Dies to Removal

Kirin > Sapporo trash

Kirin is alright.

Game Day here is so easy it's not worth going to for free promos, unless you like 4 rounds of playing versus event decks

New Infest seems cool as fuck and pushes up UB Control a bit.
Satyr is meh. Kinda lacks the powerlevel.
Champion of Stray Soul is trash, but cute.
Hero of Ioras could be interesting in some kind of Hexproof sheningans but if deck goes GW, it's 2CMC is already stacked.

Oh, and my Gamedays were hard as fuck. During Zen-NPH one I had to face 2 Caw-Blades, 2 Valakuts and GW Vengevine.

New Infest seems cool as fuck and pushes up UB Control a bit.
Satyr is meh. Kinda lacks the powerlevel.
Champion of Stray Soul is trash, but cute.
Hero of Ioras could be interesting in some kind of Hexproof sheningans but if deck goes GW, it's 2CMC is already stacked.

Oh, and my Gamedays were hard as fuck. During Zen-NPH one I had to face 2 Caw-Blades, 2 Valakuts and GW Vengevine.

Same for me when I was in Canada.

Here in Japan the compitition is on-par with a GPT. Best I've ever done is second.

I want the playmat dammit.

[deck=Dimir Control "CORE"]
Planeswalkers
4 Jace, Architect of Thought

Instants
1 Devour Flesh
4 Dissolve
1 Essence Scatter
4 Hero's Downfall
3 Opportunity
3 Syncopate
1 Ultimate Price
2 Warped Physique

Sorceries
3 Thoughtseize

Lands
2 Dimir Guildgate
4 Mutavault
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Watery Grave

7 Island
5 Swamp[/deck]

That leaves a lot of slots. Notes:
- I currently run Ratchet Bomb as a 3-of; Drown in Sorrow may replace this. Undecided. Without a maindeck discard option it might be dead too often though. Would want 3 in any 75 though!
- I have seen Divination or Ashiok run in the 3-slot; it is currently unclear to me which is better.
Divination helps you hit your land drops (very important), but Ashiok is an alternate win condition and helps overload your opponent's removal (Hero's Downfall or Detention Sphere)
- It is still unclear to me what the best finisher package is. I have tried Aetherling + Elixir of Immortality OR 2 Prognostic Sphinx; there are upsides to each and the meta will determine which is better placed. Prognostic Sphinx has the substantial upside of been a maindeck sac. outlet, whch is very useful (trade your excess removal or counters for more sphinx is a VERY big game).

Try this:

Only run 1 Ratchet Bomb and another in the sideboard

Run 4 Nightveil Specter as your only creature

Play 2 Divination and no Ashiok main

Add the Elixir

Add one Duress to the main

Swap two lands for 2 UW Temple for more Scrying, casting Rev's and Blood Barons off Specter, and mind-fucking opponents , then add a third UW Temple to the sideboard

Add one Jace, Memory Adept to the main

Run 3 Drown
in Sorrow main with 2 Quicken for ganking Mutavaults with it

Put another big Jace and an Aetherling in your sideboard along with 2 Negate, 2 Gainsay, 1 Thoughtseize and 1 Duress

That leaves your anti-Control sideboard at:

2 Gainsay
2 Negate
1 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Aetherling
1 UW Temple

Leaving plenty of room for Ashiok, Pack Rat, Ratchet Bomb, the 4th Drown in Sorrow, extra Doom Blade's, and Pithing Needle

The result is what we call a pile.

However, there is synergy in the pile that is worth testing. If the Nightveil plan doesn't test well, try a single Aetherling instead, along with an extra Divination.

You also need to play less Mutavault to play Specter. Probably only 1-2, this is where you add Temples.

I don't like Prognostic Sphinx either with all the Devour Flesh, Verdict's and Flare's around. It's also weakened too much by Jace AoT to be a finisher.

Those are good suggestions, but I don't like mainboarding Specter in this list, even though I understand the power in control mirrors. I think we definitely want all four Mutavault and cutting those just for Specter seems suboptimal.

I thought Zem had more open slots than he did. I quickly ran out of space trying to add my suggestions and there are only so many cuts I can make. Maybe forget the Specters, add an Aetherling instead, and then sideboard either Specter or Pack Rat.

I still think a Specter version is viable, but I would need to re-do the entire list, which I have no interest in doing right now.

There's also no reason not to run 1 Far / Away

Just play UW

I like the new satyr. The inspired mechanic is an interesting design.

As for the new infest, why hello Hammer of Purphoros, it's been a while.

Zem give me a final UB list taking some of my suggestions into account and I will build it on MTGO and test it against whatever you have built.

I will say that I used to bring in Nightveil Specter from the side in UB Drownyard Control as a next-level move against control mirrors and it was a solid strategy. They'd always side out their removal and get eaten up by it.

I think that the satyr is worth a try, especially having seen frown in sorrow, as it let's you build up a big board presence while stockpiling your hand for the inevitable sorrow/anger/verdict. Probably still bad, but seems like it's worth a try.

I like that.

I saw that card (Satyr) before bed and said "Mana sink...VCA...James is gonna like this". The blue card in the cycle is going to be strong in Limited...a 2/4 that can churn out 2/2 flyers for 3 is pretty sweet. OTOH, it's a card you would want to be keeping back on defense against more aggro strategies...I wonder between this cycle and Pain Seer if we're not going to see more options for tapping/untapping creatures/permanents.

On the blue front, another spoil:



I'm still no fan of the Heroic mechanic outside of Limited.

