Well, that was a slaughter, as you predicted. I didn't hear your thoughts before the match (and you can watch my sideboard decisions and misplays on the CLQT2 page on MTGO Academy), but here is some of the rationale for my decision-making:
I think that Trinket Mage is actually one of the key cards in this matchup, solely for the reason that EExplosives and Pithing Needle are so important. EExplosives doesn't really cost more even when a Thorn of Amethyst is out, and Pithing Needle is really the only other way I can get 'card advantage' out of the matchup. I've beaten Affinity a couple of times in DEs solely based on Pithing Needle (and a little luck), so I actually think I would call that the most important card in the matchup. Thewoof's build doesn't have a way to interact with Needle, so Needle shuts down all of his Skullclamps or Ravagers or Steel Overseers, all of which are huge problems. I also have to bring in from the board every single card that can interact with Skullclamp (including Mental Misstep and Ratchet Bomb) because I can't afford to depend on counterspells. I need a way to win the game so I have to keep at least 2 Frost Titans in (sadly... at least Mana Drain can counter a Frogmite or Lodestone to power one out), but Glen Elendra Archmage is horrible and needs to come out. Finally, Force of Will is REALLY bad vs. Affinity because of the inherent card disadvantage (I just can't compete with his threats if I'm FoWing stuff), so I board them out. Essentially, there are so many bad cards in the main, some of which I need to keep in for the matchup, that it's really tough on me. If it were an Affinity list that had Ornithopters and Plating, I think it would be easier to play against, but the Tangle Wire-Lodestone Golem pairing means I need to be very careful with my counters, and calculate the probability that he can start churning through his deck with Skullclamp whenever he casts anything.
You'll notice I made some serious misplays in the match. I think I countered Tangle Wire too frequently and should've let it resolve at one point where I countered it. I also used Jace's Brainstorm ability to leave a Trinket Mage on top, thinking he had no way to interact with me and that I would just draw the Trinket Mage (during game 1), but then he cast his 1-off Memory Jar, and it milled Trinket Mage, preventing me from finding EExplosives to deal with his permanents. This caused me to lose Game 1, but I don't doubt I would've likely lost anyway. I had to mul for Game 2 but made more errors there, and honestly, I'm not sure I had a chance. I was very surprised to see Dismember come in against Legionnaire, but in truth, I only wanted the PL at that point to tap for Tangle Wire. :)
All in all, this Affinity build is really hard for my list to deal with, and I think I need to be on the play for Game 1 with a relevant Mental Misstep or Spell Snare and either an EExplosives or Pithing Needle to shut down Skullclamp. Thank you for the match analysis; it's much appreciated, and I look forward to the Top 8 matches.
Addendum: I think one strategy I should've considered more readily was attempting to mana screw thewoof2. There were some plays he made that suggested to me he needed his Gaea's Cradle and Mox Opals to work on overtime, and trying to shut down both those key cards by eliminating artifact creatures may have been a viable play. In fact, when I think in retrospect about the match, I'm led to believe that because of the disadvantages I have in the matchup, I should've done whatever I could to keep him off mana just in the hope that it would permit him to stumble: countering Mana Vaults and metalcraft-enablers and crappy dudes that make Gaea's Cradle work. Even though those are the least-threatening spells he could cast, that might've been one of my only serious win routes.
If you're going even more midrange, you have all my encouragement because midrange is where I live. :)
I just watched the first video, and wow, that was really wolfapalooza! You might want to enhance the recording quality a bit (it's something I'm going to do with my own recording) because as it is, the P/T of the creatures aren't easily readable.
Word of advice if you never played with the Master in a deck where there are other Wolf creatures: be always aware of how many wolves you have there, since the Master taps them all. I once was trying to make way by killing some 2/2, and ended up tapping a Wolfir Silverheart bounded with another Wolf in the process. :) I learned since then that the right moment to use the Master's ability on your turn is during the declare attacker's instant step, when the only wolves involved will be the ones that didn't attack (mainly the one that the Master just summoned for the turn).
Infect in Modern isn't tier-1, but it's consistent enough to get the job done. I think it's also the only deck in the meta with the potential for a turn-2 win. Vulnerability issues are partially solved with Vines of Vastwood and Apostle's Blessing.
