Messages

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Deck Comments / Re: Esplosion Standard - Comments

« on: January 18, 2014, 09:35:28 pm »

Well, I played this deck in my first FNM (ever) last night. Ended up 1-2.

First match was against mono-green aggro. He was mana flooded our first game so I was able to take him out pretty easily. Game two he got a couple pumped up Mistcutter Hydra out and was able to smack me around. Third game my deck was able to combo pretty well and I got a key Pithing Needle out to stop his Elixir of Immortality and finish him off with a Lightning Strike . I won the match 2-1.

Second match was against Izzet burn/control. For both matches I did well early, getting out my Guttersnipe and casting some damage spells to bring him down below 10 life, but he ended up controlling the board better than I could, burning or countering some of my key drops, aided by a couple well timed Steam Augury .

My third match was frustrating. My initial hand had only one land, so I decided to mulligan but made a newbie mistake and re-drew seven cards, so I then had to mulligan to five cards. I had zero land in that hand so I was forced to mulligan to four cards. I might as well have just quit at that point but I played it out and he beat me with a Desecration Demon that I couldn't sac anything to. Second match went better, I was able to get some solid damage in and drop him to eight, even with his Desecration Demon out on turn four (I was generating elemental tokens so I was using them to tap the demon). However, he dropped a Blood Baron of Vizkopa and it was downhill from there for me. He had some solid removal and I kept drawing land so I couldn't do a lot to take him down, so he got back up to over 20 life before he was able to swing for the win.

Overall I enjoyed it, but was obviously disappointed. I definitely felt the sting of removal, which I really don't have any answer for. My deck depends on having Guttersnipe and Young Pyromancer present when casting burn spells. Purphoros, God of the Forge was consistent and persistent for me, I think I had him out in all seven games. However, without the other pieces it just wasn't enough.

I also ran into land-drawing issues. I tried to separate my deck between games but I kept having situations where I was drawing two or three land in a row and I wasn't getting my Wild Guess to cycle them. Hammer of Purphoros made a real difference when I was able to get it but I only had it out in two games.

If you've read this far, I'm wondering if you have advice or suggestions. Should I go back to the drawing board with this deck or just try to tweak it a little? I'm new to competitive play so I'd really love some tips and guidance!

Thanks for reading!

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Deck Comments / Re: R Burn Standard - Comments

« on: December 26, 2013, 06:42:16 pm »

This is just a theory deck that I don't yet have cards for. It's one of a couple I'm considering creating and playing in some standard tourneys. If I do happen to buy the cards and play it I will definitely update this thread.

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Deck Reviews / Re: Standard - Red Simic Deck

« on: November 12, 2013, 02:58:37 pm »

I forgot to mention, Blustersquall is a nice, cheap (both mana-wise and real money-wise) alternative to Cyclonic Rift. By the time you really want to play the card, you'll likely have enough mana for either, but Blustersquall gives you some earlier utility if you need some defense or happen to get the right combo of creatures faster than when you have 7 mana.

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Deck Reviews / Re: Standard - Red Simic Deck

« on: November 08, 2013, 09:09:18 pm »

give // take would be my choice out of those options. Simic Fluxmage is the standard alternative to the Simic Guildmage. Not as powerful but provides similar utility and gives you that evolution again.

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Deck Reviews / Re: Green/Black +1/+1 Counter Generation [Standard]

« on: November 08, 2013, 09:09:04 pm »

Jarad doesn't stack counters on himself but with Corpsejack Menace and Death's Presence you can sac creatures to not only damage the opponent but also double the counters. Say you have Reverent Hunter with 5 +1/+1 counters. You sac him to do 6 damage to opponents, now you get to put 12 +1/+1 counters on another creature.

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Deck Reviews / Re: Red Simic Deck

« on: November 07, 2013, 10:23:30 pm »

Simic Guildmage comes to mind... builds blue devotion, can help really fuel Fathom Mage.

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Deck Reviews / Re: Red Simic Deck

« on: November 07, 2013, 10:19:37 pm »

Evolve makes sense, as does Master Biomancer, because you're relying on "enter the battlefield" effects. Sylvan Caryatid is a good choice for tri-color mana acceleration.

