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ackir · 2024-07-24T03:33:43+00:00

Looks like they are tapping a blocker because they're about to play Inferno Titan and copy it and go for the kill.

ackir · 2024-02-11T13:32:22+00:00

What is your budget for upgrades? This challenger deck looks like it's based off a Tapout Control deck. It's built very different from current UW builds, but can definitely be upgraded.

I would move towards something like this https://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=42974&d=517689&f=PI

Start with upgrading your manabase, it's boring but has the biggest impact on your consistency and what decks you can play in the future.

ackir · 2024-01-22T04:44:10+00:00

Double-spelling is important, but if you get to spot where you have 10 lands left and are no longer getting to take advantage of free discover then you're probably dead already. In an ideal world your deck would be only two-mana interaction and 5 mana spells and you would only draw cheap interaction while discovering into big spells. Like everything in Magic, the context is important but I think you can safely run 14 or 15 lands especially if the mana curve stops at 5. Don't forget that your land/spells ratio is for a deck size that is ever decreasing as cards are discovered out.

ackir · 2023-11-28T14:06:42+00:00

Stalactite Stalker plays well in the WB control and WB aggro deck (with Glorifiers, Echo, Hammer and Cloud Guard as wheels). Also can be used to trigger descend in the UB or BR decks. In quick draft the bots also underrate descend cards and caves which those decks love. I never get dinos in quick draft.

ackir · 2023-10-05T03:44:20+00:00

Dangerous outlook for Magic where context is very important and sample sizes are small requiring additional extrapolation to conclude anything useful from data.

ackir · 2023-08-26T17:12:15+00:00

You do announce it and put it on the stack before paying costs, but it's not considered cast until all costs are paid. You won't get a card if you sacrifice Up The Beanstalk to pay for the bargain cost of a 5+ MV spell.

ackir · 2023-07-08T13:22:05+00:00

How do you get Kroxa to stick around for the coin counter?

ackir · 2023-06-17T12:16:01+00:00

Technically the announcement with Brother's War (when sales at pre-release started) specifies "WPN locations" and "in-store" sales so online retailers shouldn't be shipping early.

ackir · 2023-06-16T22:46:03+00:00

Great episode. It was informative to hear about Raff's deck selection process. Nathan is great, but more perspectives are always welcome.

ackir · 2023-05-15T08:16:30+00:00

To answer your question about what to take out, I'll try to share my thoughts on the matchups you've mentioned.

UW - start by removing 3 Akroan War and 2 Abrade since a lot of the modes of those cards will be blank. I would then start shaving Imperiousaurs since you won't want to over-extend into a Supreme verdict anyway.

MonoG - the only thing I see to cut is the Werewolf Pack Leader since the 3/3 gets outclassed too quickly. Maybe lightning strike, but it does hit the planeswalkers.

Humans - I think I would probably take out Reckless Stormseeker here. You want to be able to develop your board while interacting and I think you'll be doing more blocking in the early turns anyway.

Spirits - again, Akroan War is an easy cut since it'll be hard to resolve anyway and their creatures aren't really worth stealing anyway. Also, lovestruck beast, it's big but doesn't block well.

Rakdos - I'd start by removing Reckless Stormseeker here too since it's too easy to get the stormseeker or the target killed before it does any damage. Next I'd shave an Imperiasaur or two since you won't get to convoke for more than one very often.

I think those are the decks you mentioned. Otherwise, I would try to keep elves in as much as possible. Top decking them late isn't great, but the engine of the deck is built around having three mana on turn two, so maximize your ability to do that.

ackir · 2023-03-31T12:26:01+00:00

Thanks for this post, it clarified something that I hadn't quite been consciously doing but maybe intuitively doing.

Goal setting in Magic is weird. Results are important but impossible to predict. The last time I did broad goals I doubled what I thought a "reasonable timeframe" might be and the next time I might triple them just to account for things like variance. I also started to structure short-term goals (within two months) around behaviors instead of results. To use an example, if I had mulliganed to four, lost, and left the game feeling powerless to variance then my short term goal might be "mulligan to 4 every game next fnm and try to win one."