Then again, doesn't undying/persist get the same exact issues? You pump your creature, they kill it, you lost everything but a returning body. You don't end in such a better spot all things considered, and still have the "20 damage to go" problem in front of you, and no way to grab some lucky turn-2 win on game 1. I believe that's the main reasoning behind the choice of Infect over other extreme aggro strategies in Modern.
Also important: in Modern lifegaining is EVERYWHERE. An insane amount of decks run Kitchen Finks. Soul Sisters is uber-popular. Infect doesn't care about any of that.
In my own monogreen mid-range deck (which is like the big brother of Romellos's, with the curve entirely moved up one notch) most of the times my Masters of the Wild Hunt laugh at Lighting Bolt. :)
I hear Psychobabble's concerns about transformers though. In fact, I rarely play with them myself (although I like the mechanic in theory). For one, I never really understood all the craze about Huntmaster of the Fells. Maybe it's one of those cards you have to play with before you really get it. Did you ever happen to do that?
The best transformer to me (beside Garruk Relentless) is still Daybreak Ranger (which is only for RG builds, of course).
They should release the P9 as a random prize for any event requiring an entry fee (more of a chance with a higher entry fee). The first month should be high chance of getting something and then after that they can diminish the chance to keep the mythic quality of the cards high.
I think it would add a mystique to the games while being very controllable to keep the commonality of them where they want them. (And could be implemented for other cards like FOW that have problem prices)
My ideal MED5 would be a set full of chaff + power, basically. Force of Will at uncommon would be perfect in it, however I think this idea has already been shot down. I'm not exactly sure which cards you're alluding to as the "friends(tm)" bit, but I am open to a myriad of possibilities for reprints, preferably ones that are complimentary, and flavorful with the preceding sets. Enjoyment, in terms of limited play, is certainly not defined solely by the quality of rares a set has. I enjoy drafts where my neighbors keep passing me their Hyalopterous Lemures.
I was quite interested in that as well. Without the decklists, we would only be speculating as to why Izzet-W decks are doing well. But if we're going to speculate...
Consider a list of powerful White cards that an Izzet deck would want. Specifically, I'm thinking of a list of uncommons that I wouldn't be surprised to see passed to me 4th or 5th, and I'll rank them in power order - 1) Skymark Roc, 2) Dreg Mangler, and 3) Lyev Skyknight.
We see Golgari decks doing well, and it's hard to attribute all of that success to Dreg Mangler, but it's certainly something to notice when it goes 5th and later. As for the other two, it's pretty sick how often they get passed, and they're both Azorius cards that Izzet really, really wants. When you are adding quality like that in reliable frequency, on top of expanding your list of playables to include an other color, it's clear that W is both the best splash for Izzet, and that the tempo strategy can still work in a slower meta if you have evasion. Particularly when Trestle Trolls are going underdrafted.
Another consideration might be Hussar Patrol. He's been really, really good in Izzet for a long time, either as an upgrade to or in addition to Lobber crew. It tends to create exactly the kind of board stalls against Selesnya and other slower decks that allow Izzet bombs like Teleportal and Blustersquall to really shine, and these positions are harder to come by with only Splatter Thugs and Chainwalkers.
A third possibility is that it's just at that section of the RtR-modified color wheel that is slipping under the radar. The three colors that have the least overlap with Selesnya and Rakdos.
And not MED5 and Friends(tm)*, I don't think you'll enjoy it as much as the last couple.
*MED and Friends(tm) is where they reprint all sort of good stuff that has never traditionally appeared in an MED - such as a rare that's been available in a booster pack online. If that's what you think MED5 is... well stanger wishes have come true.
I see what you mean with infect, but at least in pauper the achilees heel of infect is always that it has so few worthwhile creatures, and they're so vulnerable, that it's a deck which can fall off the rails quickly against removal. With more resilient undying/persist creatures (young wolf, geist, finks etc.), as well as hexproof, mono G stompy is a deck that's less likely to roll over and die to a well timed lightning bolt. I dunno if it's the same with modern or not, but again, the fact that he has young wolf in his list makes me think that this is at least a consideration. Strangleroot geist looks like it'd be awesome in this context too.
if he sticks with the midrange route, I'm not convinced by Master of the Wild Hunt over thrun. Hate to be the "dies to bolt" guy but, well, "dies to bolt" :). And it costs 4 mana.
As for mayor, as long as your opponent has any instants or flash available, you only have partial control of him flipping and spending an entire turn to do nothing (when you don't even have an instant you can use your mana on in your opponent's turn) is a pretty huge beating. If you're looking for a 2-drop replacement, would vinelasher kudzu do anything? Kind of a poor mans 'goyf?
