Thursday, October 30, 2014

Drafting a Plan


Lets talk Khans limited. Wizardden.com has seen growing numbers of drafters even well after the set's release. There is just so much to do! Khans limited offers so many different options and today we are going to look at what those options are. This is not a look at pick orders or pack reading, today's article is strictly on what strategies we have seen do decent over this last month.



I like big butts, especially when they fly.


This was one of the first strategies we took seriously. The plan is simple, play lots of low cost creatures with high toughness and then whittle down your opponent with flying creatures. This does a really good job against more aggressive strategies, but has some issues against the large beats backed up by spells that nullify blocks. The absolute best cards in this strategy I would say are Archer's Parapet and Abomination of Gudul. The Parapet ticks their life down each and every turn possibly as early as turn three. Abomination of Gudul has favorable combat against most other fliers and the added loot ability does wonders for your mid and late game draws.



The morphing pot.


What's white, blue, black, red, and green and don't care what colors you use to play them? Morphs! They come in all sizes and colors. Many pros such as Ari Lax have mentioned an approach to Khans drafts that is quite different than drafting other sets. You are drafting five colors until something says otherwise. Morphs and multicolor lands have allowed for very effective five color decks in limited. Combine this with cards like Ghostfire Blade, Secret Plans, and Trail of Mystery and to the morpher goes the spoils.



I can has all the bombs?

Very similar to the excessive morph strategy a heavy supply of multicolor lands can let you play virtually every good bomb that comes to you. In order to make either of these two ideas really work the drafter will have to commit to picking a lot of lands very early on and then leave the more powerful picks for later packs as other drafters are attempting to round out their curves and mana bases. Both of these are very well rounded for longer games, but can suffer against the most aggressive decks if the life gain lands don't make up for the loss of life.



Turn dudes sideways.

This was the very first strategy we thought would succeed. Based largely in Mardu, but also accessible in Temur or Abzan this is the aggro plan. Keep your cost low and your attacks hard and fast. Pumps and synergy are key here. Warrior tribal, cards like Trumpet Blast, and aggressively costed Temur beats are what you want to watch for in your early packs if this is the way you want to go. If this is your plan make sure you have a plan for getting through the big walls that will be played against you. Cards like Barrage of Boulders, Roar of Challenge, and Temur Charm are great for breaking through those last points of damage.



There can only be one or two.


This is actually the newest plan I have seen springing up. The idea is to play between 10 and 14 threats and fill the rest of your deck with draw card and removal. This is a very ballsy draft plan that is only possible if you can early pick lots of removal and at least a couple really evasive or durable creatures. So far it seems this strategy is more confined to three colors as your low amount of board presence is much less forgiving against early aggression. Master the Way has been my favorite card when building this since it draws a card, is removal, and can finish off your opponent.



It's better when they're dead.


Last but not least lets take a close look at delve. This does not mean draft all the cards with delve as your graveyard will end up empty and your hand full of high cost spells. To make this really work you will want to stock your deck with cards like Scout the Borders and Taigam's Scheming that grant you card advantage and a graveyard to work with. Choose your devles wisely, each one needs to make a major swing in your board favor when played early. Shambling Attendants, Murderous Cut, and Sultai Scavenger are at the top of the list of commons and uncommons to pick. This can be a little slow depending on your early draws but does a great job beating through the more defensive strategies before they can stabilize.



These are only the plans we have seen do well, there are of course many others out there. Thank you for joining us again at Wizardden.com, this has been Ariel Adamson from Rogue T3ch.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Abzan Midrange Video Deck T3ch!

Hey guys, Just a quick video for my latest version of Abzan Midrange that i've been playing lately. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments below! Thanks!





DannyO
WizardDen.com

4 Kolor Midrange/Control


Continuing Wizardden.com's spotlight on Rogue T3ch decks, today we take a look at what I have been brewing up since the full spoiler of Khans was released. For those who are familiar with the decks I tend to build and play this won't be too surprising. For those who are not familiar with my deck building let me start with a small disclaimer. I enjoy playing the unorthodox on par with the established meta for the challenge as well what can be learned from taking a unique perspective on the format. With that, lets take at the list.

