| All's Fair in Love and Magic - by Erik Friborg
Last time, on All's fair in Love and Magic I discussed how to hate on fetchland->dual mana bases. Not because I love land destruction, but because I prefer solving problems over whining about them. If something upsets me enough to complain about it, then it should upset me enough to DO something about it. And that's what this series is all about. Taking your Magic experience into your own hands and fighting against those strategies you don't like instead of just chalking the loss up to 'unfun' cards/strategies/etc.
Anti-Discard.dek
So this week, I'm going to cover ways to fight a couple of 'unfun' strategies. Two of the main ones being discard and counterspells. These anti-strategies aren't as open ended as last time though, as they essentially start to build themselves once you look at the hate cards. First up, anti-Discard.dek.
Here's a quick look at of some dedicated anti-discard cards:
Dodecapod
Guerilla Tactics
Mangara's Blessing
Psychic Purge
Pure Intentions
Quagnoth
Sand Golem
Wilt-Leaf Liege
Imperial Mask
Ivory Mask
Solitary Confinement
True Believer
Some interesting cards in there, and some that don't play well together. For exemple, Pure Intentions + Sand Golem/Dodecapod. If you're going to run the discard into play creatures you probably don't want to run the discard back to hand spell. What's the point, really? Also, I like the power of Solitary Confinement and I will certainly want to build a deck to break that at some point in the future. But enough of that, let's build us a deck!
Discard, eh?
The theory of this build was that one way or another I would benefit from discard. If they discarded me to threshhold I'd have beefy critters. If they discarded the pro-Discard creatures I'd be good anyway. Sadly it turned out that there were a few flaws in my first deck, which we'll see shortly.
Game one: Black/Red Burn
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2:11 PM hamtastic chooses to play first.
2:11 PM hamtastic keeps this hand.
2:11 PM Mimie7999 keeps this hand.
2:11 PM hamtastic skips their draw step.
2:11 PM hamtastic plays Forest.
2:11 PM hamtastic plays Nimble Mongoose.
2:11 PM Turn 1: Mimie7999.
2:11 PM Mimie7999 plays Vivid Crag.
2:11 PM Turn 2: hamtastic.
2:11 PM hamtastic plays Forest.
2:11 PM Mimie7999 is being attacked by: Nimble Mongoose
2:11 PM Turn 2: Mimie7999.
2:12 PM Mimie7999 plays Vivid Marsh.
2:12 PM Turn 3: hamtastic.
2:12 PM hamtastic plays Krosan Verge.
2:12 PM Mimie7999 is being attacked by: Nimble Mongoose
2:12 PM Turn 3: Mimie7999.
2:12 PM Mimie7999 plays Graven Cairns.
2:12 PM Turn 4: hamtastic.
2:12 PM Mimie7999 is being attacked by: Nimble Mongoose
2:12 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Krosan Verge.
2:12 PM Shuffling hamtastic's library
2:12 PM Turn 4: Mimie7999.
2:12 PM Mimie7999 plays Mountain.
2:12 PM Mimie7999 plays Murderous Redcap.
2:13 PM Mimie7999 plays triggered ability from Murderous Redcap targeting hamtastic.
2:13 PM Turn 5: hamtastic.
2:13 PM hamtastic plays Forest.
2:13 PM hamtastic plays Call of the Herd.
2:13 PM Turn 5: Mimie7999.
2:13 PM Mimie7999 plays Mountain.
2:13 PM Mimie7999 plays Shriekmaw.
2:13 PM Mimie7999 plays triggered ability from Shriekmaw targeting Elephant token.
2:13 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Murderous Redcap
2:13 PM Turn 6: hamtastic.
2:13 PM hamtastic plays Plains.
2:13 PM hamtastic plays Quagnoth.
2:13 PM Turn 6: Mimie7999.
2:14 PM Mimie7999 plays Shriekmaw.
2:14 PM No legal targets to choose for Shriekmaw's triggered ability.
2:14 PM Mimie7999 plays Swamp.
2:14 PM Turn 7: hamtastic.
2:14 PM hamtastic plays Krosan Verge.
2:14 PM Mimie7999 is being attacked by: Quagnoth
2:14 PM Shriekmaw blocks Quagnoth.
2:14 PM Shriekmaw blocks Quagnoth.
2:15 PM hamtastic plays Call of the Herd from the graveyard.
2:15 PM Turn 7: Mimie7999.
2:15 PM Turn 8: hamtastic.
2:15 PM hamtastic plays Forest.
2:15 PM hamtastic plays Sword of Light and Shadow.
2:15 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Sword of Light and Shadow targeting Elephant token.
2:15 PM Mimie7999 plays Nameless Inversion targeting Elephant token.
2:15 PM hamtastic's activated ability from Sword of Light and Shadow is countered because of no legal targets.
2:15 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Krosan Verge.
2:15 PM Shuffling hamtastic's library
2:16 PM Mimie7999 plays Flame Javelin targeting hamtastic.