Nice stuff danger. I saw you aren't a fan of an ME5 set, but I personally would love this to be a venue for power. I actually think they're a blast to play, and have come to enjoy the limited Master's events, more so than probably any other format online. Another set added to the mix would be icing on the cake.
I don't think Zac Dolan's deck would come out on top either. But do keep in mind win conditions were pretty damn poor back then - all the acceleration in the world and nothing to play into it. That's why Nev's disk was so good!
Man, I would love an "old school" format that's pre-Mirage cards only. (I think Ice Age/Alliances/Homelands still feel plenty old school, ie, undraftable.) I would love to see what people with the knowledge of card advantage/tempo/modern magic would do when forced to play with the old stuff. I can tell you one thing, Zak Dolan's deck would not come out on top.
Don't beat yourself up so bad over the draft portion. It's just the way the format is drafting now that if you're pushed into a guild, especially a popular guild, it's likely that both your colors are going to be cut on one side of the table. But you seem to have adjusted nicely. You mention your mistakes. You're almost 100% certain to play Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage, and Splatter Thug is never a splash there while Dead Reveler may be. One thing though, I don't think you're able to determine at pick 2 that Green and White are being cut, just because of the absence of playables in those colors. That missing rare could be anything. It turned out you were right though. It's actually astonishing how much quality Black you get passed Pack 1.
I mean, you could've gotten a better deck than you did, certainly, but no big deal. I thought I'd mention though about the Rootborn Defenses. The first one you picked should've been Giant Growth or Pegasus, since those are just better cards most of the time. The second one you pick up tables to you, like they nearly always will. But after you pick up the second Guildmage, you should definitely not pick up the third Rootborn, or any other cards like Druid's Deliverance that mostly just Populate, for that matter. For one, never play more than two Rootborn Defenses. For two, the Guildmage and certain rares like Trostani and Growing Ranks make any other Populate effects substantially worse. The reason is that, with Guildmage for example, you can just pay 4 without using the card to Populate, and so it's nearly always better cardless, and to have that card be something else. So you could've splashed Black, but even not, you still got passed a Giant Growth, a Primal Surge and one more Fencing Ace that you didn't even take because you overvalued Populate in your deck. Those and the Knightly Valor you blew P3P1 would have made your deck leagues better. I suppose that advice on what to do next time you draft 2x Guildmage is kind of low on usefulness, but generally as well, tokens are universally much better and much harder to come by then the Common quality populate cards.
Thank you very much for your comments. I agree %100 to you that this deck doesn't have the aggressive approach as it's Pauper cousin. My deck is mostly a Midrange aggro-control deck as I wanted to have some late game strategies.
Mayor of Avabruck: He was my latest addition. I'm still not sure about his place in this deck. But you can control his transformation cycle if you want.
Scryb Ranger: Still on trial, but you can do some tricks with it and also gain extra mana if you don't draw new land.
Ulvenwald Tracker is one of the best cards in this deck as he provides the board control factor against opponent's key creatures.
Ohran Viper: I admit that it's slow and mostly I sent 1 piece to SB.
There are lots of very good pump spells in Modern. But I think they belong to the Infect deck rather than to this Midrange deck.
It's a shame that Ohran Viper doesn't have a deathtouch ability :)
Predator Ooze is a good creature, but I'm still not sure about the next direction I should run on this deck. The latest update has been just a minor.
I will try Master of the Wild Hunt over Thrun as it also has applications with fighting. And I still didn't have a chance to test Garruk Wildspeaker. I think, I can cut young wolf to inclue 3 Llanowar elves and 1 Garruk W. for the first trial.
I actually forgot to test the Oran-Rief in this deck. Thanks for your suggestion. I will try this one too.
I strongly feel the kind of deck you're envisioning would translate in Modern into an Infect deck (with some blue synergies of course). No need to try and do 20 damage when you just need 10.
Romellos is trying to buy himself some mid-to-late-game potential here. I saw this deck in action a lot in the past months (as I use to play in all the free events he plays in, essentially), and it's more mid-range than it seems.
