Showdown #13: Lucky or Unlucky?

Showdown

Spootyone

4 January 2014

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Hello all and welcome back to another episode of Showdown where I pit my current standard deck against other standard builds that have been sent in to me. Last episode occurred before the holidays so I'll give a quick refresher. I showcased a new version of my deck testing to see if many ideas given to me by a person by the name of Shibyness were valid ones. In playtesting beforehand, I had found the changes to be good ones, but sadly fell short in the playtest against kyuuri's Tax Bear Aggro deck (esper midrange). The resulting loss to an opposing Archangel of Thune left me with a bad taste in my mouth, of course, as many of you know that she is one of my all-time favorite cards.

It's been a while since I've been playtesting for you guys, but I haven't stopped playing. Many of you may have seen or played against me on cockatrice (thanks for that, by the way!) and I've been hard at work trying to alter things here and there to maximize the efficacy of G/W in the standard format we find ourselves in. The resulting deck is not too different than last article's, so there's no need to explain changes. I'm hoping my hiatus can come to an end with a nice victory to celebrate the new year! Without further ado, I present to you all this week's challenger:

Domri's Bloodrush Buddies

Standard psychoza

SCORE: 125 | 104 COMMENTS | 34340 VIEWS | IN 44 FOLDERS

This is a very nice Big Gruul deck by psychoza with a twist of some additional aggression in the form of bloodrush by Ghor-Clan Rampager as well as through Armed / Dangerous. I decided to try something different this week. I went ahead and played a number of matches against Psychoza's deck before writing the article. This was done so that I could become comfortable with the deck while also seeing how favorable my matchup was with it. And thus, I will be playing this match under the thought that both players actually know the opposing deck and can play around what is in it. There are a number of reasons for this, but the biggest is to not let the other deck down in testing. Hopefully you all enjoy this change.

Deck's such as this one have given me trouble ever since they came out when Mihara top eighted PTTHS using one of the first versions of it. I don't play aggressive enough to race them, but I don't have removal enough or creatures big enough to deal with their threats (especially once Garruk, Caller of Beasts hits the field). So I know already that this will be a tough one. What is my win con? Bolt the Bird. Or in this case, destroy all mana dorks the opposing deck gets out. Ratchet Bomb and Last Breath will hopefully help me with this. I kid you not when I say this is vital to victory. However, in playtesting I found getting this early game almost assures me the victory. I feel like the matchup can and will be close. Let's take a look!

And for your listening pleasure, I have for you all a song by one of my favorite groups:

Game 1

Spooty wins the flip and is on the play. I keep an opening hand of 4x plains, Selesnya Charm, Loxodon Smiter and Ratchet Bomb. This hand is pretty bad -- no doubt. The ONLY reason I'm keeping it is the fact that I can play out the bomb T2, which is one of the only ways I can beat the opposing deck. We shall see if the rest of the hand works with our draws. This is very, very risky.

Psychoza mulls a one-land hand. The kept hand contains forest, Stomping Ground, Elvish Mystic, Sylvan Caryatid, Voyaging Satyr and Polukranos, World Eater. Seems like a pretty good 6-card hand to me!

S1: Plains. Pass.

P1: Draws Domri Rade. Beautiful. Forest, Elvish Mystic. Pass.

S2: Draws Rootborn Defenses. Nope. Plays Plains. Plays Ratchet Bomb. Pass.

P2: Draws Temple of Abandon. Shocks self with Stomping Ground and taps out with mystic for Domri Rade. His +1 reveals an Arbor Colossus that enters the hand. Pass. (s 20/18 p) EoT Spooty kicks the bomb up to 1 counter.

S3: Draws forest. Got there!! Plays forest. Casts Loxodon Smiter. Pass.

P3: Draws Nylea, God of the Hunt. Plays Temple of Abandon and scrys Armed / Dangerous off the top. Seems okay to me right now. It stays. Uses Domri's +1 (just to increase loyalty). Well, we have three mana and the opponent has a Ratchet Bomb ready to blow. I guess we may as well just play out one of our 2-drop dorks as there's nothing else we really can do. Plays voyaging satyr. pass. EoT Spooty kicks the bomb up to 2 counters.

