Reverse Engineering a Proven Deck

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Cableguy

20 March 2012

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How is everyone doing? This article will be going over how to effectively take a winning deck and reverse engineer it so you can make your own adjustments to the metagame. I know it sounds like it should be a no brainer but believe me it can be more difficult than you would expect. How many people go to FNM’s and are like “God I hate net deckers!” or “Yeah…I’ve seen that deck before.” Bottom line is anyone that has attended FNM knows what I am talking about. I play many different decks with many different strategies my niche happens to be Wolf Run Ramp and this past FNM I played Kibler’s Honolulu list and went 3-0-1 by drawing the last game and winning all my matches 2-0 against very good local players running UB Zombies, Humans, and WBG(Rock) Control. To say I “net decked” is accurate but players like myself that enjoy innovating and coming up with new decks “need” to net deck. This is called reverse engineering a deck and understanding just why that deck won so well against the field. Also I will add playing a “net deck” lets you understand the decks weakness and makes it easier to fight against it. I was primarily a Valakut player and when I went to post ban caw-blade I still never lost to it.

So how do we effectively reverse engineer?

First we need to break down the card choices; is Slagstorm better Blasphemous Act? Yes it doesn’t kill your primary aggressors like Act will.

Why are there only 2 Green Sun's Zenith? What good is a green sun against a control deck?

Get what I am saying? Good. Now think of it this way. In this particular list are ANY of his cards not 2 for 1’s?

Solemn Simulacrum is easy to see but what about Birds of Paradise or Acidic Slime? Sure one mana ramps and the other is utility but none the less they serve a larger purpose as well even if there is only 1 of each. A Green Sun's Zenith for Birds of Paradise is effectively a Rampant Growth is it not? Not to mention Acidic Slime’s death touch in invaluable.

Is RG Wolf Run the best it can be? YES.

What about reverse engineering? Fix it for the metagame.

At some point Red Sun's Zenith becomes better than 4 Galvanic Blast primarily against UB Zombies (which didn’t exist when Kibler won).

Now Wolf Run may be in an essence the best it could possibly be but lets take a look at another RG deck and that is RG Aggro.

Is there a reason why it hasn’t 1st placed in a major tournament yet? Yes.

Lets look at the biggest card that I feel needs to change to be reverse engineered… Hellrider. I can hear it now “WHAT SERIOUSLY?! THAT MAKES THE DECK NOOOOOB!” Hear me out.

What good is Hellrider against a lets say Wolf Run Deck that has 4 Slagstorm, 1 Whipflare and 4 Galvanic Blast? Exactly. If your little guys don’t survive than he is effectively useless, see my point now? Lets take a look at another 4 drop that could be much more efficient… Mondronen Shaman  ^Flip. Anyone that has been reading my articles knows I advocate this card a lot. At some point you and your opponent will both run out of whether it be removal or creatures and what is better to top deck than Shaman? Sure Hellrider swings right away but shaman becomes a 5/5 if your opponent does nothing and from there on out even more damage when your opponent does start to draw gas.

The next step to reverse engineering is figuring out why that deck builder ran a certain amount of those cards.

Why did he only run 3 Solemn Simulacrum and not 4? To say it is too many is half an answer. The reason we have only 3 is because late game Solemn is only a potential draw effect that extra mana turn 15 is normally useless and if your opponents have fliers than it is completely useless. So the idea is having 1 early game and 0 late game and by limiting to 3 and not 4 you have less of a chance of drawing it late game. Now that’s a full answer :D

Why 4 Huntmaster of the Fells  ^Flip? You mean 6? With Green sun this card is just wicked advantage and almost every RG deck needs 4. 2 for 1’s? Psh this is a 4 for 1. You gain life, deal damage, make a blocker, and destroy a creature…what more could you ask for other than it also having Phage the Untouchable’s damage ability.

Try and decipher and figure out how many of each of your cards you need to run. This often takes a lot of play testing to find the correct amount but is well worth it when you discover it, this counts for land too.

The last step if its possible is to add in the cards you feel can replace the old ones. This can be changing color schemes to adding new tech into a deck. Again after you make this new deck you MUST reverse engineer it similarly to how you did the original, its crucial to understanding why you did what you did and understanding the decks flaws to perfect the side board.

Take my RG Wolf Run example. That deck is the best it can be but maybe Wolf Run White isn't, or Wolf Run Blue, Wolf Run Black isn’t, etc. Sure these decks have won and done well but it doesn’t make it the “best”. There is never a “best” deck to run it all comes down to knowing how to play your deck, how consistent it is, and your match ups. Don’t get discouraged if you lose a little making your new archetype keep at it and move forward.

As always comment and ask questions below! It was good to see some Tapped Out members at the FNM in Roanoke, Va. I’m looking forward to playing against you again keep it up.