Standards and Practices 2

Features

Behgz

4 August 2013

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Hello, I’’m Behgz and I’m back with another installment of Standards and Practices.

Last week we had an amazing match up against the monster that is


Bolas for a Better Tomorrow

Standard* KrazyCaley

SCORE: 107 | 506 COMMENTS | 23118 VIEWS | IN 42 FOLDERS



Game one was really the match to see in that first issue, despite coming back to win games 2 and 3, I’m still haunted from the hard game 1 loss to Bolas.

This week I’d like to do a match up against one of the more popular up and coming brews in standard. The selesnya aggro build. As It turns out, one of my friends has a top notch selesnya aggro brew and would love to be a part of the series.

This week’s user submitted deck:

deck-large:the voices of selesnya

This week I’ll be piloting:


Garden Hose

Modern Behgz

SCORE: 28 | 82 COMMENTS | 7224 VIEWS | IN 7 FOLDERS


I guess from here we get strait into the action.

PrinceOfNeurosis=P, in italics.

Opening hand, 2x plains, forest, Sunpetal Grove, Voice of Resurgence, Thragtusk, and Angel of Serenity. Not explosive by any means, but against a semi-control player, this hand is ideal.

Behgz =B, wins the flip, is on the play. Opening hand, Breeding Poolfoil, Temple Gardenfoil, Snapcaster Mage, Farseek, Azorius Charm, Supreme Verdict, and Sphinx's Revelation. This hand is full of excellent utility and staying power, just need a single land draw and I’m on curve.


B1: plays Temple Gardenfoil tapped. Passes.

P1: draws plains, plays forest, passes.


B2: draws Hallowed Fountainfoil, plays Breeding Poolfoil shocks 2, goes to B18/P20, casts farseek, finds Hallowed Fountainfoil. Passes.

P2: draws Voice of Resurgence, plays Sunpetal Grove, casts Voice of Resurgence. Passes.


B3: draws Angel of Serenity, plays Hallowed Fountainfoil shocks 2 lifes at B16/P20, casts Snapcaster Mage targeting Farseek, casts Farseek finds Breeding Poolfoil. Passes.

P3: draws Sunpetal Grove, plays Sunpetal Grove, no need to kamikaze voice right now, and no need to over extend, he’s gonna use something to remove voice, and as soon as he does, BAM replacement voice. Passes.


B4: draws Thragtusk, casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at B21/P20, glad I was able to throw some bandages on all those shock wounds. Passes.

P4: draws forest, plays plains, casts Voice of Resurgence now there’s two out, assuming he verdicts next turn, I can cast my own thrag bumping the voice tokens to 3/3’s, then in two more turns drop serenity and get All the things back. Passes.


B5: draws Hallowed Fountainfoil, plays Hallowed Fountainfoil shocks 2 lifes at B19/P20, moves to combat, swings with Thragtusk and Snapcaster Mage, moves to blocks, no blocks, takes 7 lifes at B19/P13. second main, casts Supreme Verdict everyone gets tokens. Passes.

P5: draws Restoration Angel, plays forest, casts Thragtusk gains 5 lifes at B19/P17. Passes. At the EoT, Behgz casts Azorius Charm for the card draw, draws Azorius Charm. Passes.


B6: draws Hinterland Harbor, plays Hinterland Harbor, taps out for 7 mana casting Angel of Serenity targeting PrinceOfNeurosis two voice tokens, and the Snapcaster Mage in own graveyard. Passes.

P6: draws Temple Gardenfoil startin to feel a little flooded. Plays, Temple Gardenfoil tapped, holding two plains, Restoration Angel and Angel of Serenity, currently at six mana open, can’t cast serenity til at least next turn, and I’m not sure if flashing in resto, during his own mainphase is the best play, if I just flash her in to blink thrag at the opponents end step, that’d be the best play, so lets do that. Passes.


B7: draws Hinterland Harbor plays Hinterland Harbor, moves to combat, swings with serenity for 5 in the air, no blocks, lifes at B19/P12, passes. At EoT PrinceOfNeurosis flashes in a Restoration Angel targeting his Thragtusk, it resolves, thrag blinks, gains 5, gets a brrst token, lifes at B19/P17. Passes.

P7: draws Thragtusk, plays plains, moves to combat, swings with resto, Thrag, and brrst token,, 11 total, Behgz moves to blockers and declares his 1 brrst token to block Thrag, they trade, lifes at B13/P17, thrag poops out a brrst, second main, casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at B13/P22, Passes. At EoT Behgz casts Sphinx's Revelation paying 5 into the x, gains 5, draws 5, lifes at B18/P22, draws; Azorius Charm, Sunpetal Grove, Restoration Angel, Thragtusk, and Sphinx's Revelation. Passes.