Mono G stompy is my favourite deck in pauper, I've had a fair bot of experience with the archetype (albeit in a much different format). Tbh, this deck doesn't look nearly agressive enough for my liking. At least in my conception, every card in the deck - apart from possible accelerants - needs to earn its place through raw beatdown potential. On that basis the following creatures don't seem to have a place in the list:
Mayor of Avabruck [not enough tribal synergy, and I can't realistically see this flipping often]
Scryb Ranger [sideboard card at best]
Ulvenwald Tracker [replace with pump spells]
Ohran Viper [ditto]
I'm also not convinced that dungrove elder will often be big enough to matter in a 15 forest deck, but I could be wrong.
Green decks should, imo, use combat tricks instead of slow cards like tracker and ohran to get through blockers - and if you're beating down hard enough, then you don't need to worry about utility creatures. The advantage of tricks is that they can alternatively be used as protection against burn, and can also just go to the face if the coast is clear. You have access to some awesome pumps in modern. Vines of Vastwood, groundswell, mutagenic growth, revenge of the haunted, gather courage, have you tried using some of these? Not at all sure what the right mix might be, but they seem at least worth exploring.
Also, have you looked at Skaargan Pit Skulk? Provided you can attack with something on turn 2, he can be awesome in combination with pump spells/equipment/rancor (adding nettle sentinel would help here, giving you 8 one drops that attack as 2/2s, and an additional 4 that you'll usually be able to attack with).
Anyway, I might be completely misreading the format (although if a card with the power level of young wolf can fit in the deck, I feel that I'm not too far off), but I'd be interested to see if a more agressive type of green beatdown deck would work.
I remember playing with you in an early development phase of this deck, when you found out that Ohran Viper doesn't have deathtouch. :)
Wasn't there a version with Predator Ooze, too? I remember the Tracker taking advantage of the Ooze's indestructibility and growing factor. It seems it should be really good in this deck.
Another trick you might consider is Oran-Rief. An open Oran-Rief when a Kitchen Fink comes back means a mini-Melira combo. And in general, you'll have plenty of advantage to mill from Oran-Rief, especially while wolf-breeding with the Mayor (I actually would put 1-2 Masters of the Wild Hunt as a top-of-the-curve creature, rather than Thrun which is just Elder #5 here).
As we discussed in-game, I have a version of this deck that mainly trades the swords and 1 land for 4 Garruk Wildspeeker. It's not tested, and it'd probably need more 1-drop accelerator (namely Llanowar Elves over Young Wolf) to be sure to have a turn-3 Garruk into a 2-mana creature, into next turn overrun with 3-4 creatures on board, which might well be good game vs. slow decks.
I feel like you really missed a few stereotypes in your fool-headed lead-based ass-backwards jerk-faced trolling. Could you please be more thorough next time? lol...
Now on the serious side: Don't you think it is a little harmful to the community to have this kind of thing pulled out from under their feet with no warning or meaningful correspondence? Sure OK maybe in some strict anal-retentive world with no room for nuance there is a definition of censorship that doesn't include what Blippy and others are talking about but even if you can't be bothered to skip the semantic argument which should bore just about everyone to tears with its irrelevance (Who cares if he is hyperbolic and expressing upset through venting??)
Why not at least address the downside of this. The fact that people who relied on this information to fully inform their readership can't do so any longer? Omission of important relevant data may not be pertinent to you but it is to a lot of others. People who look for the latest ideas to inspire their own bizarre takes on the game. People looking to compete against an ever growing population of players. People who just enjoy seeing how the whole meta online evolves in relation to the rest of the world. And so on.
I know. I know, how dare we defame the glorious Wizards of the Coast!? I am a fan of them myself for the most part, but I am at least open to the idea that not only are they fallible but that they may have goofed big time here. (Not unlike many times in the past, with similarly draconian and stealthily applied decisions.)
Oh nevermind I am just too emotionally involved to be rational. Especially with my encyclopedic knowledge and my college education. (Wait strike that last bit. Dropped out of high school here. Aren't stereotypes grand though? Brought me right back to 10th grade!)
But I am curious about one thing: Where on earth is this Southpark you speak of?
Thank you, Justice, for finally admitting you were wrong. This information is definitely public communication and WOTC chose to suppress it. They considered it objectionable because it led to formats being solved quicker than they thought was good for the game.
Wikipedia is not the most reliable source on the internet, but it's okay most of the time.
One of the very nice things about classic right now is that every deck has at least one bad matchup.
