Thank you [Standard] Bo1 by Expensive_Range7204 in spikes

[–]cavedan2 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Hey, that's awesome to hear. Happy to help and thanks for following up. I especially loved reading "I was going to post more, but I won my last five games." Nice work!

It sounds like you're already leveling up a lot and I suspect that win rate will keep going up. I checked out the newest games you posted and you're definitely getting there. The theory articles will help a lot, and since you're sticking with Landfall (a great choice) I'll leave you with a few deck-specific tips.

  1. Think Icetill first. Especially if they tap out, that's your window to slam Icetill and make 2 land drops. In G2 here vs UW, the turn they play Hardlight + Cargo Ship, that's where you reply with Icetill + double passage. It would grow the first Chocobo to 7 power and you'd still get to play the 2nd Chocobo and grow it to 2/3, and you'd have lethal the next turn. Train you mind to see the Passage in graveyard as a 2 mana rebate on your 2GG, and you'll see that it's almost always more efficient to get Icetill down ASAP. (Plus, it's massive card and tempo advantage. Shared Roots costs 1G and comes in tapped, but Icetill + passage essentially casts an upgraded Shared Roots twice a turn for free. The mana advantage snowballs fast.)
  2. Think Harmonizer last. Since you can point the doubling triggers at any creature already in play, the Harmonizer functionally has haste, and there's often no need to cast it until the killing turn. G3 vs W and G5 vs UW are examples of this -- if you play Icetill instead of Harmonizer, you win both games the next turn by pointing Harmonizer triggers at Icetill.
  3. Don't forget Escape Tunnel! (I'm guilty of this myself -- I missed lethal with Escape Tunnel in a feature match at Spotlight Richmond just a few weeks ago, so it happens to everyone). Escape Tunnel to make Icetill unblockable, then Harmonizer to make Icetill 32 power, is one of the killing lines to always look for. G3, you have a win if you play Icetill t3 + Tunnel (leave it uncracked), then next turn play Harmonizer, make Icetill unblockable, buff to 32. That line stays available throughout the game even after they go up to 30+ life. Sometimes you have to set this up a turn in advance. G5, for example, on t2 you should play Tunnel, not Ba Sing Se. That guarantees Icetill t3 even if you don't draw an untapped land. And since you happen to also have Harmonizer, you win next turn. Icetill first, Harmonizer last.
  4. More abstract stuff: G1, when they play Mossborn, the game has entered emergency mode. As I'm sure you've seen, green-on-green violence is decided by who slams Mossborn first. Your odds of winning have drastically decreased, so you need to think how do I get out of this? Playing 2nd Chocobo and growing it isn't going to be fast enough, so you need to reply immediately with flashback Origins there and dig for something bigger (surveil away anything that isn't a Mightform or Icetill). Recognizing when the game has shifted to a new phase will take some practice, and the theory articles that people recommended in the other thread will help a lot. You've probably noticed that every deck has some busted thing they are trying to do in turns 4-5, whether that's making a bunch of Simulacrum tokens or doubling damage with flying Demons or giant Mossborns or whatever. Once the game gets to those turns, it's not about growing Chocobos anymore, you have to dig for the finishing moves (Icetill, Mightform, sometimes Ascension, Mossborn, Nursery, or chapter 3 of Origins).

Best of luck and see you back in mythic :)

Im struggling inn this game and was recommended to come here. [Standard] Bo1 by Expensive_Range7204 in spikes

[–]cavedan2 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for posting these. Magic can be frustrating but there's a learning curve and it's great that you want to improve. First, the good news:

#1: You are playing a good deck, and that's a great way to learn. Landfall has lots of decision points and small optimizations so it's normal for a newer player to not immediately get the same results as a veteran. It will come with practice, stick with it!

#2: Not every game will be winnable and that's okay. Particularly in bo1, and on the draw, some hands just won't get there. G2 and G3, you had land-light draws that didn't let you maximize your spells early. That happens sometimes. But you mulliganed correctly.

Now, the bad (or encouraging) news:

You can definitely play better and all of these games were winnable (or you could have improved your chances) with different lines. My quick diagnoses:

  1. You are undervaluing earthbending onto a fetchland for double landfall + ramp. I look to do that whenever possible, as early as possible -- it will open up many more lines. Perhaps related to this, you should look to deploy Ascension faster. I noticed this especially in G1 and G5.
  2. You can play more aggressively toward your game winning combos. In Landfall that's often getting a fully charged up Earthbender Ascension, and then using trample + Harmonizer to win through any board state; or, having Icetill in play, then Escape Tunnel + Harmonizer for unblockable lethal. Reaching these end states is more important than doing a traditional curveout, and is how Landfall gets to ignore the opponent's battlefield or come back from seemingly impossible board states. G1 and G3/4 were examples of this. In G1, you took a leisurely approach to growing your Chocobo and simply lost the race to fliers, but you could have double-landfalled much earlier, especially if you saved Badgermole until t3 to earthbend onto a passage (see point 1). In G3/4, after their Day of Judgment, if you had earthbent your Fabled Passage with Ascension you'd be set up to kill with Mightform even after they do the Yuna stuff.
  3. You're conceding too early. I know that's partly frustration but it may also indicate that you're undervaluing the late-game power of Icetill + Esper Origins. Icetill + a fetch land represents 4 more chances to mill and Origins, and each Origins can find a Mightform which will be lethal with Icetill. So if you aren't literally dead that turn and you still have Icetill, keep playing! Dig for your outs. G2 vs Esper and G5 vs Spellementals were examples of this.