2:16 PM Turn 8: Mimie7999.
2:16 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Murderous Redcap
2:16 PM Mimie7999 plays Vivid Crag.
2:16 PM Turn 9: hamtastic.
2:16 PM Mimie7999 is being attacked by: Nimble Mongoose
2:16 PM hamtastic plays Quagnoth.
2:16 PM Mimie7999 plays Flame Javelin targeting hamtastic.
2:16 PM Turn 9: Mimie7999.
2:17 PM Mimie7999 plays Shriekmaw.
2:17 PM No legal targets to choose for Shriekmaw's triggered ability.
2:17 PM hamtastic plays Mangara's Blessing.
2:17 PM Turn 10: hamtastic.
2:17 PM Mimie7999 is being attacked by: Quagnoth
2:17 PM Murderous Redcap blocks Quagnoth.
2:17 PM Shriekmaw blocks Quagnoth.
2:18 PM Mimie7999 plays triggered ability from Murderous Redcap.
2:18 PM Mimie7999 plays triggered ability from Murderous Redcap targeting hamtastic.
2:18 PM hamtastic plays Chronosavant.
2:18 PM Mimie7999 has conceded from the game.
2:18 PM Mimie7999 has left the game.
Record: 1-0
Surprise MVP of the game? Mangara's Blessing. Of course, I did wind up seeing a burn deck and nothing throws their game plan into disarray quite like some life gain. Also the Sword of Light and Shadow pretty much gave me protection from his deck, which probably had something to do with his scooping shortly after I had a creature that could wear it for a turn or two. I noticed that I wasn't able to equip my Sword to a couple of my creatures though... that could be trouble.
Classic cards encountered in the game? None.
Classic Cards played by me: Mangara's Blessing
Game two: Black/Blue Knight Destruction
Show/Hide Game Logs
2:27 PM laotsu chooses to play first.
2:27 PM laotsu keeps this hand.
2:27 PM hamtastic keeps this hand.
2:27 PM laotsu skips their draw step.
2:27 PM laotsu plays Swamp.
2:27 PM Turn 1: hamtastic.
2:27 PM hamtastic plays Krosan Verge.
2:27 PM Turn 2: laotsu.
2:27 PM laotsu plays Island.
2:27 PM laotsu cycles Lonely Sandbar.
2:28 PM Turn 2: hamtastic.
2:28 PM hamtastic plays Forest.
2:28 PM hamtastic plays Werebear.
2:28 PM Turn 3: laotsu.
2:28 PM laotsu plays Swamp.
2:28 PM laotsu plays Slith Bloodletter.
2:28 PM Turn 3: hamtastic.
2:28 PM hamtastic plays Plains.
2:28 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Krosan Verge.
2:28 PM Shuffling hamtastic's library
2:28 PM Turn 4: laotsu.
2:28 PM laotsu plays Stalking Stones.
2:28 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Slith Bloodletter
2:28 PM Werebear blocks Slith Bloodletter.
2:28 PM laotsu plays activated ability from Slith Bloodletter.
2:29 PM Turn 4: hamtastic.
2:29 PM hamtastic plays Plains.
2:29 PM hamtastic plays Dodecapod.
2:29 PM Turn 5: laotsu.
2:29 PM laotsu plays Dark Banishing targeting Dodecapod.
2:29 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Slith Bloodletter
2:29 PM laotsu plays triggered ability from Slith Bloodletter.
2:29 PM Turn 5: hamtastic.
2:29 PM hamtastic plays Krosan Verge.
2:29 PM hamtastic plays Nimble Mongoose.
2:29 PM hamtastic plays Dodecapod.
2:30 PM Turn 6: laotsu.
2:30 PM laotsu plays Sisay's Ingenuity targeting Slith Bloodletter.
2:30 PM laotsu plays triggered ability from Sisay's Ingenuity.
2:31 PM laotsu plays Dark Banishing targeting Dodecapod.
2:31 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Slith Bloodletter
2:31 PM Nimble Mongoose blocks Slith Bloodletter.
2:31 PM Turn 6: hamtastic.
2:31 PM hamtastic plays Plains.
2:31 PM hamtastic plays Sand Golem.
2:31 PM Turn 7: laotsu.
2:31 PM laotsu plays Eastern Paladin.
2:31 PM Turn 7: hamtastic.
2:31 PM hamtastic plays Krosan Verge.
2:32 PM hamtastic plays Umezawa's Jitte.
2:32 PM hamtastic plays Werebear.
2:32 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Sand Golem.
2:32 PM Turn 8: laotsu.
2:32 PM laotsu plays Island.
2:32 PM Turn 8: hamtastic.
2:32 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Krosan Verge.
2:32 PM Shuffling hamtastic's library
2:33 PM hamtastic plays Wilt-Leaf Liege.
2:33 PM laotsu plays activated ability from Eastern Paladin targeting Wilt-Leaf Liege.