Well, that was a slaughter, as you predicted. I didn't hear your thoughts before the match (and you can watch my sideboard decisions and misplays on the CLQT2 page on MTGO Academy), but here is some of the rationale for my decision-making:
I think that Trinket Mage is actually one of the key cards in this matchup, solely for the reason that EExplosives and Pithing Needle are so important. EExplosives doesn't really cost more even when a Thorn of Amethyst is out, and Pithing Needle is really the only other way I can get 'card advantage' out of the matchup. I've beaten Affinity a couple of times in DEs solely based on Pithing Needle (and a little luck), so I actually think I would call that the most important card in the matchup. Thewoof's build doesn't have a way to interact with Needle, so Needle shuts down all of his Skullclamps or Ravagers or Steel Overseers, all of which are huge problems. I also have to bring in from the board every single card that can interact with Skullclamp (including Mental Misstep and Ratchet Bomb) because I can't afford to depend on counterspells. I need a way to win the game so I have to keep at least 2 Frost Titans in (sadly... at least Mana Drain can counter a Frogmite or Lodestone to power one out), but Glen Elendra Archmage is horrible and needs to come out. Finally, Force of Will is REALLY bad vs. Affinity because of the inherent card disadvantage (I just can't compete with his threats if I'm FoWing stuff), so I board them out. Essentially, there are so many bad cards in the main, some of which I need to keep in for the matchup, that it's really tough on me. If it were an Affinity list that had Ornithopters and Plating, I think it would be easier to play against, but the Tangle Wire-Lodestone Golem pairing means I need to be very careful with my counters, and calculate the probability that he can start churning through his deck with Skullclamp whenever he casts anything.
You'll notice I made some serious misplays in the match. I think I countered Tangle Wire too frequently and should've let it resolve at one point where I countered it. I also used Jace's Brainstorm ability to leave a Trinket Mage on top, thinking he had no way to interact with me and that I would just draw the Trinket Mage (during game 1), but then he cast his 1-off Memory Jar, and it milled Trinket Mage, preventing me from finding EExplosives to deal with his permanents. This caused me to lose Game 1, but I don't doubt I would've likely lost anyway. I had to mul for Game 2 but made more errors there, and honestly, I'm not sure I had a chance. I was very surprised to see Dismember come in against Legionnaire, but in truth, I only wanted the PL at that point to tap for Tangle Wire. :)
All in all, this Affinity build is really hard for my list to deal with, and I think I need to be on the play for Game 1 with a relevant Mental Misstep or Spell Snare and either an EExplosives or Pithing Needle to shut down Skullclamp. Thank you for the match analysis; it's much appreciated, and I look forward to the Top 8 matches.
Addendum: I think one strategy I should've considered more readily was attempting to mana screw thewoof2. There were some plays he made that suggested to me he needed his Gaea's Cradle and Mox Opals to work on overtime, and trying to shut down both those key cards by eliminating artifact creatures may have been a viable play. In fact, when I think in retrospect about the match, I'm led to believe that because of the disadvantages I have in the matchup, I should've done whatever I could to keep him off mana just in the hope that it would permit him to stumble: countering Mana Vaults and metalcraft-enablers and crappy dudes that make Gaea's Cradle work. Even though those are the least-threatening spells he could cast, that might've been one of my only serious win routes.
If you're going even more midrange, you have all my encouragement because midrange is where I live. :)
I just watched the first video, and wow, that was really wolfapalooza! You might want to enhance the recording quality a bit (it's something I'm going to do with my own recording) because as it is, the P/T of the creatures aren't easily readable.
Word of advice if you never played with the Master in a deck where there are other Wolf creatures: be always aware of how many wolves you have there, since the Master taps them all. I once was trying to make way by killing some 2/2, and ended up tapping a Wolfir Silverheart bounded with another Wolf in the process. :) I learned since then that the right moment to use the Master's ability on your turn is during the declare attacker's instant step, when the only wolves involved will be the ones that didn't attack (mainly the one that the Master just summoned for the turn).
Infect in Modern isn't tier-1, but it's consistent enough to get the job done. I think it's also the only deck in the meta with the potential for a turn-2 win. Vulnerability issues are partially solved with Vines of Vastwood and Apostle's Blessing.
Then again, doesn't undying/persist get the same exact issues? You pump your creature, they kill it, you lost everything but a returning body. You don't end in such a better spot all things considered, and still have the "20 damage to go" problem in front of you, and no way to grab some lucky turn-2 win on game 1. I believe that's the main reasoning behind the choice of Infect over other extreme aggro strategies in Modern.