B8: draws Cyclonic Rift plays Sunpetal Grove, moves to combat, attacks with Angel of Serenity casts Azorius Charm, targeting own serenity, bouncing it to the top of my own library, getting Snapcaster Mage back to the hand from exile, second main, casts Snapcaster Mage targeting Supreme Verdict, casting Supreme Verdict, PrinceOfNeurosis gets a brrst. Passes. For those of you reading at home, that’s Azorius Charm Utility Value!

P8: Draws Restoration Angel plays plains, moves to combat, swings with 3/3 brrst, no blocks, lifes at B15/P22. Casts Angel of Serenity targeting 2x Thragtusk and Restoration Angel in own graveyard. Passes.


B9: draws Angel of Serenity Hahahahahah I forgot she was on top of my library, every time. Sitting on 9 open mana, holding Azorius Charm, Restoration Angel, Thragtusk, Angel of Serenity, Cyclonic Rift, and a Sphinx's Revelation. I’m sitting on a powder keg and both sides of the field are packed with bomb drops.

If I remove his serenity he gets back two thrags and a resto, easily 15 life points waiting to be gained from that, I think my best play is to match his board presence and when the moment is right overload Cyclonic Rift and swing for game.

Behgz casts Angel of Serenity targeting the Thragtusk and SnapcasterMage in own yard, and PrinceOfNeurosis brrst token. Passes.

P9: draws Angel of Serenity This game just got nutty. Casts Angel of Serenity targeting a Voice of Resurgence in own yard and the Angel of Serenity already in play and Behgz Angel of Serenity, PrinceOfNeurosis getting back two Thragtusk and a Restoration Angel, Behgz gets back Thragtusk and Snapcaster Mage. Passes. (I think I might have a paradox on my hands.)


B10: draws Restoration Angel. I’m holding 8 amazing cards, all of which do Nothing to stop an Angel of Serenity from grabbing me by the balls and saying YOUR MY BITCH. Earlier I mentioned that a clear path to victory for me in this match up was to match the board state presence then cast an overload Cyclonic Rift and swing for game, I’m thinking it’ll take atleast two swings, so a second Cyclonic Rift might be necessary. *note; Snapcaster Mage can’t flashback Cyclonic Rift for its overload cost, so If that’s the case I will need to draw into another one.

Behgz casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at B20/P22, passes.

P10: Draws Avacyn's Pilgrim and the worst late-game top deck award of 2013 goes to. Casts Avacyn's Pilgrim casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at B20/P27. Moves to combat, swings with Angel of Serenity for 5 in the air, no blocks, lifes at B15/P27. Passes. At EoT, Behgz casts Restoration Angel targeting his Thragtusk gets a brrst, gains 5, lifes at B20/P27. Passes.


B11: Draws Breeding Poolfoil runner-up in the worst late-game top deck award of 2013. plays Breeding Poolfoil tapped. Casts Thragtusk gains 5 lifes at B25/P27. Passes.

P11: Draws Silverblade Paladin things just got interesting, casts Silverblade Paladin pairs with Angel of Serenity, moves to combat, swings with Thragtusk and Angel of Serenity, moves to blockers, Behgz selects his Thragtusk to block the opposing Thragtusk, but then flashes in Restoration Angel targeting his Thragtusk gets a brrst and gains 5, no other blocks, takes 10 from serenity, lifes at B15/P27, second main, PrinceOfNeurosis casts Thragtusk, gain 5, lifes at b15/P32. Passes.


B12: draws Snapcaster Mage, casts overloaded Cyclonic Rift PrinceOfNeurosis puts all of his non-land perms back in his hand. Gets two brrst tokens. PrinceOfNeurosis gets Voice of Resurgence and Angel of Serenity back to the hand, Behgz gets Angel of Serenity back to the hand. Moves to combat, swings with 2x Restoration Angel in the air for 6 and 2x brrst tokens for 6, and 2x Thragtusk on the ground for 10. Moves to blockers, PrinceOfNeurosis has two brrst tokens on the field, he opts to chump both thrags with his brrst tokens, in response to declaring blockers, Behgz casts Azorius Charm targeting a blocking brrst token, bouncing it to oblivion. Damage step, brrst token and thraggletits trade, Behgz gets a new brrst token, lifes at B15/P20. Passes.

P12: draws plains, plays plains, casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at B15/P25, discards Avacyn's Pilgrim passes.


B13: draws Glacial Fortress plays Glacial Fortress. Moves to combat, swings with 3x brrst tokens, 1 Thragtusk and 2x Restoration Angel, in response to declaring attackers PrinceOfNeurosis flashes in Restoration Angel targeting his Thragtusk getting a brrst and gaining 5, moves to declare blockers, chumps thrag with a brrst, Behgz gets a brrst, PrinceOfNeurosis blocks the brrst with his new resto, takes 12, lifes at B15/P18. Passes.