2:33 PM Turn 9: laotsu.
2:33 PM laotsu plays Swamp.
2:33 PM Turn 9: hamtastic.
2:33 PM laotsu is being attacked by: Sand Golem
2:33 PM laotsu plays activated ability from Slith Bloodletter targeting Sand Golem.
2:34 PM laotsu chooses green.
2:34 PM laotsu plays activated ability from Slith Bloodletter.
2:34 PM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
2:34 PM laotsu has lost the connection.
Record: 2-0
He made a play mistake and regenerated the creature instead of killing my creature with the neat combo of Sisay's Ingenuity and Eastern Paladin. Other cards that would do the similar things are Distorting Lens and of course, the awesomely fantastical Painter's Serveant. I make a note of this deck, as it's a neat idea for a future deck. Back in the game, instead of just conceding to the mistake, or even giving me the opportunity to concede to him (by all accounts he should have won this game) he disconnects. I don't get it, but I figure now's a good a time as any to go off on a diatribe.
Do not disconnect. Not in a casual game, not in a competitive game, just don't do it. There's really no reason for it. If you've lost, you've lost. Not being around for it doesn't change the loss to win and all it really does is make the game less fun for your opponent, you know, a person just like you who likes Magic the Gathering and is giving up his or her free time to play it… just like you. Keep doing that and you will run out of opponents one way or another. There's no shame in losing a game. There is no shame in admitting a mistake. There certainly IS shame in leaving your opponent hanging in the middle of a game, and in some online card games, doing so is grounds for termination of your account. "It's just a game, Focker". So true. This is a just a card game. There is no need to get upset about it to the point where you leave your opponent hanging. Of course, that advice goes both ways. There is no need to get all upset if someone disconnects on you either. It is frustrating for sure, but do not let that frustration get to you. It is just a game, after all. A concession is a win and a disconnection is an uber-win. So much win, that the opponent's computer couldn't even handle it. Or something. Back to the games!
Classic cards seen from opponent: None.
Classic Cards played by me: Sand Golem
Game three: Black/White/Green good stuff
Show/Hide Game Logs
2:52 PM nick220997 joined the game.
2:52 PM hamtastic chooses to play first.
2:52 PM hamtastic keeps this hand.
2:52 PM nick220997 keeps this hand.
2:52 PM hamtastic skips their draw step.
2:52 PM hamtastic plays Forest.
2:52 PM Turn 1: nick220997.
2:53 PM nick220997 plays Vivid Crag.
2:53 PM Turn 2: hamtastic.
2:53 PM hamtastic plays Plains.
2:53 PM hamtastic plays Nimble Mongoose.
2:53 PM Turn 2: nick220997.
2:53 PM nick220997 plays Molten Slagheap.
2:53 PM nick220997 plays Wall of Roots.
2:53 PM Turn 3: hamtastic.
2:53 PM hamtastic plays Forest.
2:53 PM hamtastic plays Sword of Light and Shadow.
2:53 PM Turn 3: nick220997.
2:54 PM nick220997 plays Urza's Factory.
2:54 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Molten Slagheap.
2:54 PM Turn 4: hamtastic.
2:54 PM hamtastic plays Forest.
2:54 PM hamtastic plays Wilt-Leaf Liege.
2:55 PM Turn 4: nick220997.
2:55 PM nick220997 plays Grand Coliseum.
2:55 PM nick220997 plays Creeping Mold targeting Sword of Light and Shadow.
2:55 PM Turn 5: hamtastic.
2:55 PM hamtastic plays Umezawa's Jitte.
2:55 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Wilt-Leaf Liege.
2:55 PM nick220997 is being attacked by: Wilt-Leaf Liege, Nimble Mongoose
2:55 PM Wall of Roots blocks Nimble Mongoose.
2:55 PM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
2:56 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Wall of Roots.
2:56 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Wall of Roots.
2:56 PM Turn 5: nick220997.
2:56 PM nick220997 plays Damnation.
2:56 PM Turn 6: hamtastic.
2:56 PM hamtastic plays Plains.
2:56 PM hamtastic plays Dodecapod.
2:56 PM hamtastic plays Nimble Mongoose.
2:56 PM Turn 6: nick220997.
2:57 PM nick220997 plays Stinkweed Imp.
2:57 PM Turn 7: hamtastic.
2:57 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Dodecapod.
2:57 PM nick220997 is being attacked by: Nimble Mongoose, Dodecapod
2:57 PM Stinkweed Imp blocks Dodecapod.
2:57 PM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
2:57 PM nick220997 plays triggered ability from Stinkweed Imp.
2:57 PM hamtastic plays Nimble Mongoose.
2:57 PM Turn 7: nick220997.
2:58 PM nick220997 plays Silhana Ledgewalker.
2:58 PM nick220997 plays Darksteel Pendant.
2:58 PM Turn 8: hamtastic.