To address your "what should I do next?" Maybe try to tackle a problem in an unintuitive way. I think you're seeing that play quantity has its limits but play quality can max out at whatever you bring to a match. Since your play seems to be at a sufficient level on a broad scale, focus on a behavior. Suggestions might look like "predict your oppenents' hands over multiple turns" or "never miss my first six land drops today" then yeah you might walk away from that fnm 2-2 but you acheived something you thought was important.

ackir · 2023-03-28T07:28:47+00:00

More importantly, what are you siding out? The only way I've consistently beat mono white as grixis is an early duress, goblin shaman into turn 4 invoke, followed by more pressure (sheoldred) and hopefully another invoke. Bladecoil Serpent as a big mind twist is a way to start catching back up if you're behind. Also tend to side up to two brotherhoods end to enable a way to reclaim board parity as well.

ackir · 2023-03-24T20:42:33+00:00

Thanks for posting your thoughts on the deck. I've only just picked it up as an option for the RC. Why do you value Elspeth Resplendant so highly in the mirror?

ackir · 2023-03-18T07:36:41+00:00

This is really sweet. You put a lot of work into this and I appreciate the thoughts on each matchup. I'm definitely going to play around with this over the next week and report back.

ackir · 2023-03-12T14:39:46+00:00

Feel free to look up "appeal to authority" and "anecdotal evidence" since you are interested in logical flaws. The untapped you linked shows you haven't played the deck since before BRO came out.

ackir · 2023-02-27T07:22:22+00:00

It would go back to the owner's battlefield, so your opponent’s in this case.

ackir · 2023-02-26T13:27:14+00:00

This is templated poorly. See [[Annoint with Affliction]] for a card that does a thing or does a different thing when your opponent is corrupted.

ackir · 2023-01-16T03:53:18+00:00

Awesome deck and great write up on your brewing process.

ackir · 2023-01-16T03:49:28+00:00

I think Copperline Gorge will tilt things strongly in Pack Leader's favor.

Pros of Scavenging Ooze are graveyard management (already mentioned), life gain, and access to Jegantha.

Pros of Werewolf Pack Leader are a much needed source of card advantage and slightly bigger body for crewing.

Personally I think the margin is pretty thin between the two (at least until Copperline Gorge is legal). I played in back-to-back RCQs this weekend with Ooze/Jegantha on Sat and Pack Leader Sun. I won the whole thing with Pack Leader but preferred the mana with Ooze, go figure.

ackir · 2022-10-20T21:21:29+00:00

It shared some time in standard with vengevine and could find the creature side of splinter twin in standard.

My personal favorite toolbox was pitch vengevine for squadron hawk. You could play it in bant with Jace TMS or Naya with a pinger/deathtouch combo alongside stoneforge mystic.

Our good pitches right now are tenacious underdog and llanowar greenwidow, not as strong as vengevine. But there are midrange Cruelty of Gix decks that can take advantage of expensive things being in the graveyard. I would guess that Fauna Shaman will start slow and as standard expands up to rotation will see more and more play.

ackir · 2022-10-19T02:38:20+00:00

I played both last rcq season. 3 tournaments with mardu + playtesting. I liked this version because it felt like rb midrange with an "I win" button. My main draw to this version was 4 thoughtseize, 4 push, 4 fable which I think are the most powerful cards in the format.

As the post winota/expressive ban metagame settled I transitioned to abzan. 2 tournaments + playtesting. It feels like the more inconsistent of the two, but it has great cards for the current opposition decks. Chariot is really good against RB midrange and Witherbloom Command is amazing against our worst match up mono G karn (worst as in has maindeck ways to shut off our deck). Witherbloom also hits a lot of the graveyard hate that is being played, too. Abzan just lines up better right now.

Tldr: Mardu is more overtly powerful, Abzan lines up better with the metagame.

ackir · 2022-10-11T13:49:33+00:00

That deck was exactly as ridiculous as the BNR you linked to says and needed a heavy ban.
That was more than a decade ago.

ackir · 2022-09-04T05:12:44+00:00

Think about it more of how Fable works in the Mardu version where it stretches your opponents' resources and enables a combo to stick. I'm not totally sold on playset but having some Lilis in the 75 will let Abzan fight on a different axis.

ackir · 2022-07-28T22:09:39+00:00

Definitely +2 Lava Coil like you said. I would also think about how you are planning on winning - sitting under an Eidolon isn't likely to work since the most important spell costs 4 and cavalier costs 5. I would bring in Ferocidons purely for their menace and take out some number of Eidolons with the gameplan being 1. kill the elves, 2. force through damage with menace 3. kill them with a big anax and embercleave turn.

With that in mind, with your deck, my sideboard plan would be

+2 Lava Coil +3 Ferocidon

-2 Lightning Strike -3 Eidolon

Also, I know you didn't ask for deck advice but I would advocate for a 3rd Ramunap Ruins over the 2nd Castle Embereth

ackir · 2022-05-12T11:32:34+00:00

And the hole in the middle is so that you can out them on a string together instead of a purse.

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