P13: Draws forest, plays forest, casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at B15/P23, casts Silverblade Paladin pairs with Thragtusk (for easy re-pairing later, cuz thrag always dies) casts Voice of Resurgence, in response Behgz casts a fatty Sphinx's Revelation paying 8 into the x, gains 8, draws 8, lifes at B23/P23, draws; Thragtusk, Farseek, Glacial Fortress, Centaur Healer, Glacial Fortress, Snapcaster Mage, Farseek, and Sphinx's Revelation. Moves to combat, swings with dub strike thrag, blocks with brrst. Passes.


B14: draws Cyclonic Rift, plays Glacial Fortress, casts 2x Farseek finds 2x Temple Gardenfoil, casts Thragtusk and Centaur Healer gains 8, lifes at B31/P23.

Cards in Behgz hand; 1x Glacial Fortress, 3x Snapcaster Mage, 1x Cyclonic Rift, 1x Sphinx's Revelation, and 1x Angel of Serenity. Next turn il play glacial and have 15 mana open. Cards in PrinceOfNeurosis hand; 1x Restoration Angel, and 2x Angel of Serenity, this is actually known from all the serenity shenanigans. Passes.

P14: Draws Temple Gardenfoil plays Temple Gardenfoil tapped, moves to combat, swings with dub strike thrag, chumps with a brrst, second main, casts Angel of Serenity targeting Behgz remaining brrst token, PrinceOfNeurosis targets his Silverblade Paladin from the field, and Voice of Resurgence from his graveyard. Passes.


B15: Draws Hinterland Harbor plays Glacial Fortress, Epic main 1 is epic, casts overloaded Cyclonic Rift PrinceOfNeurosis returns all his non-land perms to his hand, gets two brrst tokens from thrags leaving, and he gets Silverblade Paladin and Voice of Resurgence back to the hand from serenity exile. Then Behgz goes absolutely insane. Casts 2x Snapcaster Mage each targeting a Cyclonic Rift casts both Cyclonic Rift each targets one of the new brrst tokens PrinceOfNeurosis just got. Moves to combat, swings unblocked with Centaur Healer, Thragtusk, and 2x Restoration Angel, lifes at B31/P9.

P15: draws plains, plays plains, getting a little flooded, again, last time I said that though, PrinceOfNeurosis swung it back, lets see. Sitting on 12 open mana, casts Angel of Serenity targeting both of Behgz Restoration Angel and his Centaur Healer, then casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at B31/P14. Passes.


B16: Draws Hallowed Fountainfoil plays Hinterland Harbor, casts Angel of Serenity targeting the opponents serenity, getting back 2x Restoration Angel and a Centaur Healer, also targeting opponents Thragtusk, he gets a brrst, and targeting 1 Thragtusk from Behgz own graveyard. Moves to combat, swings with Thragtusk and 2x Snapcaster Mage, chumps thrag with brrst, in response to declaring blockers, Behgz flashes in Restoration Angel targeting his own Thragtusk gets a brrst and gains 5, then casts a second Restoration Angel again targeting the thrag, gets another brrst gains another 5, lifes at B41/P10. Passes.

P16: Draws FOREST, WOW that’s the last 4 turns drawing into lands, that hurts. Plays forest, casts Angel of Serenity targeting Behgz Angel of Serenity getting back Thragtusk and Angel of Serenity, Behgz gets back a Thragtusk, PrinceOfNeurosis serenity also targets Behgz 2x Restoration Angel exiling those. Casts Thragtusk gains 5 lifes at B41/P15. Passes.


B17: Draws Glacial Fortress plays Glacial Fortress, PrinceOfNeurosis is at 15 life, and I have 15 damage on the field in bodies. If I had drawn into a cyclonic rift, I could cast it, then snap it back to take out the brrst token, then swing for game, unfortunately for me, I drew Glacial Fortress its not my decks fault, there’s 20 cards left in my deck, 15 lands in play means there were 9 lands left to draw out of 21 cards, I had about a 50/50 chance of drawing land no matter what, let alone I’ve already blown threw two of the three Cyclonic Rift in the deck. Numbers are fun. Anyways, looks like I can’t win this turn no matter how I slice it.

Behgz casts Thragtusk and Centaur Healer, gains 8, lifes at B49/P15. Passes.

P17: draws plains, obviously its going to be lands for the rest of the game, sooo flooded. Plays plains, casts, Voice of Resurgence in response Behgz casts Sphinx's Revelation paying 6 into the x, draws 6, gains 6, lifes at B55/P15, draws; Sunpetal Grove, Hinterland Harbor, Supreme Verdict, Temple Gardenfoil, Supreme Verdict, and Farseek. PrinceOfNeurosis casts a second Voice of Resurgence then casts Silverblade Paladin paired to Angel of Serenity, then casts Angel of Serenity targeting Behgz two brrst tokens and his Centaur Healer. Moves to combat, swings with dub strike serenity in the air for 10. No blocks, lifes at B45/P15. Passes. (it’s at this point you realize why the serenity loop is a thing, now that PrinceOfNeurosis has his only two serenity’s in play, I can wrath and that’s the end of it, worst of all I get mine back from one of his.)