4 Kolor Midrange/Control

Non-Land (35)
4 Anger of the Gods
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Bow of Nylea
3 Courser of Kruphix
1 Crater's Claws
4 Embodiment of Spring
3 Font of Fertility
4 Font of Fortunes
1 Garruk, Apex Predator
3 Genesis Hydra
1 Keranos, God of Storms
3 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
1 Murderous Cut
2 Prognostic Sphinx
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker

Land (25)
2 Forest
2 Frontier Bivouac
2 Island
1 Llanowar Wastes
3 Mountain
2 Polluted Delta
1 Shivan Reef
1 Swamp
3 Temple of Abandon
1 Temple of Deceit
2 Temple of Mystery
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Yavimaya Coast

Sideboard (15)
1 Bow of Nylea
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
3 Circle of Flame
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Crater's Claws
1 Gainsay
1 Garruk, Apex Predator
1 Genesis Hydra
2 Negate
2 Silence the Believers
1 Surrak Dragonclaw

That's right four colors, to be honest five colors was the original plan but the strain on the mana was too great. If white was incorporated Nyx-Fleece Ram, Utter End, and End Hostilities would be on the top of the list to include. Taking a very serious look at the options available after cutting white, there was one very tough decision to make. DespiseCourser of Kruphix, and Anger of the Gods, are all very good early game cards, but only two of the three could be used. In a deck this stretched on mana the most important thing is getting the correct colors on the correct turns. Asking for black turn one, double green and double red turn three is just too much to consistently count on. After opting for green and red as the base and it has been very successful thus far. With Courser of Kruphix blocking the little guys, forcing them to spread out to get around him thereby playing straight onto Anger of the Gods.



After excessive early ramp and dealing with the opponents early offensive the game plan shifts to phase two: pressure. The remainder of the deck consists high power threats that can carry the game on their own. Genesis Hydra, in tandem with the early ramp creates a mid and late game tempo that is hard to match. Courser of KruphixPrognostic Sphinx, and scry lands manipulate the top of your library allowing game changing hits off the hydra. The mix of walker and creature based threats and clear lack of Fated Retribution in the format makes it very difficult for the opponent to recover any tempo once the threats start coming down. The variety of walkers allows the deck to avoid the legend/walker rule even when blind flipping off of a hydra trigger.



The best match-ups for this deck are jeskai varients, and hard control. The large toughness and sheer number of threats are difficult for either deck to manage. The worst match-ups are those heavy on fliers that big enough to dodge Anger of the Gods or those with creatures larger than my own. Darksteel Citadel is also major pain in game one. To compensate for these short comings Arbor Colossus will quite likely find it's way into the 75 very soon. The reach, heavy bulk, and low cost all fit quite nicely into this list. Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker is definitely the weakest link and may have to step aside for the tree giant.






Wrapping it all up lets break down the sideboard card by card. The extra bow provides an Elixir of Immortality type of effect for the long grindy matches, and much needed life gain for heavy burn match-ups. Chandra, Pyromaster and Surrak Dragonclaw diversify the threats even more for grindy matches. Circle of Flame laughs at Goblin Rabblemaster and other low toughness attackers. The counterspells are for matches where you can afford to leave mana open and have something worth countering such as wrath and enemy walkers. The extra copies of mainboard cards give the deck better chances of pulling them in match-ups where they are wanted most. Lastly the newest addition to the sideboard, Silence the Believers was to deal with those problematic big creatures mentioned earlier. It is important to note that those decks often have Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth making Silence the Believers much easier to cast.



This has been Ariel with Wizardden.com, thank you for reading and always feel free to share your crazy ideas.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Temur Monsters in Khans of Tarkir standard.




Christian with www.Wizardden.com and team Rogue T3ch here to talk to you about a deck I found myself watching a lot this past game day. Fellow team member Josh Kreiter has been piloting a very interesting Temur Monsters deck that has been putting up a consistent X-1/X-0 record these past few weeks and after having watched it for several rounds I wanted to tell you a little about the deck. Let's start with the deck list:

Main Board:
2 Arbor Colossus
3 Courser of Kruphix
Elvish Mystic
1 Genesis Hydra
Goblin Rabblemaster
3 Polukranos, World Eater
Savage Knuckleblade
Stormbreath Dragon
Sylvan Caryatid
Creatures [24]
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
Xenagos, the Reveler
Planeswalkers [5]
Crater's Claws
Lightning Strike
Temur Charm
Spells [6]
Forest
Frontier Bivouac
Mana Confluence
Mountain
1 Shivan Reef
Temple of Abandon
Wooded Foothills
Yavimaya Coast
Sideboard:
Anger of the Gods
Hornet Nest
3 Polis Crusher
Reclamation Sage
Setessan Tactics
2 Stubborn Denial

This is a deck that got a lot of hype just after rotation but seemed to see no real success. That didn't stop Josh from sleeving it up and wrecking face! This list came in second in the local state championship and had it's only loss this past game day to a fellow team mate running the Mardu midrange list I talked about a few weeks ago. It is very solid deck and let's look at a few key cards that makes it so good.