S4: Draws plains. Plays plains. Blows up the Ratchet Bomb at 2 counters to kill the Voyaging Satyr. Swings at Domri with Loxodon Smiter. As Psychoza here, I can either let the smiter hit and save a my Elvish Mystic, playing either of my 4-drops, OR I can let the mystic die and keep up my domri mana for Pit Fight abilities. The problem with the latter is we know we're not drawing into mana to play those creatures. Thus, there are no blocks. Domri goes to 1 loyalty. Pass.

P4: Draws Armed / Dangerous. Now this card isn't very good. Perhaps I shouldn't have kept it there... Well, I guess we should play out a big threat here before we lose all tempo. Taps out with the mystic for Polukranos, World Eater. Uses Domri's +1 to add Burning-Tree Emissary to the hand. Pass. EoT Spooty casts Selesnya Charm on the hydra to exile it.

S5: Draws Selesnya Charm That's huge. Swings at and kills Domri with the smiter. Plays plains. Pass.

P5: Draws Savageborn Hydra. Well, we're certainly in a bind now. I think we need to get mana out this turn to set us up in the future. Casts Burning-Tree Emissary into Sylvan Caryatid. Pass.

S6: Draws Skylasher. Not really a good card for this matchup. Plays plains. Swings with the Smiter. No blocks. (s 20/14 p). Pass.

P6: Draws Stomping Ground. Plays it tapped. Taps out with the mystic to play Nylea, God of the Hunt. The opponent doesn't have double green, so there are very few things like could bring in to block the BTE if we attack. Even if they do, we can play Arbor Colossus on the next turn to regain the devotion we need. Swings with BTE. Spooty flashes in Skylasher and forces a trade. Pass.

S7: Draws plains. We really need more threats than what we have. The opponent can easily get back the devotion they need to activate nylea. We have a single charm to exile her, but what of the big threats? Swings with the smiter -- no blocks. (s 20/10 p). Pass.

P7: Draws Stomping Ground. Plays it tapped. Taps out with the mystic for Arbor Colossus, activating Nylea as a creature. Swings with nylea. In response, Spooty exiles her with Selesnya Charm. Pass.

S8: Draws Fleecemane Lion. Very nice! If we can monstrous this guy we have a blocker for that colossus for the rest of the game. Plays the lion. Plays the plains (just in case we draw another land and need to have mana for monstrous + Rootborn Defenses. Pass.

P8: Draws Savageborn Hydra. More threats! That lion is going to be a big problem if it becomes monstrous since we lost Nylea. But I think with all the big threats we have we can afford to let it go monstrous. Plays Armed / Dangerous on arbor colossus and swings with him. Spooty double-blocks with the smiter and lion and plays Rootborn Defenses before damage. This results in the colossus hitting the bin. Psychoza then taps out with the mystic and caryatid to make a 3/3 Savageborn Hydra. Pass.

S9: Draws Call of the Conclave. This game is getting close. We can Swing with both creatures here with little to no worries. As Psychoza, this is a hard call. We could let the damage through, and then have 2 large hydras next turn, or we could trade with the smiter. The problem is the card in the opponent's hand. It's just too risky and we're not dead until we're dead. No blocks. (s 20/2 p). Spooty then makes a 3/3 token with Call of the Conclave. Pass.

P9: Draws Ghor-Clan Rampager. It's not enough for the win. We also need blockers to prevent dying. Taps out with the mystic to make a second hydra with 4 counters. Pass.

S10: Draws Witchstalker. Not playable. Swings with the lion only. Psychoza blocks with Sylvan Caryatid. Pass.

P10: Draws Temple of Abandon. Plays it tapped. Scrys Armed / Dangerous off the top. Again? Well, this time I really don't see a lot of point in keeping it. Both of our threats already have double-strike. It goes to the bottom. We're in a bad position. We need blocks for 3 creatures, which means we cannot tap the elf for mana. That means we can pump our hydras twice total. I end up spending 4 mana to pump the 3/3 hydra up to 5/5 and pass. EoT Spooty monstrouses the lion.

S11: Draws Ratchet Bomb. Oh man this could be amazing. But only if we survive long enough. Plays Ratchet Bomb. We dont have a reasonable attack here. Pass.

P11: Draws Xenagos, the Reveler. Is this good? The tokens are useless with the opposing Ratchet Bomb on the field. The plus ability is decent but doesn't do anything good for us this turn. Even by swinging with the bigger hydra, pumping him, and bloodrushing him, we lose to the counter-attack due to the bomb. Without attacking, we lose to the bomb. We could play out the rampager, but the bloodrush is really our only win-con we have right now. Xenagos is our only way to survive. Plays Xenagos, the Reveler and uses his zero ability to make a 2/2 satyr token. The other two mana is used to pump the bigger hydra to a 6/6. Pass. EoT Spooty kicks the bomb up to 1 counter.