2:58 PM nick220997 is being attacked by: Nimble Mongoose, Nimble Mongoose
2:59 PM Turn 8: nick220997.
2:59 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Darksteel Pendant.
2:59 PM nick220997 puts their top card on the bottom of their library.
2:59 PM nick220997 plays Vivid Grove.
2:59 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Molten Slagheap.
2:59 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Silhana Ledgewalker
2:59 PM Turn 9: hamtastic.
2:59 PM nick220997 is being attacked by: Nimble Mongoose, Nimble Mongoose
2:59 PM Turn 9: nick220997.
3:00 PM nick220997 plays Armadillo Cloak targeting Silhana Ledgewalker.
3:00 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Silhana Ledgewalker
3:00 PM nick220997 plays triggered ability from Armadillo Cloak.
3:00 PM nick220997 plays Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.
3:00 PM Turn 10: hamtastic.
3:00 PM hamtastic plays Forest.
3:01 PM nick220997 is being attacked by: Nimble Mongoose, Nimble Mongoose
3:01 PM hamtastic plays Chronosavant.
3:02 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Darksteel Pendant.
3:02 PM nick220997 puts their top card on the bottom of their library.
3:02 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Molten Slagheap.
3:02 PM Turn 10: nick220997.
3:03 PM nick220997 plays Diabolic Tutor.
3:03 PM Shuffling nick220997's library
3:03 PM nick220997 plays Umezawa's Jitte.
3:03 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:03 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:03 PM Put duplicate legend Umezawa's Jitte controlled by nick220997 into the graveyard.
3:03 PM Put duplicate legend Umezawa's Jitte controlled by hamtastic into the graveyard.
3:03 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Silhana Ledgewalker
3:04 PM nick220997 plays triggered ability from Armadillo Cloak.
3:04 PM Turn 11: hamtastic.
3:04 PM hamtastic plays Plains.
3:04 PM nick220997 is being attacked by: Chronosavant, Nimble Mongoose, Nimble Mongoose
3:04 PM Turn 11: nick220997.
3:04 PM nick220997 plays the Dredge ability from Stinkweed Imp.
3:04 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Silhana Ledgewalker
3:04 PM nick220997 plays triggered ability from Armadillo Cloak.
3:05 PM nick220997 plays Stinkweed Imp.
3:05 PM nick220997 plays Cruel Edict targeting hamtastic.
3:05 PM hamtastic sacrifices Nimble Mongoose.
3:05 PM Turn 12: hamtastic.
3:05 PM nick220997 is being attacked by: Chronosavant, Nimble Mongoose
3:06 PM Stinkweed Imp blocks Chronosavant.
3:06 PM nick220997 plays triggered ability from Stinkweed Imp.
3:06 PM hamtastic plays Quagnoth.
3:06 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Darksteel Pendant.
3:07 PM nick220997 puts their top card on the bottom of their library.
3:07 PM Turn 12: nick220997.
3:07 PM nick220997 plays the Dredge ability from Stinkweed Imp.
3:07 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Silhana Ledgewalker
3:07 PM nick220997 plays triggered ability from Armadillo Cloak.
3:07 PM nick220997 plays Stinkweed Imp.
3:08 PM Turn 13: hamtastic.
3:08 PM nick220997 is being attacked by: Quagnoth, Nimble Mongoose
3:08 PM Stinkweed Imp blocks Quagnoth.
3:08 PM nick220997 plays triggered ability from Stinkweed Imp.
3:08 PM hamtastic plays Quagnoth.
3:09 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Darksteel Pendant.
3:09 PM nick220997 chooses not to put the top card of their library on the bottom.
3:09 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Molten Slagheap.
3:09 PM Turn 13: nick220997.
3:10 PM nick220997 plays Recollect targeting Umezawa's Jitte.
3:10 PM nick220997: easy to misclick with such sgity graveyard
3:10 PM Umezawa's Jitte is returned to nick220997's hand from the graveyard.
3:10 PM nick220997 plays Orzhov Basilica.
3:10 PM nick220997 plays triggered ability from Orzhov Basilica.
3:10 PM hamtastic: yep
3:10 PM Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is returned to nick220997's hand from play.
3:11 PM nick220997 plays Umezawa's Jitte.
3:11 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Silhana Ledgewalker.
3:11 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Silhana Ledgewalker
3:11 PM nick220997 plays triggered ability from Armadillo Cloak.
3:11 PM nick220997 plays triggered ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:11 PM Turn 14: hamtastic.
3:11 PM hamtastic plays Plains.
3:12 PM hamtastic plays Wilt-Leaf Liege.
3:12 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:12 PM nick220997 is being attacked by: Quagnoth, Nimble Mongoose
3:12 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Darksteel Pendant.
3:12 PM nick220997 chooses not to put the top card of their library on the bottom.
3:12 PM Turn 14: nick220997.
3:13 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Silhana Ledgewalker
3:13 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:13 PM nick220997 plays triggered ability from Armadillo Cloak.