Sylvan Caryatid and Courser of Kruphix has been a recipe for success for the past year in various monsters lists so it should come as no surprise to see the pair here. Stormbreath Dragon and Polukranos are also very powerful on their own and need to explanation, same goes with Goblin Rabblemaster. The one card that has seen no love in standard thus far seems to be Savage Knuckleblade. He makes the MB as a two of and with his base stats that makes sense. With Courser and rabble hogging the three drop spot. What I think really makes Knuckleblade so good is two things. 1. He costs three mana. That means he dodges Disdainful stroke. As a control player I can tell you this is very important VS the control deck. 2. He dodges removal with the ability to bounce himself, This means he has to be dissolved or killed immediately. With rabble already being a must answer threat at that spot and Knuckleblade not dying to Bile Blight... He is just a problem.

Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker is seeing love in this list as a two of. He fits the deck very nicely as he comes into play as a removal spell more often than not and swings four power the following turn. I compare him to Flame Tongue Kavu in that respect. Super efficient and being put to good use. Xenegos the Reveler also seeing play as a two of. As a threat maker/mana ramper, he is an auto-include for these monsters strategies and for good reason, He rocks. Rounding out the planeswalkers we have Chandra, Pyromaster for card advantage and the occasional "Stop a blocker- Alpha strike" good stuff. One other new card getting some love is craters claws as a two of. Now very common but if you think about it, it makes perfect sense, With these monsters decks, if the game goes long they typically have access to tons of mana late game. Why not have a card that if drawn in the late game just wins on it's own? Hence, the inclusion. It also acts as efficient removal in a pinch so it's never going to be dead in your hand.

The Final card worth mentioning is two copies of Temur charm. On paper it doesn't look like much. Yes it is a mana leak and that's awesome but the most interesting is the fight ability, I have watched this card just blowout blocks in combat and turn the whole game around. If that doesn't do it for ya, like I said, it is a mana-leak...

That's all for today,
Thanks for reading.
Christian


Tuesday, October 14, 2014

No Verdict? No problem. The new face of control in Khans of Tarkir standard.



Christian with www.wizardden.com and Team Rogue T3ch here to talk to you about this past weekend's Pro Tour. This is something we have all been waiting for since the release of Khans and at this event we saw some familiar faces and some interesting new comers and after hours of watching feature matches on youtube I want to talk about one deck in particular; Owen Turtenwald and Team Channelfireball's Blue/Black Control.

Now I want to explain. The top eight decks were all awesome and played well, but, what can we at Wizard Den say about Jeskai Tempo/Wins and Abzan Midrange/Aggro aka SiegeRhinoBeats.dek that hasn't already already been said? The decks are very good and I forsee them being pillars of the
standard meta game for as long as people like playing those colors. I have been the proud caster of many a siege rhino over these past few weeks, but I digress...

Okay. Back to the control list. I feel obligated to explain why I picked Owen's list over Ivan Floch's, despite Ivan making top eight and Owen falling out of it into top 16. My reasoning behind this is mainly due to Owen's inclusion of Pearl Lake Ancient in the mainboard. I know from personal experience and testing that "Big Fish", as he has come to be called around the shop, can be a savage beating. A 6/7 body is nothing to shake a stick at and with prowess and flash how could it get better?  Oh yeah, it can bounce itself to dodge removal and to do this you only has to return three lands to your hand. Quite a draw back right? Wrong. As anyone who watched the pro tour will tell you, it allows you to setup additional scry triggers or even gain you (much needed most of the time) life with the new common cycle of dual lands from khans. Let's also not forget the common from M15 core set, Good 'ole radiant fountain.

On to the biggest question control players had going into this new standard format. Where is our wrath? Looking at Owen's list you will see you don't have one, at least, not in a traditional sense. With only one Aetherspouts mainboard Owen and the Pantheon made use of another card that has yet to see any love in standard; Perilous Vault. I have to agree I did not see that coming. Watching the coverage it actually makes a lot of sense. Answers fleecemane lion and the like, very nicely, and there is not a lot of artifact hate floating around in mainboards these days.


With all that being said I have one more thing before posting the list and you can see what I am talking about. Dig through time. That card is a house. People have been arguing it is better than sphinx's revelation. I don't necessarily agree with that but card selection is definitively very important without a traditional board sweeper in the format to stabilize the game for you.  All in all I have to the say that Owen's list plays a lot closer to mono-black control than a traditional blue/white or esper-style control. It looks like it is very important to know and play the deck well to get any success as each decision can make the difference between win or loss. Downfall or Dissolve that threat? Dig through time or jace's ingenuity? Delve the murderous cut or save it for a future dig? These are the questions you will be asking yourself after sleeving up this list.