I was about to talk about all the awesome things you could do with Mindreaver.

Then I remembered Heroic only counts for spells you cast, not abilities.

Awesome things you can do with Mindreaver:

1. Troll Dechs

Man, with Infest+ coming along, I want to try a Jund or Junk midrange/control deck. Preferably I'd want just B/G Rock, but that scryland is coming in JOU so I feel that adding a color makes it better for now.

Interesting cards to pay around with (in no particular order):

B/G:
Drown in Sorrow
Thoughtseize
Reaper of the Wilds
Golgari Charm
Polukranos, World Eater
Abrupt Decay
Hero's Downfall
Scavenging Ooze
Desecration Demon
Lifebane Zombie
Ultimate Price
Doom Blade
Devour Flesh
Pack Rat
Erebos, God of the Dead
Whip of
Erebos
Underworld Connections
Read the Bones
Vraska the Unseen
Gaze of Granite
Duress
Sylvan Caryatid

Red Splash:
Chandra, Pyromaster
Anger of the Gods
Xenagos, the Reveler
Dreadbore
Magma Jet
Lightning Strike
Stormbreath Dragon
Destructive Revelry
Clan Defiance
Rakdos's Return
Rakdos Keyrune

White Splash:
Sin Collector
Advent of the Worm
Loxodon Smiter
Banisher Priest
Angel of Serenity
Blood Baron of Vizkopa[/c:
ozi6cgu7]
[c]Obzedat, Ghost Council
Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Last Breath
Profit // Loss
Selesnya Charm
Orzhov Charm

All those cards obviously don't necessarily belong in the same deck, but that's just a quick and dirty rundown of Jund or Junk midrange playables I can think of off the top of my head. Both combinations have 2 scrylands available until the B/G scryland comes along.

Which splash color would be the more powerful? B/w is putting up results as an alternate to mono-black devotion, but this would be a bit different.

Don't forget Sylvan "I survive Drown in Sorrow" Caryatid.

Don't forget Sylvan "I survive Drown in Sorrow" Caryatid.

Will add - thanks for the catch.

I love the new infest and that art... Mono-black rides again! Looks like this is a set of awsome uncommons.

The rest is fairly mehhhhh... Mindreaver reminds me of that merfolk from the Lowryn block, but very poor with heroic to activate.

I am laughing hard at the folks who preordered Pain Seer to find it a Game Day Promo.

Zem, What is you Melira Pod Decklist? I am building mine and not sure whether to focus on Melira win condition or run the Angel and Spike combo as well.

Any thoughts on this deck. Thinking about running it for FNM in Corpus Christi over my Mono-Black Devotion. It is a meta deck and looks really good.
Junk Midrange by
John Cuvelier
Finished 17th - 32nd Place at 2013 StarCity Open Standard - Orlando - 1/12
Main Deck
4 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
3 Boon Satyr
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Fleecemane Lion
3 Loxodon Smiter
4 Voice of Resurgence
Creatures [22]
3 Abrupt Decay
4 Advent of the Wurm
4 Golgari Charm
3 Selesnya Charm
Spells [14]
6 Forest
4 Godless Shrine
4 Overgrown Tomb
2 Plains
4 Temple Garden
4 Temple of Silence
Lands [24]
Deck Total [60]
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Dark Betrayal
3 Doom Blade
2 Mistcutter Hydra
2 Sin Collector
3 Thoughtseize
2 Unflinching Courage
Sideboard [15]

Mono black rides again? The hell's the matter with you, boy?

EDH card FTW!

Now you can cast Reckoner for [mana]R R[/mana]

Or / for that matter

Mono black rides again? The hell's the matter with you, boy?

ALOT! I used to play mono-black vamps with bloodghasts, Vampire hexmage, and V. Voctornus. My local FNM called it the black season as I never lost except for the nights I missed FNM or it was extended night.

Minatour deck? Wow.

The skeleton should be called Mister Boner cause you can't get rid of him and he likes company. The Prossh, Skyraider of Kherdeck with this... Get all your shit back from wrath effects from sacking Kobolds.

Throw that skeleton in the garbage where it belongs.

Throw that skeleton in the garbage where it belongs.

He'll just come back.

Throw that skeleton in the garbage where it belongs.

Ahhhhhhh, you no like the Mr. Boner?

So over-costed.

So over-costed.

CMC is too high and both abilities are too high.

Too damn high.

I'm still trying that sumbitch

But...but...its commander material only. Green Ramp assistance can pull it off in Prosh deck.

Mono black rides again? The hell's the matter with you, boy?

ALOT! I used to play mono-black vamps with bloodghasts, Vampire hexmage, and V. Voctornus. My local FNM called it the black season as I never lost except for the nights I missed FNM or it was extended night.

Minatour deck? Wow.

The skeleton should be called Mister Boner cause you can't get rid of him and he likes
company. The Prossh, Skyraider of Kherdeck with this... Get all your shit back from wrath effects from sacking Kobolds.

My point is that mono black is already around in full force

But...but...its commander material only. Green Ramp assistance can pull it off in Prosh deck.

And oddly enough, Prosh gives him the sacrifice fodder to pull off neat stuff.

And red to make sure Anger's in the graveyard so he doesn't die before he untaps.

And green (fuck that color) to make sure you have enough mana to cast it and activate it the same turn.



Yeah, the card sucks. Even in commander.

He's like a better Recurring Nightmare!

His first ability is obviously awesome. The whole package though is pretty slow. It would have to be a pretty perfect board state for me to want to draw this guy, let alone pay 7 mana for that honour.