Thallid Bowl Control
Thallid Bowl Control is a grindy control deck utilizing token producing thallids and Sprout Swarm as its main card advantage engine. Grind the game to a halt using spot removal and blockers, and watch the spore counters accumulate until there are enough saprolings to go for the kill.
The best cards in the deck are Deathspore Thallid, Sprout Swarm, and Pallid Mycoderm. Deathspore Thallid allows you to keep control of the game, destroy any threats. Sprout swarm is a continual source of creatures that quickly allows you to overwhelm. Pallid Mycoderm allows for the combo kill, turning itself and 6 saprolings into a near lethal force.
The deck's main weakness are board wiping effects, and an abundance of fliers. This deck is also in danger of being outdrawn by more traditional control decks.
The cards:
Creature (21)
4x Deathspore Thallid - As mentioned, an amazing threat clearer and lock creator
2x Scion of the Wild - Can be a little bit win more, but he can also be the biggest creature in pauper.
4x Pallid Mycoderm - Finisher
2x Read the bones- Gives the deck much needed draw power
1x Sporoloth Ancient
4x Thallid - Basic saproling producer. Quite weak, but synergizes with the rest of the deck.
4x Thallid Shell-Dweller - Excellent blocker and saproling producer
Enchantment (2)2x Fists of Ironwood- quickly deploys saprolings for Deathspore Thallid
Instant (14)3x Doom Blade- kills things dead, except against MBC, an already poor matchup
4x Tragic Slip - Morbid is easily activated by either of your sacrifice engines, making slip an excellent removal spell in the deck.
3x Scatter the Seeds
3x Sprout Swarm
1x Might of the Masses- Can be used on an unblocked saproling to deliver a substantial blow to finish out a game.
Sorcery (1)
1x Raven's Crime - Helps mitigate flooding in the late game amd create a topdecking situation faster
Land (22)9x Forest4x Jungle hollow1x Plains4x Blossoming sands4x Swamp
Playing tips:
Saprolings do not have to be created as soon as they are available. It depends in the cards you have; saving spore counters can be best for when Sporoloth ancient is in play and they can be exchanged more efficiently. With a sprout swarm in hand, more creatures in the table is best.
Don't be afraid to attack with saprolings into blockers. 8 Saprolings can push 12 points of damage through 2 blockers.
Sprout swarm and Scatter the seeds are instants, use this to your advantage. You can block and then use the blocking saprolings to pay for them, or cast them for surprise blockers. Similarly, blocking saprolings can be sacked to Deathspore Thallid.
When attacking with a Pallid Mycoderm, first sacrifice saprolings that have been blocked to get the most damage through. For n saprolings, sacrificing n/2 rounding down produces the most damage. For example, for 7 attacking saprolings, saccing 3 inflicts the most damage, 16.
Outdated SB planSideboard plan:
Vs Delver
+2 Scattershot Archers
+2 Spidersilk Armor
-1 Sporloth Ancient
-1 might of the masses
-2 gatecreeper vine
Resolving a Deathspore thallid is important in this matchup, since he will enable you to hold off the army of fliers. Once you have enough token producers in board, it is difficult for them to deal with them except for vapor snag. You can win the long game if not killed by fliers.
Affinity
+3 Gleeful Sabotage
-1 Gatecreeper vine
-1 Raven's crime
-1 might of the masses
Gleeful Sabotage is excellent in this matchup. Shell dwellers are important since they are out of galvanic blast range and block all of the 4/4s. Postboard, enemy krak-clan shamans can be powerful.
Hexproof
+3 gleeful sabotage
+4 chainer's edict
-3 doom blade
-4 tragic slip
Draw enough of your sideboard cards and this matchup is easy. Trample is the biggest threat, since otherwise a single creature is not hard to chump indefinitley.
MBC
+2 Read the bones
+1 rootborn defense
+2 spidersilk armor
-3 doom blade
-2 gatecreeper vine
Crypt rats and Cumbaji witches make this a tough matchup. Spidersilk armor brings your creatures out of witches range. Your creatures are better than his on the ground, but keeping them on the table is difficult, and they have more card draw.
MUC
-2 Saruli gatekeepers
-1 tragic slip
-1 doom blade
+2 read the bones
+2 spidersilk armor
Resolve some early Thallids and build towards a win. They have better card draw and a few fliers, this is not an easy matchup.
Tron
-2 Saruli Gatekeepers
-1 Gatecreeper vine
+2 Read the bones
+1 Rootborn Defenses
Neither deck can present a very effective clock, but they have more card draw, and sweepers, which can make this a tough matchup. Try to end games as quickly as possible.
Slivers
-2 thallid
-1 Might of the Masses
-1 Raven's Crime
+4 Chainer's Edict
A pretty decent matchup, since they hardly interact with what you are doing, and are vulnerable to lots of removal.
DelverFiend
-1 Might of the Masses
-1 Pallid Mycoderm
-1 Sporoloth Ancient
-1 Raven's Crime
+4 Chainer's Edict
Kill all the things! Between early and abundant blockers, 11 removal spells, and deathspore thallids, this matchup is not particularly difficult.
Goblins
-1 Raven's Crime
-1 Might of the Masses
+1 Chainer's Edict
+1 Saruli Gatekeepers
This matchup is very dependent on each player's opener. Any kind of long game you can win. Shell Dwellers and Saruli Gatekeepers are both excellent.
Stompy
-1 Raven's Crime
-1 Might of the masses
+1 Chainer's Edict
+1 Saruli Gatekeepers
Rancor and Ledgewalker can be a pain, otherwise not much to be scared of in this matchup. Doom blade in response to a pump spell is all kinds of awesome.
White Weenie
-1 Raven's Crime
-1 Might of the Masses
-1 Sporoloth ancient
-2 Thallid*
+2 Scattershot Archer
+1 Saruli Gatekeepers
+2 Spidersilk Armor*
It might be necessary to also bring in Spidersilk armor against a flier heavy build. A fairly good matchup.
Boros and Azorius Kitty
-1 Might of the Masses
-2 tragic slip
-2 Gatecreeper vine
-1 Saruli Gatekeepers
+2 spidersilk armor
+2 Gleeful sabotage
+2 Read the bones
Another control matchup that has you at a disadvantage due to their superior card advantage. Sabotaging artifact lands and reality acids can be useful.
Burn
-1 Might of the Masses
+1 Saruli Gatekeepers
Step 1. Draw 2 gates and a Saruli Gatekeepers. Step2. Try to Win.
Suicide Black
-3 Doom Blade
-1 Raven's Crime
+4 Chainer's Edict
+1 Saruli Gatekeepers
Random Aggro
-1 Sporoloth Ancient
-1 Raven's Crime
-1 Might of the Masses
+2 Chainer's Edict
+1 Saruli Gatekeepers