Mainboard:
3 Thoughtseize
4 Bile Blight
2 Disdainful Stroke
4 Dissolve
4 Hero's Downfall
4 Perilous Vault
2 Murderous Cut
3 Jace's Ingenuity
1 Ætherspouts
2 Pearl Lake Ancient
4 Dig Through Time
1 Radiant Fountain
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Bloodstained Mire
4 Polluted Delta
4 Dismal Backwater
4 Temple of Deceit
6 Island
5 Swamp

Sideboard:
1 Thoughtseize
1 Disdainful Stroke
4 Drown in Sorrow
4 Jorubai Murk Lurker
3 Negate
2 Pharika's Cure

That's the list. Looks super sweet right? I have to say that I am not a control player. I would rather cast a raging goblin over an aetherling 99.9% of the time. I can't explain why but this deck caught my eye and I've been having some serious thoughts about switching it up and sleeving-up some good 'ole blue/black control...

Thanks for reading, that's all I got for now.
Until next time,
Christian


Thursday, October 9, 2014

Mardu Mid-Range with some attitude.



Christian with Wizardden.com and Team Rogue tech here to talk to you about a deck we have been working on, Mardu Midrange. Black/White/Red not only has a new name it also has a new game plan; Cast the best creatures in the format at each point in your mana curve. The deck has access to the best creatures and removal in the format and they do a good job of winning the game on their own if left unchecked. We have run this deck head-first into most, if not all, archetypes in this new standard format and have had nothing but success. Here is the list currently being piloted by Matt Petro.
Creatures & Spells:

4 Thoughtseize
4 Magma jet
2 Bile Blight
4 Goblin rabble master
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4 Hero's downfall
4 Butcher of the Horde
2 Sorin, Solemn visitor
2 Stoke the flames
3 Stormbreath Dragon
2 Wingmate Roc
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Land:

2 Mana confluence
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Bloodstained Mire
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Battlefield Forge
2 Temple of Silence
3 Temple of Malice
3 Temple of Triumph
2 Swamp
2 Mountain
2 Plains
Sideboard:

1 Whip of Erebos
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
3 Anger of the Gods
1 Stormbreath dragon
3 Magma spray
3 Despise
3 Banishing light

So the idea behind this deck is that each creature, if left un-answered, can with the game on it's own. Ideal game goes something like this; Turn one scry land. Turn two thoughtseize to clear the way for a threat. Turn three Rabblemaster/Brimaz. Turn four Butcher of the horde. Assisted by a slew of efficient remove to clear the way and burn to go to the face if need be.

I have not piloted the deck myself but have played against it quite a bit. I can tell you that it is very solid and consistent. The deck runs a lot of pain lands to support double white for Brimaz on turn three and B/W/R for butcher the following turn, which can result in quite a but of life loss. This type of painful Mana-base and thoughtseizes in the mainboard can be a bit of a draw back, but, with two Sorin, Solemn Visitor and four Butcher of the Horde in the mainboard, it is very easy to recoup the lost life against an aggressive strategy.


Thats it for now....We'll see this weekend if this deck pops-up.

Christian

Friday, October 3, 2014

What to Play in Week 2


Last week marked the beginning of an exciting standard format filled with, well, green decks. Courser of Kruphix and Sylvan Caryatids were out in force this weekend. It wasn't all about the land lovers though; several exciting decks emerged one of which took an SCG Open this weekend. I'd like to talk about a few lists that stood out to me without trying to dwell on how good Courser of Kruphix and Goblin Rabblemaster are.


Last weekend I was blindsided by a thief. That's right, some one had to go out of there way and build Jeskai Tempo and stole my heart from Temur. I won't delve too much on this deck as Christian did an awesome article that can be found here.
Diversity was abundant in Indianapolis and New Jersey this weekend. There are 3 lists I want to talk about today; the first one is a blast from the not so distant past. Reanimator. There was only one list I could track down in the top 32 of both scg events but I have a feeling this deck will be a familiar face by the time the pro tour rolls around.