B18: Draws Centaur Healer plays Sunpetal Grove, casts Farseek, interesting side note, there’s only 3 lands left in my deck at the time farseek is cast, finds Breeding Poolfoil, casts Supreme Verdict PrinceOfNeurosis gets two voice elemental tokens and a brrst, he gets back Silverblade Paladin from serenity dying, Behgz gets back his copy of serenity and 2x Restoration Angel and a Centaur Healer. Behgz gets 2x brrst tokens, then casts Centaur Healer gains 3, lifes at B48/P15, then casts Angel of Serenity targets all three of PrinceOfNeurosis tokens, clearing his side of the board. Discards down to 7, discarding Temple Gardenfoil and Hallowed Fountainfoil. Passes.

P18: draws plains, naturally eternally flooded, plays plains, casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at B48/P20, casts Silverblade Paladin paired to Thragtusk, passes.


B19: Draws Sphinx's Revelation plays Hinterland Harbor, 11 cards left in my library, my plan is to Sphinx's Revelation for 6 right now during main phase 1, draw into an Angel of Serenity and a Cyclonic Rift and win in the next two turns. I feel like a broken record haha. Casts Sphinx's Revelation paying 6 into the x. gains 6, draws 6, lifes at B54/P20, draws; Restoration Angel, Thragtusk, Sunpetal Grove, Centaur Healer, AEtherling, and Sunpetal Grove. I didn’t draw the serenity or cyclonic rift, so my options are to board wipe then cast AEtherling.

Behgz moves to combat, swings with Angel of Serenity in the air for 5, no blocks, lifes at B54/P15, second main, casts Supreme Verdict, PrinceOfNeurosis gets a brrst, then casts AEtherling. Discards down to 7, discarding 2x Centaur Healer and 2x Sunpetal Grove. Passes.

P19: Draws Loxodon Smiter Moves to combat, swings with dub strike thrag and dub strike paladin. Behgz declares AEtherling as a blocker on thrag, then bounces AEtherling til end of turn. Silverblade gets threw for 4 damage, lifes at B50/P15. Casts Loxodon Smiter. Passes. AEtherling returns at the end step.


B20: Draws Angel of Serenity pumps AEtherling to an 8/1, pays the blue to make him unblockable, moves to combat, swings for 8 unblockable, second main, casts Thragtusk then Restoration Angel targeting thrag, then a second Restoration Angel also targeting thrag in sequential order, gets two brrst tokens and gains 15 life, lifes at B65/P7. One Hallowed Fountainfoil and one Breeding Poolfoil open to flicker aetherling if needed. At EoT, PrinceOfNeurosis flashes in Restoration Angel and then a second Restoration Angel effectively mimicking the opposing side of the field. Gets two brrst tokens, gains 10 life, lifes at B65/P17. Passes.

P20: draws Avacyn's Pilgrim HAHA the worst top-deck of 2013 make his second appearance! Casts Avacyn's Pilgrim, passes.


B21: Draws Snapcaster Mage casts Angel of Serenity targets opponents 2x Restoration Angel and an Angel of Serenity from own graveyard, moves to combat, pumps AEtherling and swings unblockable for 8, and swings with 2x Restoration Angel in the air for 6, no blocks, lifes at B65/P3. Passes.

P21: draws Temple Gardenfoil concedes.

Behgz


Garden Hose

Modern Behgz

SCORE: 28 | 82 COMMENTS | 7224 VIEWS | IN 7 FOLDERS


Wins


In case anyone was wondering, PrinceOfNeurosis next draw would’ve been another Thragtusk, Behgz next draw was Angel of Serenity.

Thoughts on this first game; Wow, that’s all I can say, I managed to fight the urge to rage quit the write-up out of pure exhaustion from wrapping my brain around the paradoxical antics of multiple serenities and thrags popping off for what seemed like an endless stream of turns. If there are any play mistakes please attribute them to the fact that this was the toughest write-up I’ve done.


Sideboard options:

PrinceOfNeurosis sideboard; 1x Archangel of Thune, 2x Celestial Flare, 3x Centaur Healer, 2x Ground Seal, 3x Pithing Needle, 2x Rootborn Defenses, and 2x Sundering Growth. Cards that will work in this match-up: well Thune is an obvious choice but a weird inclusion in the sb, granted I know why its there, it’s the one copy he got in a booster and I don’t blame him for not shelling out for a second copy. Because he’s got it in the side, its coming in for game 2. Celestial Flare is a great sleeper card and I’m happy to see it ready and available here in the sb. Ground Seal is a pain in my ass so its coming in. Pithing Needle is definitely coming in, and finally Rootborn Defenses is definitely coming in to combat the constant wraths, even one well timed rootborn can swing the tide of the game. I was in touch with PrinceOfNeurosis and we discussed his sb options and I incorporated them as per his request.


