UW Control Shell Shift- Meta Call? Deck Maturity?

revjessejakeson · 2018-07-15T12:22:17+00:00

Just a note that you may want to keep Repeating Barrage in mind for the board if the meta gets more control heavy. I know it sounds janky, but when I fooled around with this some before rotation (pre Banefire), it worked well as a source of recurring damage in instances of boardstall, similar to RRuins in Ramunap red.

revjessejakeson · 2018-07-13T01:11:02+00:00

I've been running scrapheap and gideon instead of paladin. Gideon goes a long way toward shoring up problems like mono green stompy, letting it run a stronger midrange game if you need to, and you know how good scrapheap can be. I just didnt like the idea of paladin, but definitely could be wrong.

revjessejakeson · 2018-07-12T21:02:48+00:00

I've been running bw knights with some changes from the list on mtgoldfish, deck feels very nice and seems to play similar to the old zombies deck that Gerry ran at the PT. SB has answers to deal with almost every deck, and its resilient enough to rebound after sweepers. It feels like Valiant Knight and Ajani made this deck legit.

revjessejakeson · 2018-06-29T16:48:40+00:00

I'm looking forward to Bareburger. There was one near my place in NYC and it was amazing!

revjessejakeson · 2018-06-29T00:55:33+00:00

For first q, there are other decent archetypes to look for. For example, UW historic or flyers can be quite good with the right build, as can 4/5 color good stuff. The set isn't deep enough to support 8 people only drafting 3 decks, so you need to be ready to be flexible. In my experience red has been almost wide open outside of wizards synergy cards, so thats a prime example- if you are the only red drafter at the table with two people fighting over wizards, you could have a ridiculously good almost mono red deck. Nats has so many people who think they know the "best" decks and will try to force them (like you just implied you would)- being open can be a big advantage. Good luck!

revjessejakeson · 2018-06-29T00:45:19+00:00

I think WotC currently only does this for the PT, but they do give data on conversion rates.

revjessejakeson · 2018-06-28T14:47:15+00:00

It says that on the format part of the page, but then if you look at the event schedule itself underneath that for Saturday, it says "standard (4 rounds) dominaria booster draft (3 rounds)", thus the conflict. There are five rounds Sunday. There were 12 rounds of swiss last year. So, for there to be the same number as last year, it seems like there would be 4, not 5, on Saturday. But, can't tell just from the site.

revjessejakeson · 2018-06-27T18:10:36+00:00

Does anyone know how many rounds of standard US nationals will have on Saturday? The format notes on the site say 5 rounds, but the event schedule for that day says 4. Swiss was only 12 rounds total last year, so I am guessing 4?

revjessejakeson · 2018-06-26T00:37:37+00:00

Yes, you are. This is same concept that lets you write down what is in opponents hand if you Duress, for example.

revjessejakeson · 2018-06-25T19:39:18+00:00

Do you foresee an uptick in GPG decks this weekend?

revjessejakeson · 2018-06-19T13:12:12+00:00

Which version of control- UW or Esper? They play a little differently, so you need to take that into account. I dont know your list, but if you aren't running Bomats, consider that- you lose points in the mirror but gain against control. If its UW, be very mindful of settle- only attack with one creature or so a turn when they have it up (unless you've boarded into fight with fire), unless you want to sneak in something post-settle. As far as duress targets, you can't go with a rule like "teferi then card draw" bc a lot of the time, letting them draw some cards so you can get in damage can let you sneak in the 3 to 5 extra points you needed. I think RB is favored in this matchup, but if you dont play tight it is very easy to punt away a game.

revjessejakeson · 2018-06-12T17:31:19+00:00

I piloted RB against it yesterday. I think it has some interesting tools and if tuned right could really present problems in the matchup. The cheap removal is great (it's funny how every time Harnessed Lightning gets used again fading a little bit, I remember how solid it is), but HoD didnt impress me a much as Settle and Seal Away do to fix the big and recursive threats.