3:13 PM nick220997 plays triggered ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:13 PM nick220997 plays Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.
3:14 PM nick220997 plays Myojin of Cleansing Fire.
3:14 PM hamtastic plays Mangara's Blessing.
3:14 PM Turn 15: hamtastic.
3:14 PM nick220997 is being attacked by: Wilt-Leaf Liege, Quagnoth, Nimble Mongoose
3:15 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Myojin of Cleansing Fire.
3:15 PM hamtastic plays Call of the Herd.
3:15 PM hamtastic plays Call of the Herd from the graveyard.
3:15 PM Turn 15: nick220997.
3:16 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Darksteel Pendant.
3:16 PM nick220997 puts their top card on the bottom of their library.
3:16 PM nick220997 plays the Dredge ability from Stinkweed Imp.
3:16 PM nick220997 plays Stinkweed Imp.
3:16 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Myojin of Cleansing Fire.
3:16 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Myojin of Cleansing Fire
3:16 PM Elephant token blocks Myojin of Cleansing Fire.
3:17 PM nick220997 plays triggered ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:17 PM nick220997 plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Stinkweed Imp.
3:17 PM Turn 16: hamtastic.
3:17 PM hamtastic: gg
3:17 PM hamtastic has conceded from the game.
Record: 2-1
This was a great game. I don't often have games go to turn 16, in any format. It was a back and forth battle at times, and just when I'd think I was pulling ahead he'd fight back. The game lasted long enough for me to see how anti-synergistic my deck really was. Shroud + Equipment: bombo. Discard into play + threshold: bombo. I needed to modify my deck accordingly.
Classic Cards played by opponent: None
Classic Cards played by me: Mangara's Blessing
Okay, I likely could have won this if I was actually able to equip my Jitte for any of the half dozen turns I had an unconstested creature out. It's time to shake the deck up a bit and remove the very anti-synergistic cards from it. So here goes:
Tier 1 discard hate
4x Wilt-Leaf Liege
4x Sand Golem
4x Dodecapod
4x Call of the Herd
3x Quagnoth
|
Lands!
10x Plains
10x Forest
4x Krosan Verge
|
Tier 2 discard hate
+3x Eternal Witness
+2x Argivian Archaeologist
|
Other Stuff
+4x Primal Order
+3x Mind Stone
3x Umezawa's Jitte
2x Sword of Light and Shadow
|
-Nx What's not listed |
Game Four: Skullclamp Affinity
Awesome, affinity. I play it out, all three turns of it anyway. The whole point of this series is to stop the whining so I obviously will not whine about playing against it. That does not make it any less of a stupid deck though. I mean seriously, does anyone not know how good Clamp Affinity is? Meh. All's fair in Love and Magic though, so I scoop and move on.
Record: 2-2
Classic Cards played by opponent: Skullclamp.
Game Five: Mono-Black Zombies
Show/Hide Game Logs
3:44 PM Thunk chooses to play first.
3:44 PM Thunk keeps this hand.
3:44 PM hamtastic keeps this hand.
3:44 PM Thunk skips their draw step.
3:44 PM Thunk plays Swamp.
3:44 PM Thunk plays Festering Goblin.
3:44 PM Turn 1: hamtastic.
3:44 PM hamtastic plays Krosan Verge.
3:44 PM Turn 2: Thunk.
3:44 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Festering Goblin
3:45 PM Thunk plays Festering Goblin.
3:45 PM Turn 2: hamtastic.
3:45 PM hamtastic plays Forest.
3:45 PM hamtastic plays Selesnya Signet.
3:45 PM Turn 3: Thunk.
3:45 PM Thunk plays Swamp.
3:45 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Festering Goblin, Festering Goblin
3:45 PM Thunk plays Yawgmoth's Edict.
3:45 PM Turn 3: hamtastic.
3:45 PM hamtastic plays Forest.
3:45 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Krosan Verge.
3:45 PM Shuffling hamtastic's library
3:46 PM Turn 4: Thunk.
3:46 PM Thunk plays Swamp.
3:46 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Festering Goblin, Festering Goblin
3:46 PM Turn 4: hamtastic.
3:46 PM hamtastic plays Forest.
3:46 PM hamtastic plays Call of the Herd.
3:46 PM hamtastic plays Eternal Witness.
3:46 PM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Eternal Witness targeting Call of the Herd.
3:46 PM Call of the Herd is returned to hamtastic's hand from the graveyard.
3:46 PM Turn 5: Thunk.
3:46 PM Thunk plays Swamp.
3:46 PM Thunk plays Undead Warchief.
3:46 PM hamtastic is being attacked by: Festering Goblin, Festering Goblin
3:46 PM Elephant token blocks Festering Goblin.
3:46 PM Eternal Witness blocks Festering Goblin.
3:47 PM Thunk plays triggered ability from Festering Goblin targeting Undead Warchief.