Behgz sideboard: 1x AEtherling, 2x Celestial Flare, 2x Detention Sphere, 2x Dispel, 2x Pithing Needle, 3x Renounce the Guilds, 2x Savage Summoning, and 1x Silence. Cards that will work well in this match-up: 1x AEtherling comes in for a total of 2 in the deck, 3x Renounce the Guilds comes in to combat all the multicolored perms in the opponents deck. That’s about it, everything else in the sb is mainly for other match-ups.


Game 2: PrinceOfNeurosis on the play, mulligans an opening hand with no white sources, mulls next hand of 6, only 1 land; keeps hand of; Temple Gardenfoil, Sunpetal Grove, Pithing Needle, Loxodon Smiter, and Angel of Serenity.


Behgz mulligans opening hand with 6 lands, keeps hand of; Temple Gardenfoil, Breeding Poolfoil, Glacial Fortress, 2x Renounce the Guilds and Centaur Healer.


P1: plays Temple Gardenfoil tapped, passes.

B1: Draws Farseek, plays Breeding Poolfoil tapped, passes.


P2: Draws Thragtusk plays Sunpetal Grove casts Pithing Needle naming AEtherling passes.

B2: Draws Sphinx's Revelation plays Glacial Fortress casts Farseek finds Hallowed Fountainfoil. Passes.


P3: Draws Thragtusk passes. (the curse of a 5 card mullie hand, getting mana screwed).

B3: Draws Temple Gardenfoil plays Temple Gardenfoil tapped, casts Centaur Healer gains 3, lifes at P20/B23. Passes.


P4: Draws Archangel of Thune no land yet, but its still early, passes.

B4: Draws Restoration Angel plays Temple Gardenfoil tapped, moves to combat, swings with Centaur Healer, no blocks, lifes at P17/B23. Passes.


P5: Draws Forest, plays Forest, casts Loxodon Smiter Passes. At EoT Behgz casts Restoration Angel targets Centaur Healer it blinks, gains 3, lifes at P17/B26, passes.

B5: Draws Renounce the Guilds that’s all 3 copies in hand now, moves to combat, swings with Restoration Angel in the air for 3, no blocks, lifes at P14/B26, passes.


P6: Draws plains, plays plains, already behind, might as well swing til the wheels fall off, moves to combat, swings with Loxodon Smiter, in response Behgz casts Renounce the Guilds each player sacs a multicolored perm, he sacs loxodon, I sac centaur. Passes.

B6: Draws Cyclonic Rift moves to combat, swings with Restoration Angel in the air for 3, no blocks, lifes at P11/B26. Passes.


P7: Draws plains, plays plains, casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at P16/B26. Passes.

B7: Draws Glacial Fortress plays Glacial Fortress Passes.


P8: Draws Celestial Flare moves to combat, swings with Thragtusk, Behgz blocks with Restoration Angel PrinceOfNeurosis casts Celestial Flare, Behgz sacs Restoration Angel. Passes

B8: Draws Cyclonic Rift, passes.


P9: Draws Advent of the Wurm casts Archangel of Thune, moves to combat, swings with thrag, no blocks, lifes at P16/B21. Passes. At EoT, Behgz casts Sphinx's Revelation paying 3 into the x, lifes at P16/B24, draws; Centaur Healer, Hinterland Harbor, and Supreme Verdict.

B9: Draws AEtherling plays Hinterland Harbor casts AEtherling leaves one blue open to bounce if needed. PrinceOfNeurosis points at his Pithing Needle. Passes.


P10: Draws Avacyn's Pilgrim, casts Avacyn's Pilgrim, moves to combat, swings with Archangel of Thune and Thragtusk, no blocks, thune deals 3 in the air and gains 3 via lifelink, Thune triggers, all PrinceOfNeurosis creatures get a +1 counter. Lifes at P19/B13. Passes.

B10: Draws Snapcaster Mage moves to combat, swings with AEtherling, no blocks, lifes at P15/B13. Second main, casts Supreme Verdict. Passes. At EoT PrinceOfNeurosis casts Advent of the Wurm gets a wurm token. Passes.


P11: draws Silverblade Paladin casts Silverblade Paladin pairs to the wurm token, moves to combat, swings with wurm token, Behgz casts Cyclonic Rift targeting the wurm token. Passes.

B11: Draws Thragtusk casts Centaur Healer gains 3, lifes at P15/B16. Passes.


P12: Draws Restoration Angel casts Thragtusk pairs with Silverblade Paladin gains 5, lifes at P20/B16. Passes.

