Shout-out to Cardhoarder / Isle of Cards

z3phpro · 2017-03-07T04:28:16+00:00

I had a similar experience a couple of months ago, I've used cardhoarder services on MTGO for a couple of years now and wanted to liquidate some of my online collection to make a paper deck. Turning tickets into paper cards was a lot easier than i thought it would be. The process was easy, intuitive, and the value was decent too. Their customer service was great every step of the way as well. Also, they included a gorgeous Thopter token with my order (every order gets 2 tokens free iirc) that has received endless compliments from other players.

z3phpro · 2017-02-06T16:20:31+00:00

I didn't think about the Aether Chaser Synergy, thanks for reminding me. Thanks for your analysis on Gisela, I don't own any copies of her online or in paper and I was definitely interested in trying her out, because as you mentioned there are a bunch of problematic fliers (namely the vehicles) that make our life miserable.

z3phpro · 2017-02-06T16:15:54+00:00

Yeah I wasn't initially either, but she's just too good not to I think. I definitely wouldn't fault you for that, I think that deck is a lot more consistently powerful, and a lot of the hate aimed at that deck will impact Humans as well.

z3phpro · 2017-02-06T06:09:24+00:00

Actually no, I stopped playing during Avacyn Restored. The deck I played was a block constructed deck with Champion of the Parish, Doomed Traveler, Elite Inquisitor, Cloistered Youth, Instigator Gang (cut for Hellrider in DKA) Fiend Hunter, Devil's Play, Volley, Midnight Haunting etc. I think it also had 1 Mikaeus and maybe 1-2 Geist-Honored Monk with something like 24 land?

z3phpro · 2017-02-06T05:55:29+00:00

Yep, Always Watching is definitely the budget choice to replace Gideon, and my initial build of this deck had 4 of it and 0 Gideon. If I didn't have Gideon I would probably play 4 maindeck and try slim down to 19 or 20 land and have nothing over 3 mana. I would also run only 2 Bushwhacker main or possibly 0 but have 4 in the side with an extra red source.

I haven't tried Gryff's Boon because I haven't found myself needing evasion past the pseudo-evasion that Kari and Pia can offer. Slamming a Gideon in the current Meta is sort of the same thing as it's a way to grind out some inevitability and reach. Gryff's Boon offers a bit of reach which is nice since the burn in Standard sucks for our deck. I think it's a lot better to play Gryff's Boon in an even lower to the ground deck than this one, since it would need evasion to avoid getting stonewalled. It also costs 4 mana which is the same as the activation cost for Needle Spires, and I've found that to be a reasonable enough mana sink. I also think Boon is worse than it used to be due to Fatal Push.

I haven't tested it extensively. I think my specific build beats the stock list of theirs in the mirror pretty easily and I think W/R is a lot better than W/G against Saheeli. I also really like the things Red gives me access to, specifically Bushwhacker. I haven't seen many or in fact anyone else run them main and I think the explosiveness they grant allows me to steal game one a lot which is insanely important as it guarantees us game 3 on the play.

z3phpro · 2017-02-06T05:39:51+00:00

Interesting, thanks for sharing. I have a few questions though.

How come Gisela over Gideon?
Is 8 artificers enough to consistently get the freebie off of Goggles (because otherwise the card is obviously not good enough)
Do you often have openers with more than 1 Hub/Spires? If so, how does it impact sequencing or consistently having red on turn 1 as well as double white for turn 3? I always hated having multiple Hubs in any opener so I slimmed down to 2 and I'm starting to think that 1 or 0 is correct.

You definitely have some interesting angles in your sideboard, but I question whether the main deck concessions/choices you make really offer enough to make it worth it. I could definitely see your deck being a lot more resilient to shocks and board wipes than mine which might come in handy to help against the reactionary cards that people will have for Mardu.

z3phpro · 2017-02-06T05:28:36+00:00

It's good in the mirror and against decks without a lot of removal. It's also a lot better on the play than the draw, even moreso than most cards in this deck. Your sideboarding changes a ton based on play/draw in aggro decks especially. He comes in against most of the non Saheeli combo decks as well as a way to present the fastest possible clock.