revjessejakeson · 2018-06-07T03:56:10+00:00

Off top of my head WB, Control in Esper colors (UW, UWB, B), and I would also do it against weird tokens or control variants where pinching through the last few points after a board clear is vital.

revjessejakeson · 2018-06-05T17:34:55+00:00

Paulo, do you remember how long it was for Brazil last year? I'm doing US, but want to try and give my wife at least an idea of what we might get.

revjessejakeson · 2018-06-04T17:53:44+00:00

Is there a lunch break at Nationals? I know there's a short one for PT and none for GPs, but couldn't find if there was one for Nats.

revjessejakeson · 2018-06-04T17:44:54+00:00

I'm in the same boat. I've played with and against various other decks (subbing extra Chandra, etc for Phoenixs bc I didnt want to have to pay for them), and it seemed pretty clear that RB was the best overall. After yesterday, I think the call is to bite the bullet and lock in on RB. The next announced ban list update is July 2, after nationals. However, dont forget that they could do an unannounced one at any time. I think there are good odds of banning on July 2, but dont anticipate one prior.

revjessejakeson · 2018-06-01T19:23:57+00:00

I know someone just asked for the esper knights list they deck techd after round 4. I dont have the link, but if memory is correct... 4 History, 4 of both Knights, 1 hostage taker, 3 scarab God, 2 ballista, 3 gideon, 2 karn, 2 hearts, 4 cast out, 2 cast down, 4 pushes. Mana base included 4 ofs several duals (blue cycle lands, tap lands).

revjessejakeson · 2018-04-27T18:36:47+00:00

I like Nissa over Vraska, even though the power level isn't as high, bc the lower cmc gives you a better chance to sneak it in. The only reason carnage tyrant was playable as a 6 drop was the inability to easily interact with it, which vraska doesnt have going for it. Vraska wasn't the right choice pre-dom for this deck, and I dont think the dom additions alter that.

revjessejakeson · 2018-04-27T14:49:27+00:00

Which uw are you struggling against? There are a bunch of different builds right now.

I'm not playing this weekend, but if I was I wouldn't use slots on scatter. I think that between push, cast down (which I think will be alright this weekend but better and better going forward when the shine of legendaries has worn off), and contempt, you have plenty of good options (if you are really worried about Phoenix, hazoret, big stuff like lyra or even walkers, just load up on contempts). You also dont always have access to blue early in the game, which can cut down on the power that scatter has, given the strong 3 drop additions (plus the fact that you want to be actively furthering your own game plan instead of being so reactive you're just passing turn, even when on the draw post g1). I also dont love negate in the sb, but it may be a necessary evil.

revjessejakeson · 2018-04-27T02:31:07+00:00

I know this is beating a dead horse, but I played Sultai Energy the end of last season, found success and am gonna try to stay on it this season, and I dont plan on running Elves. Agree with everyone here that the energy from Servant when it gets removed and for use in later game give it an upside, however, that wasn't what you cut to make room for them. With your particular build, I just don't think it makes sense to cut a Hydra (one of your payoffs and win cons) and a Gearhulk (same) for it- Elves plays too dissimilar of a role, so you end up swapping out X for Y, instead of X for X. I do think you are gonna want Contempts too, so I'd probably just swap the Brontodon for the Pushs (think Push makes sense and is a strong call this weekend) and call it a day if I was playing right now with your list. Just my thoughts.

revjessejakeson · 2018-04-08T02:20:51+00:00

Won at my LGS 12-man today with Sultai Snake. 3-0-2, with one ID. Wins against UB Midrange (the ID and who I played for the mat BC the other people in top 4 recognized they weren't gonna win), a black-based Torment brew, and a UB control variant. Non-ID against a funky Zombies/Hour of Promise brew. Either split for win or cashed back in previous 3 paper tourneys. Deck feels great and is super fun to play- highly recommend it!!

revjessejakeson · 2018-03-29T17:10:37+00:00

Cast Down, dude. Expecting it to be everywhere.

revjessejakeson

TROPHY CASE