B12: draws Temple Gardenfoil plays Temple Gardenfoil tapped. Casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at P20/B21. Passes.


P13: Draws Selesnya Charm moves to combat, swings with dub strike Thragtusk, Behgz declares Centaur Healer as a blocker, in response PrinceOfNeurosis casts Selesnya Charm targeting Thragtusk giving it +2/+2 and trample, in response Behgz casts Cyclonic Rift targeting PrinceOfNeurosis Thragtusk bouncing it back to the hand, PrinceOfNeurosis gets a brrst token, doesn’t pair to Silverblade Paladin. Passes.

B13: Draws Farseek casts Farseek finds Breeding Poolfoil. Passes.


P14: Draws Ground Seal casts Ground Seal, in response Behgz casts Snapcaster Mage targeting Cyclonic Rift. Ground Seal resolves, PrinceOfNeurosis draws a card, draws; Thragtusk, Behgz casts Cyclonic Rift from graveyard, targeting PrinceOfNeurosis brrst token. Passes.

B14: Draws Breeding Poolfoil plays Breeding Poolfoil tapped. Passes.


P15: Draws Pithing Needle casts Thragtusk pairs to Silverblade Paladin gains 5, lifes at P25/B21. Passes.

B15: Draws Hinterland Harbor plays Hinterland Harbor. Passes.


P16: Draws forest, plays forest, moves to combat, swings with dub strike Thragtusk, chumps with Snapcaster Mage, second main, casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at P30/B21. Passes.

B16: Draws Sphinx's Revelation, Passes.


P17: Draws Trostani, Selesnya's Voice casts Trostani, Selesnya's Voice. Moves to combat, swings with dub strike thrag and another thrag, Behgz blocks dub strike thrag with Centaur Healer, and regs thrag on regs thrag, they trade, centaur dies, each player gets a brrst, PrinceOfNeurosis gains 3 from trostani seeing brrst enter, lifes at P33/B21. Passes. At EoT, Behgz casts Sphinx's Revelation paying 8 into the x, gains 8, draws 8, lifes at P33/B29. Draws; Glacial Fortress, Supreme Verdict, Hinterland Harbor, Farseek, Glacial Fortress, Snapcaster Mage, Farseek, and Hallowed Fountainfoil.

B17: Draws Sphinx's Revelation plays Glacial Fortress, casts Supreme Verdict, PrinceOfNeurosis gets 2 brrst tokens, casts 2x Farseek finds Hallowed Fountainfoil and Breeding Poolfoil. Passes.


P18: Draws Temple Gardenfoil plays Temple Gardenfoil shocks 2, lifes at P31/B29. Casts Angel of Serenity targets all three Thragtusk in own graveyard. Moves to combat, swings with 2 brrst tokens, no blocks, lifes at P31/B23. Passes.

B18: Draws Supreme Verdict plays Hinterland Harbor casts Supreme Verdict. PrinceOfNeurosis gets back 3 Thragtusk to his hand. Passes.


P19: Draws plains, plays plains, casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at P36/B23. Passes.

B19: Draws Supreme Verdict plays Glacial Fortress Passes.


P20: Draws forest, plays forest. Casts Thragtusk gains 5, moves to combat, swings with Thragtusk, no blocks, Passes. At EoT Behgz casts Sphinx's Revelation paying 13 into the x. gains 13, draws 13. Lifes at P41/B31. Behgz draws; AEtherling, Hinterland Harbor, Sunpetal Grove, Angel of Serenity, Restoration Angel, Sunpetal Grove, Thragtusk, Centaur Healer, Snapcaster Mage, Cyclonic Rift, Restoration Angel, Snapcaster Mage, and Thragtusk.

B20: Draws Thragtusk plays Sunpetal Grove casts Supreme Verdict, PrinceOfNeurosis gets 2 brrst tokens, casts overload Cyclonic Rift casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at P41/B36. Discards down to 7, discards; 3x Snapcaster Mage, 2x Renounce the Guilds, Hallowed Fountainfoil, Sunpetal Grove, Hinterland Harbor, Passes.


P21: Draws Thragtusk casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at P46/B36. Passes.

B21: Draws Temple Gardenfoil plays Temple Gardenfoil shocks 2, casts Thragtusk casts Thragtusk casts Restoration Angel targeting Thragtusk, casts Restoration Angel target Thragtusk, gets 2 brrst tokens, gains 20, lifes at P41/B56. Moves to combat, swings with Thragtusk, PrinceOfNeurosis declares Thragtusk as a blocker then casts Restoration Angel targeting Thragtusk gets a brrst, gains 5, lifes at P51/B56. Passes.


P22: Draws Restoration Angel casts Thragtusk gains 5, lifes at P56/B56. Passes.