Abzan Reanimator:
1x Ashen Rider
4x Elvish Mystic
3x Hornet Queen
4x Satyr Wayfinder
4x Siege Rhino
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Courser of Kruphix

4x Abzan Charm
2x Rescue from the Underworld
1x Whip of Erebos
3x Commune with the Gods
3x Endless Obedience

4x Forest
4x Caves of Koilos
3x Llanowar Wastes
2x Mana Confluence
4x Sandsteppe Citadel
4x Temple of Malady
2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

There are several really powerful things going on with this deck. The biggest, of course, is the namesake reanimation. Siege Rhino is the real deal, gaining three life while draining it from your opponent is really good; doing it again by bring it back while he's in the bin is just filthy. I picture this deck in the early game just filling the bin then casting a rhino, then Rescue from the Underworld post combat, sacrifice one get one back from the bin. This is the equivalent of whipping back a Gray Merchant of Asphodel only better, Seige Rhino brings the beats.
It's not all about the power of Siege Rhino though. Reanimating an Ashen Rider or Hornet Queen is a pretty good way to lock down a game as both are huge threats in the air your opponent will have a tough time dealing with.
















The only thing I think would be a good addition to this deck is Nyx Weaver. It is a great way to recur a removal spell or buy back a Siege Rhino or even a Hornet Queen if the game goes late. I think it adds another must be answered threat to avoid getting behind on cards. 



This next deck is one I hold in very high regards as one of the more powerful decks you can suit up for an event this weekend. This deck finished short of beating the final boss, bringing home second place at a SCG Open this weekend, Mardu Midrange.

4x Butcher of the Horde
4x Goblin Rabblemaster
3x Stormbreath Dragon
3x Brimaz, King of Oreskos

2x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2x Sorin, Solem Visitor

4x Crackling Doom
4x Hero's Downfall
4x Lightning Strike
1x Despise
4x Thoughtseize

2x Mountain
2x Swamp
1x Battlefield Forge
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Caves of Koilos
2x Mana Confluence
4x Nomad Outpost
2x Temple of Malice
2x Temple of Silence
1x Temple of Triumph
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

This deck is extremely powerful though I must be up front, it seems very weak to removal. Fourteen creatures is a very small amount. This deck easily gets away with it though because all fourteen of the little buggers have to be answered by your opponent in a way generally other than trading in combat. Butcher of the Horde is phenomenal in conjunction with Goblin Rabblemaster and with Brimaz, King of Oreskos. With Goblin Rabblemaster you can sacrifice a token the turn you play him enabling an excellent buff that makes life very difficult for your opponent. If that isn't the avenue you need to take? Well, jam Brimaz, King of Oreskos or Goblin Rabblemaster and start laying the beats until Stormbreath Dragon or Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker can come in and clean up the rest of your opponents dwindling life total.















More than the creatures, the spells in the deck are insane. Five ways to disrupt your opponents hand means more often than not you'll be able to start off with excellent information and your opponent down one of the key cards in their hand. This can also work wonders with Crackling Doom as you can sculpt your opponents hand to play a large threat whenever you want them to allowing you to have them simply lose it to the Crackling Doom along with some life for even trying to play a creature against you. Hero's Downfall clears out the planeswalkers that have been making appearances in this standard and also clears any must be answered creatures. Lightning Strike will get rid of opposing Rabblemasters which is exacly what needs to be done in order to not get overrun in this deck. The power level of the spells and creatures make this a deck that will continue to see great success in the coming weeks of standard.















This next deck is one I'm not sure where it will go; I'm hoping it will be in more deck boxes though!

Ascendency combo
4x Kiora's Follower
4x Rattleclaw Mystic
4x Sylvan Caryatid

1x Astral Cornucopia
1x Briber's Purse
4x Dragon Mantle
4x Jeskai Ascendency
1x Nylea's Prescence
3x Dig Through Time
4x Retraction Helix
4x Commune with the Gods
2x Taigam's Scheming
3x Twinflame

3x Battlefield Forge
4x Mana Confluence
2x Shivan Reef
2x Temple of Abandon
1x Temple of Epiphany
3x Temple of Mystery
2x Temple of plenty
4x Yavimaya Coast

This deck is all about going infinite with Jeskai Ascendency making one big dude then closing the game. This can be done with one of the theoretically 0 cast artifacts in our deck which allow the deck with a Retraction Helix to permanently be able to untap our mana dorks for infinite mana. This is sadly an unexplored deck for me, the power level is definitely there as long as the format doesn't evolve into one filled with counter spells.














This standard format is showing a lot of diversity despite it being a world run by Courser of Kruphix and Goblin Rabblemaster. I hope things don't turn out like Theros block, playing one of two decks week in and week out. There's still huge room for growth. With that I would love to see some rogue decks that didn't have a great showing this weekend.
As stated, I'd love to hear about a few brews to talk about next time. If anyone has an underrepresented deck you'd like to share feel free to post it in the comments a long with a description of what the deck does!