Also important: in Modern lifegaining is EVERYWHERE. An insane amount of decks run Kitchen Finks. Soul Sisters is uber-popular. Infect doesn't care about any of that.
In my own monogreen mid-range deck (which is like the big brother of Romellos's, with the curve entirely moved up one notch) most of the times my Masters of the Wild Hunt laugh at Lighting Bolt. :)
I hear Psychobabble's concerns about transformers though. In fact, I rarely play with them myself (although I like the mechanic in theory). For one, I never really understood all the craze about Huntmaster of the Fells. Maybe it's one of those cards you have to play with before you really get it. Did you ever happen to do that?
The best transformer to me (beside Garruk Relentless) is still Daybreak Ranger (which is only for RG builds, of course).
They should release the P9 as a random prize for any event requiring an entry fee (more of a chance with a higher entry fee). The first month should be high chance of getting something and then after that they can diminish the chance to keep the mythic quality of the cards high.
I think it would add a mystique to the games while being very controllable to keep the commonality of them where they want them. (And could be implemented for other cards like FOW that have problem prices)
My ideal MED5 would be a set full of chaff + power, basically. Force of Will at uncommon would be perfect in it, however I think this idea has already been shot down. I'm not exactly sure which cards you're alluding to as the "friends(tm)" bit, but I am open to a myriad of possibilities for reprints, preferably ones that are complimentary, and flavorful with the preceding sets. Enjoyment, in terms of limited play, is certainly not defined solely by the quality of rares a set has. I enjoy drafts where my neighbors keep passing me their Hyalopterous Lemures.
I was quite interested in that as well. Without the decklists, we would only be speculating as to why Izzet-W decks are doing well. But if we're going to speculate...
Consider a list of powerful White cards that an Izzet deck would want. Specifically, I'm thinking of a list of uncommons that I wouldn't be surprised to see passed to me 4th or 5th, and I'll rank them in power order - 1) Skymark Roc, 2) Dreg Mangler, and 3) Lyev Skyknight.
We see Golgari decks doing well, and it's hard to attribute all of that success to Dreg Mangler, but it's certainly something to notice when it goes 5th and later. As for the other two, it's pretty sick how often they get passed, and they're both Azorius cards that Izzet really, really wants. When you are adding quality like that in reliable frequency, on top of expanding your list of playables to include an other color, it's clear that W is both the best splash for Izzet, and that the tempo strategy can still work in a slower meta if you have evasion. Particularly when Trestle Trolls are going underdrafted.
Another consideration might be Hussar Patrol. He's been really, really good in Izzet for a long time, either as an upgrade to or in addition to Lobber crew. It tends to create exactly the kind of board stalls against Selesnya and other slower decks that allow Izzet bombs like Teleportal and Blustersquall to really shine, and these positions are harder to come by with only Splatter Thugs and Chainwalkers.
A third possibility is that it's just at that section of the RtR-modified color wheel that is slipping under the radar. The three colors that have the least overlap with Selesnya and Rakdos.
No way to know...
And not MED5 and Friends(tm)*, I don't think you'll enjoy it as much as the last couple.
*MED and Friends(tm) is where they reprint all sort of good stuff that has never traditionally appeared in an MED - such as a rare that's been available in a booster pack online. If that's what you think MED5 is... well stanger wishes have come true.
I see what you mean with infect, but at least in pauper the achilees heel of infect is always that it has so few worthwhile creatures, and they're so vulnerable, that it's a deck which can fall off the rails quickly against removal. With more resilient undying/persist creatures (young wolf, geist, finks etc.), as well as hexproof, mono G stompy is a deck that's less likely to roll over and die to a well timed lightning bolt. I dunno if it's the same with modern or not, but again, the fact that he has young wolf in his list makes me think that this is at least a consideration. Strangleroot geist looks like it'd be awesome in this context too.
if he sticks with the midrange route, I'm not convinced by Master of the Wild Hunt over thrun. Hate to be the "dies to bolt" guy but, well, "dies to bolt" :). And it costs 4 mana.
As for mayor, as long as your opponent has any instants or flash available, you only have partial control of him flipping and spending an entire turn to do nothing (when you don't even have an instant you can use your mana on in your opponent's turn) is a pretty huge beating. If you're looking for a 2-drop replacement, would vinelasher kudzu do anything? Kind of a poor mans 'goyf?