B22: Draws Angel of Serenity okay, I think we can end this. Casts Angel of Serenity targeting PrinceOfNeurosis 2 Thragtusk and Restoration Angel, in response, PrinceOfNeurosis casts Restoration Angel targeting one of his thrags, he gains 5 and gets 2 brrst tokens. Lifes at P61/B56, continuing with Behgz first main phase, he casts another Angel of Serenity targeting PrinceOfNeurosis 2 brrst tokens and his Restoration Angel. Moves to combat. Behgz swings with 3 Thragtusk, 2 Restoration Angel, and 2 brrst tokens. Move to declare blockers, chumps thrag into a thrag, no other blocks. Thrags trade, each player gets a brrst token. Lifes at P39/B56. Passes.


P23: Draws Sunpetal Grove plays Sunpetal Grove. Passes.

B23: Draws Sunpetal Grove plays Sunpetal Grove, casts AEtherling and Centaur Healer gains 3, moves to combat, swings with 2 Thragtusk 3 brrst tokens, 2 Restoration Angel and 2 Angel of Serenity. Chumps a thrag with a brrst token, no other blocks, lifes at P9/B59. Passes.


P24: Draws Silverblade Paladin concedes.


Garden Hose

Modern Behgz

SCORE: 28 | 82 COMMENTS | 7224 VIEWS | IN 7 FOLDERS


Behgz Wins.

PrinceOfNeurosis next draw was Sunpetal Grove.

Behgz next draw was Sphinx's Revelation but after that there was only 2 cards left in the deck, both lands. In other words, it took literally every card in my deck to win.

Thoughts on the match.

Game one was epic and I never thought it would end. I was wracking my brain for an answer to the board state scenarios at every turn, Finally AEtherling pushed through for the win.

Game two was equally epic, but with Pithing Needle out from turn 2 on I couldn’t run away with the game early when I drew into AEtherling. It ended up taking two hard cast Angel of Serenity in a single turn to open a path to push through. At no point was this a walk in the park, it was brutal.

The next articles have been planned out based on user submitted decks. Any new submissions can be added to this page in the comments or on my profile page, the latter more likely to catch my attention.

Current waiting list:

1: Junktown (T2split @FNM 7/26) by GureiSeion

2: Izzet a cyclops? Yes, yes it iz! by Lavan

3: These go up to 11... by Anansi442

4: rdw w/green by dberg101

5: How to Wake Your Dragon by Emrakool

6: For Victory or Death by Unforgivn_II

7: Simically Rareless by Wike900

8: EC by xxDSJJxx

9: duskmantle seer’s weenies (post rotation0 by Spootyone

10: reckoner of sins by notamardybum

11: Gameday reanimator by shuflw

12: Return to Selesnya by Goody

13: A Vampire Always Pays His Debts... by DjinnjerVitis

This article is a follow-up to Standards and Practices The next article in this series is Standards and Practices 3

Wike900 says... #1

A few quick things : The sideboard to your deck(actually, maybe the mainboard as well) posted here hasn't been updated yet. It's quite different to the one you used today. The "straight into the action" under your deck was misspelled. The link to the 9th deck is broken.

In general, you've improved it quite a lot. Congrats

August 4, 2013 1:09 p.m.

Goody says... #2

Minor detail, but PrinceOfNeurosis's deck is not a Selesnya aggro deck. With multiple Angel of Serenity s mainboard and the lack of cards like Strangleroot Geist , Experiment One , etc., he's squarely midrange.

August 4, 2013 1:39 p.m.

thyhax says... #3

This is far better formatted than the previous article, and as such, a much easier (and arguably better) read. Good work! I look forward to future installments.

August 4, 2013 2:53 p.m.

Behgz says... #4

@Wike900 did't really care about mispelling anything, half the time thats me short hand typing something on purpose, lite 'nite' as opposed to 'night'. same goes for the mislinked #9 deck in the list at the end, i assumed ppl on that list would start changing the names of their decks over time and the links would start dropping anyways so i didnt go back an fix it, sry Spootyone.

@Goody yea PrinceOfNeurosis deck is definately midrange, and has even since been modified from the build used in this write-up, mine as well, but it had the potential to explode with T1 pilgrim, T2 loxodon, T3 silverblade paired to smiter, rancor on the smiter, swing for 12 trample on T3. Fairly aggro if u ask me.

@thyhax thanks for noticing the day/nite change from the first article to the is one, it really is an amazing transformation and I look forward to future articles too.

August 4, 2013 3:25 p.m.

Anansi442 says... #5

Love it man! Great read, keep 'em comin! :)

August 4, 2013 3:40 p.m.

Goody says... #6

Okay I'm closing that weird font that was left open.