3:47 PM Thunk plays triggered ability from Festering Goblin targeting Undead Warchief.
3:47 PM Turn 5: hamtastic.
3:47 PM hamtastic plays Call of the Herd.
3:47 PM hamtastic plays Umezawa's Jitte.
3:47 PM hamtastic plays Forest.
3:47 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Elephant token.
3:47 PM Turn 6: Thunk.
3:47 PM Thunk plays Swamp.
3:47 PM Thunk plays Undead Warchief.
3:47 PM Turn 6: hamtastic.
3:47 PM Thunk is being attacked by: Elephant token
3:48 PM Undead Warchief blocks Elephant token.
3:48 PM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:48 PM hamtastic plays Quagnoth.
3:48 PM Turn 7: Thunk.
3:48 PM Thunk plays Swamp.
3:48 PM Turn 7: hamtastic.
3:48 PM Thunk is being attacked by: Quagnoth
3:48 PM hamtastic plays Krosan Verge.
3:48 PM hamtastic plays Call of the Herd.
3:49 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Elephant token.
3:49 PM Thunk plays Reaping the Graves targeting Undead Warchief.
3:49 PM Thunk plays triggered ability from Reaping the Graves.
3:49 PM Thunk changes targets of Reaping the Graves to Undead Warchief.
3:49 PM Undead Warchief is returned to Thunk's hand from the graveyard.
3:49 PM Undead Warchief is returned to Thunk's hand from the graveyard.
3:49 PM Turn 8: Thunk.
3:49 PM Thunk plays Corrupt targeting Elephant token.
3:49 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:49 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:50 PM Turn 8: hamtastic.
3:50 PM Thunk is being attacked by: Elephant token, Quagnoth
3:50 PM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:50 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Krosan Verge.
3:50 PM Shuffling hamtastic's library
3:50 PM Turn 9: Thunk.
3:50 PM Thunk plays Undead Warchief.
3:50 PM Thunk plays Rotlung Reanimator.
3:50 PM Turn 9: hamtastic.
3:50 PM hamtastic plays Plains.
3:50 PM Thunk is being attacked by: Elephant token, Quagnoth
3:51 PM Rotlung Reanimator blocks Quagnoth.
3:51 PM Undead Warchief blocks Elephant token.
3:51 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:51 PM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:51 PM Thunk plays triggered ability from Rotlung Reanimator.
3:51 PM hamtastic plays Call of the Herd from the graveyard.
3:51 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Elephant token.
3:51 PM Turn 10: Thunk.
3:52 PM Thunk plays Undead Warchief.
3:52 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Zombie token.
3:52 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:52 PM Turn 10: hamtastic.
3:52 PM hamtastic plays Forest.
3:52 PM Thunk is being attacked by: Elephant token, Elephant token, Quagnoth
3:53 PM Zombie token blocks Elephant token.
3:53 PM Undead Warchief blocks Elephant token.
3:53 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:53 PM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:53 PM hamtastic plays Eternal Witness.
3:53 PM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Eternal Witness targeting Eternal Witness.
3:53 PM Eternal Witness is returned to hamtastic's hand from the graveyard.
3:53 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Eternal Witness.
3:53 PM Turn 11: Thunk.
3:54 PM Thunk plays Engineered Plague.
3:54 PM Thunk chooses Shaman for Engineered Plague.
3:54 PM Thunk plays Crypt Rats.
3:55 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Crypt Rats.
3:55 PM Turn 11: hamtastic.
3:55 PM hamtastic plays Wilt-Leaf Liege.
3:55 PM Thunk plays triggered ability from Yawgmoth's Edict.
3:55 PM hamtastic plays activated ability from Umezawa's Jitte targeting Elephant token.
3:55 PM Thunk is being attacked by: Elephant token, Quagnoth
3:55 PM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Umezawa's Jitte.
3:55 PM Turn 12: Thunk.
3:55 PM Thunk plays Swamp.
3:55 PM Thunk plays Corrupt targeting Wilt-Leaf Liege.
3:56 PM Thunk: gg
3:56 PM Thunk has conceded from the game.
3:56 PM Thunk has left the game.
 Record: 3-2
Classic Cards played by Opponent: none.
He has a lot of good reanimation but so do I, and mine usually comes with two life attached. I also have the Jitte advantage. Speaking of Jitte… I'm almost to the point where I won't play this card. Not because it's uncasua though, but because it's a crutch. Have a creature deck? Jitte makes it better, mise well run it eh? Sure, it helps me win, but it's a bit too easy to just keep sending creatures into the red zone and rely on it to drag my sorry carcass through the game. I almost want to add a caveat about “if it fits the theme, I'll still use it, but it fits EVERY creature theme. Although just drawing it doesn't mean I'll win, but certainly doesn't feel like a card I need to keep using.