S12: Draws Selesnya Guildgate. Not at all what we needed here. Well, if we can survive the next turn we should be okay, but we may not. Plays the guildgate tapped. Pass.

P12: Draws forest. Plays forest. Uses Xenagos' +1 to make 4 green mana. Taps to add an additional 6 mana to the pool and then adds 5 counters to the hydra, making it an 11/11. Swings with everything but the mystic. As Spooty, we know they have a Ghor-Clan Rampager based on how they tapped as well as the fact that it is the only reason they would attack as they are. The 3/3 centaur blocks the small hydra, the smiter and lion block the bigger hydra, and the satyr gets through. Psychoza bloodrushes the bigger hydra with his Ghor-Clan Rampager. And that's enough for lethal! I am trampled to death by a massive 15-headed hydra. Not pretty...

Psychoza wins Game 1!!

Sideboard tech with Spooty: Damn! Curse you trample! We were very close to taking that first game but just weren't able to remove threats quick enough. And this is the purpose of sideboarding. Ratchet Bomb is one of the most crucial elements in my victory versus this deck. We will be bringing in the 4th copy -- they never ever go to waste. We will also bring in Last Breath as more dork removal/burning-tree emisary removal. Which is better here -- Rootborn Defenses or Gods Willing? They both have their merits. I know for a fact that I was hoping to top deck Gods Willing for the last 3-4 turns of that last game. But rootborn allows us to turn a trade in battle into a blowout. Both Skylasher and Witchstalker do very little for me in this matchup so they can come out. We are bringing in the 4th copy of Ratchet Bomb, 2 copies of Last Breath, 2 more copies of Gods Willing and a single copy of Unflinching Courage to help heal us and help with the larger creatures.

Sideboard tech with Psychoza: That game started well, then became insanely difficult, and ended up with a clutch victory. What do we take from it? First off, we have to be super aggressive. If we allow the opposing deck to wreck our manabase by killing our dorks and then answering our threats one-at-a-time, There's really nothing we can do to stop them from killing us. Thus, I'm going to make the following changes: We will remove 2x Mistcutter Hydra since the opposing deck isn't blue and we will be bringing in 2x Gruul Charm to prevent blocking. The rest of the sideboarding is tough for me. I want to bring in a ton of things: Mizzium Mortars, Madcap Skills, Clan Defiance...The problem is that there isn't much I can take out without sacrificing aggression on other fronts. I could remove Arbor Colossus, but that means less mana sinks, less win-cons, less effectiveness for Domri Rade, etc. I could remove Armed / Dangerous but the armed half is almost vital in getting an early kill in as we would like. I'm going to make the changes mentioned and if there is a clear answer after this second game we will make the appropriate changes.

And psychoza, if you could enlighten me on what you would have done in my situation after reading this I would much appreciate that.

Game 2

Spooty chooses to be on the play and keeps a hand of forest, plains, Unflinching Courage, Boon Satyr, Call of the Conclave and 2x Fleecemane Lion. we have zero of our kill spells which is terrible, but we do have things we can play and our one copy of Unflinching Courage to maybe buy us some time. Maybe we will get lucky. crosses fingers

Psychoza keeps a hand of Stomping Ground, Temple of Abandon, Elvish Mystic, 2x Sylvan Caryatid, Ghor-Clan Rampager and Arbor Colossus Looks good!

S1: Plains. Pass.

P1: Draws Arbor Colossus. Shocks self with Stomping Ground and casts Elvish Mystic. Pass.

S2: Draws Call of the Conclave. plays forest. Plays Call of the Conclave. Pass.

P2: Draws Gruul Charm Plays Temple of Abandon tapped and scrys Elvish Mystic off the top. I'd rather have lands. It goes to the bottom. Taps out with mystic to play Sylvan Caryatid. Pass.

S3: Draws forest. Plays forest. Attaches Unflinching Courage to the 3/3 centaur and swings with it. No blocks. (s 25/13 p) Pass.

P3: Draws forest. See? Just as I said. Plays forest. Taps out with the dorks to play Arbor Colossus. Pass.

S4: Draws plains. Plays plains. Swinging here would be pretty dumb. Casts 2x Fleecemane Lion. Pass.