Anyways, Behgz, just because a god draw has the potential to deal 12 damage on turn 3, does not make the deck aggro. Most aggro decks in the format can deal well over 12 damage by turn 3 with decent hands. I don't even consider my deck to be aggro and it's a more aggressive build than this; it's midrange-aggro. Aggro decks don't normally run 8 5-drops

August 4, 2013 3:54 p.m.

Goody says... #7

Wait no it was just the size

August 4, 2013 3:54 p.m.

Behgz says... #8

o well, PrinceOfNeurosis deck has since changed from the build used in this write-up, check out the most recent incarnation of his brew.deck-large:Voices of the Angelic Trinity

August 4, 2013 4:08 p.m.

Spootyone says... #9

Lol no worries on the link, Behgz. I will post it here if that's okay though - just on the off-chance someone is checking out decks early on.

Duskmantle Seer's Weenies (post-rotation)

As for the article, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. All the pandemonium caused by mirror Thragtusk , Restoration Angel , and Angel of Serenity was insane....and reminds me why I'm not running any of them :P Well done man!

August 4, 2013 5:01 p.m.

Behgz says... #10

By all means Spootyone and anyone else who wants to be in future articles, feel free to shamelessly plug a standard deck here in the comments.

August 4, 2013 5:26 p.m.

Behgz says... #11

I think I forgot to add in two shock damage at the end of game two but it didn't really matter, I gained 20 life that turn..

August 5, 2013 12:37 a.m.

CallMeCrazy says... #12

So why can't you overload a flashbacked Cyclonic Rift ?

August 5, 2013 1:36 a.m.

Emrakool says... #13

You sure picked a tough one this time around! Theros can't come out soon enough to stop at least half of this ridiculousness.

The only scrutinies I can give are these...

  1. G1, P5 - Thragtusk ETB sends life total from 13 to 17 (may have been a typo).

  2. G2, P18 - Angel of Serenity targets 3 Thragtusk in graveyard with Ground Seal 's last known location to be on the battlefield. May have been missed during gameplay, or Cyclonic Rift ed but unmentioned. Otherwise, the play would not have been possible.

  3. Opposing decks running Thragletits, Resto and AoS? My eyes are bleeding! Not to mention my deck's gonna die.

Keep up the good work!

August 5, 2013 1:53 a.m.

Emrakool says... #14

@CallMeCrazy, the flashback cost as stated by Snapcaster Mage is equal to its mana cost. This restricts alternate costs such as overload being used.

August 5, 2013 1:58 a.m.

Behgz says... #15

Those were some hidden misplays I would've never caught, good eye emrakool.

I'm glad you gave it a thorough read, and yes, I can't even believe I was able to transcribe what went down in this match up.

August 5, 2013 2:50 a.m.

Emrakool says... #16

Glad to be of help. Since I love trying out some off the wall ideas, I'd like to throw It's a Madhouse! in as another deck for the article. Though if it needs to end up on a waiting list so be it. Don't want anyone else to miss out on their share of having their deck featured. :)

August 5, 2013 3:09 a.m.

SwiftDeath says... #17

This is like what I do with my deck in Junk reanimate where I have a Fiend Hunter in play and in response to boardwipe I cast resto angel targeting the hunter. hunter enter effect exiling AoS, AoS leaves play effect cards in my hand, hunters leave effect you get your creature back, then finally boardwipe resolves. now hunter leaves effect returns AoS to play, enter play trigger exile loop pieces repeat for as long as I can. went 4-0 for the first time yesterday.

great article and good job on the games. and yes I is absolutely maddening.

August 5, 2013 6:43 a.m.

SwiftDeath says... #18

LOL it* not I in last sentence. I would appreciate it if you would check out the deck and again great article and read. didn't include link in last post Junk Reanimator.

August 5, 2013 6:47 a.m.

Behgz says... #19

The missed Ground Seal triggers, or prevention there of, in game two is a pretty big error on my part, almost makes the game two I have here void, which in any sanctioned event would result in a game loss pushing a game three, in place of that, a rematch perhaps, with the newly updated versions of our decks.

August 5, 2013 11:08 p.m.

Emrakool says... #20

It was PrinceOfNeurosis's deck making the play though, already down 0-1 in the match. So it would have resulted in the game and match loss. The updated triple angel list is pretty sweet though. Plus the added Hoofy makes my day.

August 5, 2013 11:17 p.m.

Behgz says... #21

Then really that was me making game recording errors and I gotta me on my A game when I write these up, one mistake like that can render these whole write ups pointless so I'll be more careful in the future.

August 6, 2013 12:25 a.m.

Spootyone says... #22

I think that, given the craziness of this matchup, you still did a fantastic job. I can't see myself doing any better lol.

"what? Thragtusk gains me life? Oh..."

August 6, 2013 12:54 a.m.

Cdawg44 says... #23

Awesome improvement in the formatting. Great job, great read. Keep them coming :D

August 6, 2013 3:09 p.m.

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