Anti-Counterspell.dek
Moving on to my anti-counterspell deck, this is another deck that has a few options if you REALLY want to hose counterspells. You have Leyline of Lifeforce, split second creatures like Quagnoth, Aether Vial, and Gaea's Herald. If you go with either the Leyline or Herald you're going to want to utilize a lot of creatures, whereas if you go with the split second creatures you don't need that extra protection anyway. You can also use early pressure cards like the Genju's from the Kamigawa block as well. Let's take a look at the deck I chose to start with for this decks hate:
Games One & Two: B/W Rebels
He was running a slightly oversized deck, and likely not enough mana to support it. We played a couple of games and both times his mana stumbles cost him dearly. Rebels have a lot of teeth, and some pretty good silver bullets. However, they cannot afford to miss land drops in the early game. If they stumble from mana development, they will lose the tempo they so badly need to keep. He lacks the direct removal needed to keep my persist creatures from overwhelming him. And once I get 2x Heartmenders + Aborroth, the game is over pretty fast.
Record: 2-0
Game Three: Mono black discard
He wasteland's his own Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth by playing a second copy. He also can't duress any of my cards, as they're all creature cards. His smallpoxen only hit persist creatures and a heartmender keeps me safely behind a wall of recurring Kitchen Finks. He eventually smallpoxen's himself to death to avoid the humiliation of a death Lycanthrope.
Record: 3-0
Game Four: Mono Black Pox/Discard
I finally remembered to save the logs on this one and for a good reason, here's the play by play.
Show/Hide Game Logs
10:12 AM hamtastic chooses to play first.
10:12 AM Jakobmunk: hi, gl
10:12 AM hamtastic keeps this hand.
10:12 AM Jakobmunk keeps this hand.
10:12 AM hamtastic: hiya, have fun
10:12 AM hamtastic puts Leyline of Lifeforce into play.
10:12 AM hamtastic skips their draw step.
10:12 AM hamtastic plays Forest.
10:13 AM hamtastic plays Fyndhorn Elves.
10:13 AM Turn 1: Jakobmunk.
10:13 AM Jakobmunk plays Swamp.
10:13 AM Jakobmunk plays Dark Ritual.
10:13 AM Jakobmunk plays Hypnotic Specter.
10:13 AM Turn 2: hamtastic.
10:13 AM hamtastic plays Forest.
10:13 AM hamtastic plays Fyndhorn Elves.
10:13 AM hamtastic plays Fyndhorn Elves.
10:13 AM Turn 2: Jakobmunk.
10:13 AM Jakobmunk plays Swamp.
10:13 AM Jakobmunk plays Duress targeting hamtastic.
10:14 AM hamtastic reveals their hand, which contains: Eternal Witness, Heartmender
10:14 AM hamtastic is being attacked by: Hypnotic Specter
10:14 AM Jakobmunk plays triggered ability from Hypnotic Specter.
10:14 AM hamtastic discards Eternal Witness.
10:14 AM Turn 3: hamtastic.
10:14 AM hamtastic plays Forest.
10:14 AM hamtastic plays Heartmender.
10:14 AM Jakobmunk is being attacked by: Fyndhorn Elves, Fyndhorn Elves
10:14 AM Turn 3: Jakobmunk.
10:14 AM hamtastic is being attacked by: Hypnotic Specter
10:14 AM Jakobmunk plays triggered ability from Hypnotic Specter.
10:15 AM Jakobmunk plays Bitterblossom.
10:15 AM Turn 4: hamtastic.
10:15 AM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Heartmender.
10:15 AM Jakobmunk is being attacked by: Heartmender, Fyndhorn Elves, Fyndhorn Elves, Fyndhorn Elves
10:15 AM hamtastic plays Forest.
10:15 AM Turn 4: Jakobmunk.
10:15 AM Jakobmunk plays triggered ability from Bitterblossom.
10:15 AM Jakobmunk plays Swamp.
10:15 AM Jakobmunk plays Pox.
10:15 AM Jakobmunk discards Hymn to Tourach.
10:15 AM Jakobmunk sacrifices Faerie Rogue token.
10:15 AM hamtastic sacrifices Heartmender.
10:15 AM hamtastic sacrifices Fyndhorn Elves.
10:15 AM Jakobmunk sacrifices Swamp.
10:15 AM hamtastic sacrifices Forest.
10:15 AM hamtastic sacrifices Forest.
10:16 AM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Heartmender.
10:16 AM Turn 5: hamtastic.
10:16 AM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Heartmender.
10:16 AM Jakobmunk is being attacked by: Heartmender, Fyndhorn Elves, Fyndhorn Elves
10:16 AM Hypnotic Specter blocks Fyndhorn Elves.
10:16 AM Turn 5: Jakobmunk.
10:16 AM Jakobmunk plays triggered ability from Bitterblossom.
10:16 AM hamtastic is being attacked by: Hypnotic Specter
10:17 AM Jakobmunk plays triggered ability from Hypnotic Specter.
10:17 AM hamtastic discards Woodfall Primus.
