| Hate Bears - by Animosity |
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So a friend and I were talking about playing in Vintage World Championship. We had just picked up a collection with a Black Lotus, Mox Emerald and Mox Pearl. We knew that wasn't enough but we figured with the size of the collection and the resources we had, it wouldn't be too hard to throw something together that would let us compete at Gencon. While sitting at a table trading in the back of the room, I brought up my desire to play in the Vintage Champs to which someone suggested Hate Bears: I was in from the start! Not only had I all the power needed, but also I figured that in a format where I was unfamiliar with the meta, turning men sideways is always a good choice. I got home and called my friend to discover he had been working on a Hate Bears list for some time now. Awesome! I had a good starting point for a list and someone knowledgeable to discuss it with.
Something else kept me worried: how was I going to test? No one I knew locally had a Vintage deck and even if they proxied one up, would they know how to run it. Where would I be able to test against Oath, Shops, Storm and Dredge? MTGO . . . wait, they don't have power. I decided it was better to test on MTGO than it would be to have some friends proxy up decks and both of us stumble through games not learning anything relevant. So I fired up MTGO and joined a Classic DE… with Dredge. I chose to play Dredge because a) I had most of it and b) I was curious about the meta before scouring bots for cards to assemble Hate Bears. I ended up going 3-1 with Dredge.
In the meantime, I finally got something that resembles a Hate Bear deck; however, it was definitely not optimal. I was scared to waste tickets on some of the more expensive cards like Wasteland and Savannah not knowing the outcome of my foray into MTGO testing it all. I didn't even know if playing Hate Bears in Classic was viable! So I went with a watered down list to see if it was.
Hate Bears v1.0 - a deck by Animosity for Classic
| Maindeck - 60 Cards
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| Sideboard - 0 Cards
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I was enjoying the deck in the TP room but the mana base was garbage. I was reminded of this several times by people I played against and watchers in the TP room. It didn't matter; I was still winning games and Bears looked like it was a player in the online meta. Besides the terrible match up against Dredge and Emrakul handing my ass to me every time oath triggered, I felt I had a strong game against most of the decks that seemed to be hanging around near the top. I guessed it was time to adjust the deck to something a little more respectable in the Classic community. After some time tweaking and changing things up, I finally created a list that would play a land and not be laughed at for having a manabase taken from the premium deck series. Feast your eyes on the post-tweak list:
Hate Bears v1.1 - a deck by Animosity for Classic
| Maindeck - 60 Cards
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| Sideboard - 15 Cards
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| What makes it go |
So as you can see, the deck didn't go through some crazy transformation. There was a lot of trial and error done online and in paper. The card choices were a toss-up at some point and the only thing I was 100% sure of was 4 Leonin Arbiter would make the cut.
Leonin Arbiter
Arbiter is what fuels the deck. On the play, a first turn Arbiter hitting the table puts you in a great position. Since the deck focuses on mana denial, Cutting off access to their mana fixing is obviously crucial. Making them wait a turn or two is vital to the deck’s success. Most importantly, it makes Ghost Quarter a viable strip effect. Lastly, it slows down any tutor ability they might have.
Aven Mincensor
Mindcensor is awesome because he has flash and he flies (only evasion in the deck). With a fetch land or tutor on the stack he can flash in and turn an otherwise broken tutor into an Impulse or a fetch land into a blank (let’s be honest, they may have a target in their top 4). Not quite as good as Arbiter because of his 3 mana cost, but certainly has a place in the deck.
Ethersworn Cannonist
He is solely a Storm stopper. The ability to slow Storm down is a must. He should buy you enough time to get into a winning position.
Qasali Pridemage
Well this is obviously there to handle problematic cards like Oath of Druids and anything in Workshop decks. The best thing about him, though, is the exalted ability. Making a Bear into Hill Giant is juicy. When you look at the game state and you’re doing combat math, you’re hoping a Pridemage is in the equation.
Leonin Relic-Warder
I have mixed feelings about these. I love his ability to hit the table and make an immediate impact while being a threat on the board. I hate the fact that he is WW and sometimes the deck doesn't want you to have double white.
Gaddock Teeg
Well, this one should be obvious. He stops Force of Will, Dread Return, Tendrils of Agony, Chalice of the Void, etc. (well you get the hint, he stops a lot). I think he is self explanatory.
Kataki, War's Wage
Well, Shops can be a pain in the ass! I mean really, a giant pain. Kataki is my way of being a pain back. The fact that Workshop cannot be used to pay for Kataki’s tax makes Shop players cringe game one.