Nice stuff danger. I saw you aren't a fan of an ME5 set, but I personally would love this to be a venue for power. I actually think they're a blast to play, and have come to enjoy the limited Master's events, more so than probably any other format online. Another set added to the mix would be icing on the cake.
Somehow I misread that to include ice age? :( Teach me to post/reply before waking up fully.
Zac Dolan's 1994 Champs win predated Necropotence. And if it was a pre Ice Age tourney - so would everything.
That and there was no black disenchant. Sometimes blowing up the world including your own necro was the right play.
I don't think Zac Dolan's deck would come out on top either. But do keep in mind win conditions were pretty damn poor back then - all the acceleration in the world and nothing to play into it. That's why Nev's disk was so good!
Man, I would love an "old school" format that's pre-Mirage cards only. (I think Ice Age/Alliances/Homelands still feel plenty old school, ie, undraftable.) I would love to see what people with the knowledge of card advantage/tempo/modern magic would do when forced to play with the old stuff. I can tell you one thing, Zak Dolan's deck would not come out on top.
I love your articles.
Don't beat yourself up so bad over the draft portion. It's just the way the format is drafting now that if you're pushed into a guild, especially a popular guild, it's likely that both your colors are going to be cut on one side of the table. But you seem to have adjusted nicely. You mention your mistakes. You're almost 100% certain to play Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage, and Splatter Thug is never a splash there while Dead Reveler may be. One thing though, I don't think you're able to determine at pick 2 that Green and White are being cut, just because of the absence of playables in those colors. That missing rare could be anything. It turned out you were right though. It's actually astonishing how much quality Black you get passed Pack 1.
I mean, you could've gotten a better deck than you did, certainly, but no big deal. I thought I'd mention though about the Rootborn Defenses. The first one you picked should've been Giant Growth or Pegasus, since those are just better cards most of the time. The second one you pick up tables to you, like they nearly always will. But after you pick up the second Guildmage, you should definitely not pick up the third Rootborn, or any other cards like Druid's Deliverance that mostly just Populate, for that matter. For one, never play more than two Rootborn Defenses. For two, the Guildmage and certain rares like Trostani and Growing Ranks make any other Populate effects substantially worse. The reason is that, with Guildmage for example, you can just pay 4 without using the card to Populate, and so it's nearly always better cardless, and to have that card be something else. So you could've splashed Black, but even not, you still got passed a Giant Growth, a Primal Surge and one more Fencing Ace that you didn't even take because you overvalued Populate in your deck. Those and the Knightly Valor you blew P3P1 would have made your deck leagues better. I suppose that advice on what to do next time you draft 2x Guildmage is kind of low on usefulness, but generally as well, tokens are universally much better and much harder to come by then the Common quality populate cards.
Plenty of time to worry about a Buyer's Guide!
Thank you very much for your comments. I agree %100 to you that this deck doesn't have the aggressive approach as it's Pauper cousin. My deck is mostly a Midrange aggro-control deck as I wanted to have some late game strategies.
Mayor of Avabruck: He was my latest addition. I'm still not sure about his place in this deck. But you can control his transformation cycle if you want.
Scryb Ranger: Still on trial, but you can do some tricks with it and also gain extra mana if you don't draw new land.
Ulvenwald Tracker is one of the best cards in this deck as he provides the board control factor against opponent's key creatures.
Ohran Viper: I admit that it's slow and mostly I sent 1 piece to SB.
There are lots of very good pump spells in Modern. But I think they belong to the Infect deck rather than to this Midrange deck.
It's a shame that Ohran Viper doesn't have a deathtouch ability :)
Predator Ooze is a good creature, but I'm still not sure about the next direction I should run on this deck. The latest update has been just a minor.
I will try Master of the Wild Hunt over Thrun as it also has applications with fighting. And I still didn't have a chance to test Garruk Wildspeaker. I think, I can cut young wolf to inclue 3 Llanowar elves and 1 Garruk W. for the first trial.
I actually forgot to test the Oran-Rief in this deck. Thanks for your suggestion. I will try this one too.
I strongly feel the kind of deck you're envisioning would translate in Modern into an Infect deck (with some blue synergies of course). No need to try and do 20 damage when you just need 10.
Romellos is trying to buy himself some mid-to-late-game potential here. I saw this deck in action a lot in the past months (as I use to play in all the free events he plays in, essentially), and it's more mid-range than it seems.