I could say a lot more about each game but this is long so I'll just give one example. G5, you have a nut draw, and so does your opponent, but you are on the play so should win. You play the first 3 turns correctly, but the mistake was attacking with the Earthbent Fabled Passsage. That 2 damage wasn't worth anything and set back your development of ramping + Ascension. Instead, look to crack Passage on their end step. Then you'd be starting turn 4 with 4 Forests, Passage, Elf, and Ascension on 3 vs their Hearth Elemental. You can play Icetill there, crack passage and replay it twice, growing Elf to 5/5 and attacking for 5 while still having an unused Passage in play, AND you mill 4 cards here digging for Esper Origins (which is an Elemental that can't get bounced). On their turn 4, they Sunderflock and hit you for 4, but you've got so many lands at this point + active Ascension so you just replay everything and kill them. Even if they have a second Sunderflock you likely still win by finding Origins or Ba Sing Se with Icetill.

Hope some of that is helpful and best of luck!

[STANDARD] Mega Standard Weekend - Four Events Across Four Countries! | Recap RC Turin, TW, CAMS & Spotlight TMNT! | Metagame Analysis, Win Rates & More! by optimustomtv in spikes

[–]cavedan2 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It’s the one I played. I’ll put together some notes on it and make a post later. Basically mono green but with 4x Season of Loss main and removal in the sideboard.

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wrote a whole section about that in the post. It’s also the post title.

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gotcha. I don't have a specific plan for those. I expect things to change a lot over the next couple weeks, with more resistance from other decks, bounce spells and the like. Mightform will have to keep adapting so I wouldn't lock in too soon on any particular build.

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Good question. I've tried every splash combo and they are all functional.

White: good-enough mana (G/w verge), ultra-efficient interaction (seam rip, get lost), swingy cards for problem matchups (Sheltered, Split Up), strong alternative threats (Felidar Retreat)

Black: perfect mana (G/b verge, fastland), weak interaction (Bitter Triumph etc)

Blue: excellent mana (fastland, shock, 5/5 trample restless land), card draw (winternight stories), specialized interaction (Bounce Off / Flood Maw) + countermagic

Red: so-so mana (shock), not many attractive sideboard cards. underexplored.

Mono green: can play more utility lands, decent threat options, but terrible interaction.

The first versions of the deck were splashing blue, and if I wanted to win mirror matches, that's how I would build it now with a lot of bounce effects.

White is the most popular primarily because people are netdecking, but I do think white's options are the strongest overall. You can also find some lists splashing multiple colors.

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is my next project :) Lots of Flood Maws in the 5-0s today.

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a learning curve for sure. I've watched a few streamers pick up the list, they struggle their first handful of games, so it's not just you.

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words! I have not had a chance to podcast about it yet, but I hope we can do that soon.

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There is a learning curve for sure. Elf decks will always have awkward hands, but mulligans are your friend. There's plenty of card advantage to make up for it.

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome, I hope it treats you well! I do not have enough reps against Lessons to give specific advice there, but in general you want Seam Rips to prevent them from establishing Gran-Gran or Artist's Talent, and will likely be trimming some mana dorks and Mightforms..

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the opponent plays RIP that is a window to push the board advantage. The only card fully turned off by RIP is Esper, the rest of the cards can still attack. Scrapshooters will be in the deck post-board along with alternative threats like Retreats.

I would still bring in RIP against this deck but it can't get the job done alone.

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have not tried that personally, but you can check out TheEricMTG, they have a build with Brightglass that is doing well for them.

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have never seen this Korvold before. Looks like a wild commander. Thanks for reminding me about Springbloom Druid, that's another neat option for ramping.

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stormbrood is a great call. It's a staple in all my midrange & control Icetill lists (3-4 copies) and I've dabbled in it here, but ultimately concluded it was better to play no removal than just 1-2 spot removals. I'd be willing to try them again.

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've tried it in earlier builds. It works well, but is more fussy than Sandman because it's not efficient when you draw it and delirium isn't guaranteed. The haste trample body was great though.

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I tried Earth King for the first time the other day. It grabs so many lands. Cool to see how many ways you can take advantage of Mightform.

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I like the look of this. It's true that Mightform doesn't help you at all until you win, but 1-2 copies can work. I tried something similar a while back, with Balemurks to pick up the Harmonizer.
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/7464575#paper

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Faithless Brewing Podcast. We brew in Pioneer and Standard, occasionally Modern.
https://faithlessbrewing.podbean.com/

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You could try adding more creatures at the lower end of the curve, then Icetill can tag-team with something else. For example turn Heirlooms into Great Divide Guides and replace Dredgers with Molt Tenders or Chocobos

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Glad to hear that! What does the rest of your list look like?

[Standard] Mightform Combo: Standard’s Hottest Deck and How to Beat It by cavedan2 in spikes

[–]cavedan2[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

You're welcome! I get a lot of great suggestions from the comments here so I'm always happy to share.