Glowrider
This was the last bear to make the list. He was never in the initial list of the deck and seemed lackluster. The fact that he costs 3 was a real turn off. On the brighter side, the fact that he was a Thorn of Amethyst with legs and really didn’t affect anything in the deck (except Path to Exile) was sweet. He has come in as a 3 of and while he doesn't really make a significant impact in the late game, if he hits early vs. non-Fish decks you’re in good shape.
Mana Acceleration
A lot of people don't realize the power a turn one bear has. You'll see a lot of Aether Vials around and while I think it’s a great card, it's just too slow for what I'm trying to do. I opted for Lotus Petals and Elvish Spirit Guides to get me my insane turn one play.
Lands
Horizon Canopy
Who doesn't like an on-color land that does something relevant in the late game?
Karakas
Emrakul Sucks . After a lot of testing I needed a way to deal with Emrakul. I had a few ideas on how to attack the Eldrazi menace. Phyrexian Metamorph was being considered but with Dragon’s Breath being a mainstay in the Oath lists, it was too slow. Karakas was an answer that couldn’t be countered and had the ability to interact regardless of Dragon’s Breath.
Sideboard
Nature's Claim
This comes in against Workshops and Oath. Chalice on 2 wrecks this deck so Claim is important.
Swords to Plowshares
More spot removal for those troublesome creatures. Other Fish decks have been floating around and there is nothing like a STP to help out in a sticky spot.
Wheel of Sun and Moon
Relic of Progenitus
Hitting a first turn Wheel or Relic is a must against Dredge and you’re more than likely going to mulligan into one. There is a few card’s you can run to to fight Dredge . I personally like this package. Tapping out with a Relic on the board can trick Dredge into going nuts. That’s when you activate the relic with the ESG you have been sitting on and ruin their day.
Cards I Don't Play
Aether Vial
While Vial is an amazing card, it's just too slow. When I think about Vial, I look at when it becomes active: turn 1 Leonin Arbiter vs turn 3. Don't get me wrong, in some match ups I realize that Aether Vial would be the nut high. The ability to drop in a Relic-Warder versus Shops without having to pay the taxes to Loadstone or Sphere of Resistance is not without merit. Nevertheless, my main problem is I don't want to lose to Oath of Druids.
The 4th Wasteland
Well I'm sure a lot of people have seen my list and have said "why 3 Wastelands but 4 Ghost Quarter?”
While the first impression looking at the deck is that it’s a budget concern and he couldn't afford it, the truth is that I just couldn't find room. The deck is extremely mana intensive color wise. I didn't want to cut acceleration and I wanted to run some basics. I also wanted the ability to use Ghost Quarters as an emergency fetch land in rough spots. In extremely rough situations using Ghost Quarter to keep a colored source when it is targeted by an opponent’s Wasteland.
The 4th Savannah
This was a budget choice. There is no reason why a Thicket isn't a Savannah besides the cost. The draw back from Thicket doesn’t affect this deck.
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| Can't have it all |
Stoneforge Mystic
Well, this guy (or gal) can fetch up the most powerful equipment known to man: from the once forgotten Skullclamp to the new wave of BatterSkull. While she is awesome and can gain me some serious board position, her lack of synergy with Arbiter and the fact that she doesn't do anything to disrupt my opponent keeps her on the sidelines.
A 3rd Color
Well there was a lot of testing this deck in paper, with splashes of black and blue, sometimes together. I decided as nice as it would be to have Trygon Predator and draw extra cards from Dark Confidant, I didn't want to be greedy. I wanted to abuse what I thought was the 2 strongest colors.
Leyline of the Void
I’m not a big fan of playing a card I can’t cast. Mulling into oblivion to hit one and having it bounced back to my hand via Chain of Vapor seems sub optimal.
So after going through some Daily events and getting all the way to top 4 of the Classic League Season 2, I couldn’t be happier. All of my testing and tix were put to great use. I joined a Classic orientated clan and have met some fantastic people online. For a small community there is a lot of action. While it doesn’t have the popularity other formats do, the players are passionate. You have access to Yawgmoth’s Soap Opera to get a weekly fix of current Classic events and various articles and primers to let you keep up with a growing format.
What seemed like a dead end has turned out to be a fantastic journey into the world of Classic: going from a testing platform for Vintage to a whole new format. You may hear the complaints of no power but you shouldn’t worry about it. This is Classic, you get to play with 4 Brainstorms and 4 Mystical Tutors. So instead of looking at Classic and thinking about what you don’t have access too, think about all of the things that make this format unique.
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