10:17 AM Jakobmunk plays Dark Ritual.
10:17 AM Jakobmunk plays Hypnotic Specter.
10:17 AM Turn 6: hamtastic.
10:17 AM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Heartmender.
10:17 AM Jakobmunk is being attacked by: Heartmender
10:17 AM Faerie Rogue token blocks Heartmender.
10:17 AM hamtastic plays Fyndhorn Elves.
10:17 AM Turn 6: Jakobmunk.
10:17 AM Jakobmunk plays triggered ability from Bitterblossom.
10:17 AM hamtastic is being attacked by: Hypnotic Specter
10:17 AM Jakobmunk plays triggered ability from Hypnotic Specter.
10:18 AM Turn 7: hamtastic.
10:18 AM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Heartmender.
10:18 AM hamtastic plays Kitchen Finks.
10:18 AM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Kitchen Finks.
10:18 AM Jakobmunk is being attacked by: Fyndhorn Elves, Heartmender
10:18 AM Faerie Rogue token blocks Heartmender.
10:18 AM Hypnotic Specter blocks Fyndhorn Elves.
10:18 AM Turn 7: Jakobmunk.
10:18 AM Jakobmunk plays triggered ability from Bitterblossom.
10:18 AM Turn 8: hamtastic.
10:18 AM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Heartmender.
10:18 AM Jakobmunk is being attacked by: Kitchen Finks, Heartmender, Fyndhorn Elves
10:18 AM Hypnotic Specter blocks Heartmender.
10:19 AM Hypnotic Specter blocks Kitchen Finks.
10:19 AM Faerie Rogue token blocks Fyndhorn Elves.
10:19 AM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Heartmender.
10:19 AM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Kitchen Finks.
10:19 AM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Kitchen Finks.
10:19 AM Turn 8: Jakobmunk.
10:19 AM Jakobmunk plays triggered ability from Bitterblossom.
10:19 AM Jakobmunk: gg
10:19 AM Turn 9: hamtastic.
10:19 AM hamtastic plays triggered ability from Heartmender.
10:19 AM hamtastic plays Forest.
10:19 AM Jakobmunk is being attacked by: Heartmender, Kitchen Finks
10:19 AM Jakobmunk has left the game.
I was playing against a tournament quality deck (mono black Pox + Bitterblossom) but due to an explosive start, recurring creatures, and a Duress-proof hand I was able to take down the juggernaut. This makes two discard decks in a row that I've beaten with a non-dedicated hate deck. I really wish I was still playing my anti-discard deck, then these nail biter games would be complete blowouts. Either way, discard isn't as formidable as one might think. Not even the dreaded first turn Dark Ritual into Hypnotic Specter, evidently. Granted, I did get a bit lucky on my draw to be able to accelerate out into a specter-proof hand after turn three. But as my signature says: “Thanks! I practice my topdecking for four hours, every night!.
Record: 4-0
Game Four: U/B Coldsnap Precon
I recognized the cards right away as the U/B Coldsnap precon, and during the game I asked if he'd like some free cards. His answer was a pretty obvious ‘yes'. As for the game, it was pretty one sided, as the recursive beaters did him in quickly. After the game, we traded and my account was another 32 cards lighter. He grabbed some good stuff like Keening Banshee's and Seal of Dooms that I hope will give his deck some more teeth for future games. Not only did I help a player, I helped a Classic player! Double Karma Points!
Record: 5-0
This deck went 5-0, despite being up against a couple of tough contenders. I also had a couple of ‘easy' games as well where my deck felt as if its sole purpose for creation was to beat them. Of both of this week's decks, I think I like the anti-counterspell deck a bit more than the anti-discard deck although both performed quite well, considering that they were meant to be hate decks.
General Aside #1:
Persist is an amazing mechanic for casual, expect to run into from time to time and think about how to handle it when it shows up. Every game that the Anti-Counterspell deck won it one on the back of creatures that just wouldn't stay dead. For requiring no extra mana the ability to recur creatures in that manner was completely amazing.
General Aside #2:
While playing a few extra games with a combination deck I ran into a deck sporting a blast from the (recent) past: Primal Order. It wore down my life pretty fast, right to the point where I was killed by a forestwalking Dryad. Ouch! It was really neat to see a deck that appeared to be inspired by my last article. Even if it wasn't, it was still nice to see it in action, even though it came at the expense of a win for my deck. :)
Conclusion:
Discard isn't unbeatable, not even close. There are a lot of ways to beat it even if you're not directly targeting it. Counterspells seem to be so infrequent that building a deck around hosing them is unnecessary, but it is still a fun exercise in finding the weakness of an archetype and building a deck designed to poke its Achilles Heel. As for counterspells... if you see any send up a flare. I've played dozens of games in the Cas/Cas room and haven't seen any for a long while. Maybe it's time to build my own counterspell deck. Mwahahahha. Maybe.
Join me next time... don't hate the playa, hate the cards!
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