Mono G stompy is my favourite deck in pauper, I've had a fair bot of experience with the archetype (albeit in a much different format). Tbh, this deck doesn't look nearly agressive enough for my liking. At least in my conception, every card in the deck - apart from possible accelerants - needs to earn its place through raw beatdown potential. On that basis the following creatures don't seem to have a place in the list:
Mayor of Avabruck [not enough tribal synergy, and I can't realistically see this flipping often]
Scryb Ranger [sideboard card at best]
Ulvenwald Tracker [replace with pump spells]
Ohran Viper [ditto]
I'm also not convinced that dungrove elder will often be big enough to matter in a 15 forest deck, but I could be wrong.
Green decks should, imo, use combat tricks instead of slow cards like tracker and ohran to get through blockers - and if you're beating down hard enough, then you don't need to worry about utility creatures. The advantage of tricks is that they can alternatively be used as protection against burn, and can also just go to the face if the coast is clear. You have access to some awesome pumps in modern. Vines of Vastwood, groundswell, mutagenic growth, revenge of the haunted, gather courage, have you tried using some of these? Not at all sure what the right mix might be, but they seem at least worth exploring.
Also, have you looked at Skaargan Pit Skulk? Provided you can attack with something on turn 2, he can be awesome in combination with pump spells/equipment/rancor (adding nettle sentinel would help here, giving you 8 one drops that attack as 2/2s, and an additional 4 that you'll usually be able to attack with).
Anyway, I might be completely misreading the format (although if a card with the power level of young wolf can fit in the deck, I feel that I'm not too far off), but I'd be interested to see if a more agressive type of green beatdown deck would work.
I remember playing with you in an early development phase of this deck, when you found out that Ohran Viper doesn't have deathtouch. :)
Wasn't there a version with Predator Ooze, too? I remember the Tracker taking advantage of the Ooze's indestructibility and growing factor. It seems it should be really good in this deck.
Another trick you might consider is Oran-Rief. An open Oran-Rief when a Kitchen Fink comes back means a mini-Melira combo. And in general, you'll have plenty of advantage to mill from Oran-Rief, especially while wolf-breeding with the Mayor (I actually would put 1-2 Masters of the Wild Hunt as a top-of-the-curve creature, rather than Thrun which is just Elder #5 here).
As we discussed in-game, I have a version of this deck that mainly trades the swords and 1 land for 4 Garruk Wildspeeker. It's not tested, and it'd probably need more 1-drop accelerator (namely Llanowar Elves over Young Wolf) to be sure to have a turn-3 Garruk into a 2-mana creature, into next turn overrun with 3-4 creatures on board, which might well be good game vs. slow decks.
I feel like you really missed a few stereotypes in your fool-headed lead-based ass-backwards jerk-faced trolling. Could you please be more thorough next time? lol...
Now on the serious side: Don't you think it is a little harmful to the community to have this kind of thing pulled out from under their feet with no warning or meaningful correspondence? Sure OK maybe in some strict anal-retentive world with no room for nuance there is a definition of censorship that doesn't include what Blippy and others are talking about but even if you can't be bothered to skip the semantic argument which should bore just about everyone to tears with its irrelevance (Who cares if he is hyperbolic and expressing upset through venting??)
Why not at least address the downside of this. The fact that people who relied on this information to fully inform their readership can't do so any longer? Omission of important relevant data may not be pertinent to you but it is to a lot of others. People who look for the latest ideas to inspire their own bizarre takes on the game. People looking to compete against an ever growing population of players. People who just enjoy seeing how the whole meta online evolves in relation to the rest of the world. And so on.
I know. I know, how dare we defame the glorious Wizards of the Coast!? I am a fan of them myself for the most part, but I am at least open to the idea that not only are they fallible but that they may have goofed big time here. (Not unlike many times in the past, with similarly draconian and stealthily applied decisions.)
Oh nevermind I am just too emotionally involved to be rational. Especially with my encyclopedic knowledge and my college education. (Wait strike that last bit. Dropped out of high school here. Aren't stereotypes grand though? Brought me right back to 10th grade!)
But I am curious about one thing: Where on earth is this Southpark you speak of?
Thank you, Justice, for finally admitting you were wrong. This information is definitely public communication and WOTC chose to suppress it. They considered it objectionable because it led to formats being solved quicker than they thought was good for the game.
Wikipedia is not the most reliable source on the internet, but it's okay most of the time.