one game.
hm... [mtg_card=Phantom General] isn't vulnerable to [mtg_card=Golgari Charm], if a little more expensive. Neither is [mtg_card=Drogskol Captain], if you're relying on [mtg_card=Lingering Souls] and [mtg_card=Doomed Traveler] for flying tokens. Also, I'm thinking maybe [mtg_card=Selesnya Charm] may be useful in your deck as well, especially for the 2/2 Knight tokens.
Actually, you've given me a wacky idea... WRG Exalted Populate. Make 2/2 Wolf and 3/3 Beast or Centaur tokens (or if you have time and can reliably summon/keep [mtg_card=Somberwald Sage], [mtg_card=Armada Wurm]'s nasty 5/5 Wurm tokens), then pull [mtg_card=Sublime Archangel] and swing with something that has an evasion (most likely Trample) for huge chunks of damage (preferably the win) on turn 4/5. Maybe something like [mtg_card=Wayfaring Temple]...
Come to think of it, an ordinary Wolf/Werewolf pump deck (centering around [mtg_card=Immerwolf], [mtg_card=Mayor of Avabruck], [mtg_card=Garruk Relentless], etc.) should finally be pretty effective even without Infect-ers in the new "anti-Delver" environment (though it seems Zombies is pretty much the new token standard...).
Actually, you've given me a wacky idea... WRG Exalted Populate. Make 2/2 Wolf and 3/3 Beast or Centaur tokens (or if you have time and can reliably summon/keep [mtg_card=Somberwald Sage], [mtg_card=Armada Wurm]'s nasty 5/5 Wurm tokens), then pull [mtg_card=Sublime Archangel] and swing with something that has an evasion (most likely Trample) for huge chunks of damage (preferably the win) on turn 4/5. Maybe something like [mtg_card=Wayfaring Temple]...
Come to think of it, an ordinary Wolf/Werewolf pump deck (centering around [mtg_card=Immerwolf], [mtg_card=Mayor of Avabruck], [mtg_card=Garruk Relentless], etc.) should finally be pretty effective even without Infect-ers in the new "anti-Delver" environment (though it seems Zombies is pretty much the new token standard...).