However, I don't really see the utility of Prophet of Kruphix in this deck. I feel you could find some better cards to replace it (but make sure they still have blue mana to fuel devotion). I admit that Prophet helps in getting those creatures out a little faster but you're still going to be mainly limited by your draw, not mana. With Fathom Mage you're getting some draw but not enough to make Prophet worth it, IMO (for this particular setup).

Otherwise, you could look for another blue 1-drop to replace Experiment One. Not that he doesn't work, but really I think you should focus this deck more to build blue devotion while you work to get Purphoros then Master of Waves out... I know you say that's not really necessary but if that's not what you're building towards I don't see what you are building towards... other than just spewing creatures out to trigger Purphoros. I mean, if that's your goal and you have Master of Waves, why not make him the nail in the coffin rather than saying any additional blue devotion is just "icing on the cake?"

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Deck Reviews / Re: Green/Black +1/+1 Counter Generation [Standard]

« on: November 07, 2013, 09:44:01 pm »

Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord + Death's Presence + Corpsejack Menace = toooooons of counters - sacrificed creatures count as dying creatures, I think he could be a good addition.

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Deck Comments / Re: Prophet of Kruphix 2 - Comments

« on: October 31, 2013, 12:31:32 am »

True, it's expensive to get out, but once you do you'll be playing creatures at double the speed. Also, that's what your mana acceleration is for. Just a suggestion was all. I agree, it's costly.

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General Magic / Re: why doesn't the golgari guild get any love

« on: October 31, 2013, 12:26:28 am »

My Golgari deck is one of my faves. If you can get Death's Presence out, removal isn't too big of a deal.

Here's my current setup.

http://deckstats.net/decks/4264/25696-b-g-golgari/en

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Deck Reviews / Re: Ral Zarek Deck

« on: October 29, 2013, 04:50:21 pm »

Prescient Chimera as well, if you're adopting some card draw.

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Deck Reviews / Re: Ral Zarek Deck

« on: October 29, 2013, 04:47:27 pm »

Nivix Cyclops and Fluxcharger can add some versatility and blocking power. Mercurial Chemister is worth it for the card draw, and you can add a Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius if you want some more damage/card draw.

I think Melek, Izzet Paragon might be a very nice addition to your deck as well, although expensive.

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Deck Comments / Re: Prophet of Kruphix 2 - Comments

« on: October 29, 2013, 04:41:19 pm »

Garruk's Horde

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Deck Reviews / B/R Forced Attack

« on: October 28, 2013, 06:40:37 pm »

http://deckstats.net/decks/4264/28264-b-r-forced-attack

I'm looking for opinions on my deck. I'd like to see if anybody has any good ideas to improve it.

The basic idea is that I force my opponent to attack using Fumiko the Lowblood and Curse of the Nightly Hunt. I have Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs to give me tokens for blockers, and Hissing Miasma or Contaminated bond to drain the controller's life (which one I use depends on my opponent usually having a few or a lot of creatures out).

The Typhoid Rats are there for early blocking. The Onyx Mage combos nicely with the Rakdos Ickspitter for creature removal, as well as making Kazuul's tokens more potent blockers. War's Toll tries to ensure my opponent has no mana to spend on Kazuul's tokens.

I figured I should have some tutors since I have a couple different combos going on that are dependent on multiple cards. Terminate/Dreadbore (depending on the opponent having planeswalkers) and Dash Hopes are just there for utility.

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Deck Comments / Re: B/R Forced Attack - Comments

« on: October 28, 2013, 06:38:27 pm »

I'm looking for opinions on my deck. I'd like to see if anybody has any good ideas to improve it.

The basic idea is that I force my opponent to attack using Fumiko and Curse of the Nightly Hunt. I have Kazuul to give me tokens for blockers, and Hissing Miasma or Contaminated bond to drain life (which one I use depends on my opponent usually having a few or a lot of creatures out).

The rats are there for early blocking. The Onyx Mage combos nicely with the Ickspitter for creature removal, as well as making Kazuul's tokens more potent blockers. War's Toll tries to ensure my opponent has no mana to spend on Kazuul's tokens.

I figured I should have some tutors since I have a couple different combos going on that are dependent on multiple cards. Terminate/Dreadbore (depending on the opponent having planeswalkers) and Dash Hopes are just there for utility.