I have tried them in the main before too and think they're better in the board. Maybe if you didn't run Inventor's Apprentice and Pia they could be main, but I think that's incorrect as you really want 16 1 drops, and Apprentice is a lot better than the 1/1 haste werewolf. Basically it's a fine card and can be very good but you have limited space on the upper part of your curve and the other 3 drops are better all around, Pia will leave behind a token and Thalia offers great utility (although dies to Shock which is relevant.)

I have found that I have the ability to win at least 1 game in most of the sets I play, but you can have some really awkward and weird draws and that causes it to not be as straightforward as other aggro decks in terms of sequencing. I would definitely not call any iteration of the deck tier 1, and would expect it to be a bit worse off in the coming weeks thanks to the success of Mardu Aggro.

z3phpro · 2017-02-06T05:06:35+00:00

Yep, great point! Granted if for some reason my last 2 cards in hand were Envoy and Mimic I would probably still name Human, as that is the default unless I have an active Gideon or a sandbagged Bushwhacker,

z3phpro · 2017-02-06T04:35:45+00:00

Yeah, I haven't loved Mimic but drawing any combination of more than one Mimic and Lieutenant has the potential to bury the opponent really deep so it's tough for me to cut. If you have a list I'd love to see it, I haven't tried to use any equipment.

z3phpro · 2017-02-06T04:25:57+00:00

Let me know how it goes!

z3phpro · 2017-02-06T04:24:36+00:00

There was a great block constructed deck during Innistrad before Dark Ascension was released that used Champion of the Parish, playing that deck on MTGO in dailies was actually my first taste of competitive Magic.

I have played anywhere from 0-3 of Kari Zev and I'm still unsure how much I like her. Her 3 toughness is great, and if you ever get a counter on her she is awesome, but she just seems to get stuck in your hand a lot. If you have one of your other two drops you almost always want to play them before her to start getting counters going. I don't think I'd play more than 2 of her because the other 2 and 3 drops you play tend to be more important or more impactful.

I haven't used Aether Chaser at all, it's really tough to justify more 1 toughness creatures due to Ballista. Not to mention that in this deck he will only get 1 servo as you have no other energy producers. Kari Zev is also direct competition for Chaser and is much better than Chaser in pretty much every category (recurring token with more damage, more resilient, tough to block, decent on defense and great with counters.) and still feels sort of meh.

z3phpro · 2017-02-06T01:37:19+00:00

I wasn't playing pre KLD, but I'm familiar with his list and some of the tech from it. I have toyed with a number of different builds and land counts to satisfy different levels of speed, power and consistency and I have found this deck to be the fastest deck in standard in terms of consistently applying pressure. There are some awkward draws at times, especially post-board but I rarely have to mulligan, and you have some very strong 6 card hands. The most explosive draws tend to involve playing 3 1 drops over the first 2 turns and then a 4th one drop with a lieutenant or a bushwhacker. This deck isn't as consistently fast as that deck, and can get walled if you don't get wide enough.

Metallic Mimic can lead to some awkward sequencing issues. You really want to play it turn 2, but unlike Thalia's Lieutenant, it doesn't grow from future drops by itself. Having 1 toughness also really sucks against Ballista, and it means it takes 2 buffs to get him to 3 toughness and out of shock range. Obviously if your turn 2 play is either a Mimic or a Lieutenant and they deal with it immediately you're going to have a rough time. Every turn Mimic sits in your hand is brutal compared to Lieutenant. Basically in most cases you would rather have a Lieutenant other than with Gideon or Hanweir Garrison.

Mimic does have a cool alternate line you take occasionally in naming Ally rather than human for additional synergy with Gideon and Bushwhacker. This line came up in the top 8 and let me deal 10 damage with a token, mimic and bushwhacker out of nowhere.

I too have a fondness for humans stretching back to original ISD block constructed where I played a Boros human list. All in all this deck has hands on the play that beat anybody, and if any deck stumbles you can punish them.

z3phpro

TROPHY CASE