P4: Draws Nylea, God of the Hunt. Nice. Swings with the colossus. No blocks (s 19/13 p). Taps the mystic and lands to play Nylea, God of the Hunt. And now we have a blocker for days. Pass.

S5: Draws Call of the Conclave. No good attacks. Plays 2x Call of the Conclave and makes 2 3/3 centaurs. Pass.

P5: Draws Garruk, Caller of Beasts. We may just win next turn if we have more threats alongside a Gruul Charm and Ghor-Clan Rampager. Taps dorks and lands to play Arbor Colossus number 2. Pass.

S6: Draws Advent of the Wurm. Still not going to let me break through attacks. Pass.

P6: Draws Polukranos, World Eater. Plays Gruul Charm so Spooty can't block with any of his creatures. Attacks with 2x Arbor Colossus and Nylea, God of the Hunt and then bloodrushes nylea with the Ghor-Clan Rampager for lethal. Youch.

Psychoza wins the match!!

I feel as though I really didn't get a good chance to show off how my deck can work against this sort of deck, so I'm going to play one more match just for fun/information purposes. Enjoy!

Game 3

Spooty wins the flip and chooses to be on the play. He keeps an opening hand of forest, plains, Call of the Conclave, Fleecemane Lion, Advent of the Wurm, Ratchet Bomb and Gods Willing. Looks just about perfect.

Psychoza Mulls a one-lander. The kept hand contains mountain, Stomping Ground, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Voyaging Satyr, Burning-Tree Emissary and Armed / Dangerous. Good enough!

S1: Plains. Pass.

P1: Draws Polukranos, World Eater. Plays Stomping Ground tapped. Pass.

S2: Draws Selesnya Guildgate. Plays forest. Plays Ratchet Bomb. Pass.

P2: Draws Gruul Charm. Ratchet Bomb kills our hand honestly. But we have to stay the course. Plays mountain. Plays BTE into Voyaging Satyr. Pass. EoT spooty kicks the bomb up to 1 counter.

S3: Draws Last Breath. Plays the guildgate tapped. Plays Call of the Conclave to make a 3/3 centaur token. Pass.

P3: Draws forest. Plays forest. Taps out with the satyr to cast Polukranos, World Eater. Pass. EoT Spooty kicks the bomb up to 2 counters.

S4: Draws forest. Plays forest. Blows up the bomb at 2 counters, destroying the BTE and Voyaging Satyr. Plays Fleecemane Lion. Pass.

P4: Draws Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. Ew... Well, the bomb blowing up our devotion and ramp is devastating to say the least. Plays Nykthos. We can't even attack profitably or monstrous well-enough. Though we can play Armed / Dangerous. Casts Armed / Dangerous on Polukranos and swings. Spooty blocks with the contaur token and casts Gods Willing on it naming green. No damage is dealt and the token survives. Spooty scrys Selesnya Charm off the top and it totally stays. Pass.

S5: Draws Selesnya Charm. Attacks with the centaur and lion for 6 (s 20/14 p). Pass.

P5: Draws Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. Nevermind. THIS is devastating. (Insert Zac Hill gif here). Attacking seems bad. They could have an Advent of the Wurm. They could have all sorts of things, actually. At least this way we can hold back a blocker. Pass. EoT Spooty exiles the hydra with Selesnya Charm. So much for that.

S6: Draws Advent of the Wurm. Lovely. Swings for 6 with the lion and centaur (s 20/8 p). Pass.

P6: Draws Elvish Mystic. Plays elvish mystic. Pass. EoT Spooty makes a 5/5 wurm with trample using Advent of the Wurm. That's lethal on board. Psychoza concedes.

Spooty wins the extra game!!

Afterthoughts

I first off want to thank psychoza for the awesome deck matchup. This was a challenge that I may not have overcome, but had fun playing against as well as piloting. I have more of a preference for reactive playstyles over aggressive ones, but piloting a super aggressive deck is always a good time. How do I feel my deck performed? Eh, it did what it could. Game one was a very close one that really only was such due to my T2 Ratchet Bomb. Sure, not drawing double-green for the rest of the game hurt me, but I think I still may have lost without that happening. Game two was a perfect example of what happens in this matchup when we don't get removal for dorks -- quick and painful death. And in the third game, it really shone just how enormous it can be to remove the opponent's mana dorks. Psychoza's draws that game weren't the best, but he probably could have been better if he had the extra mana and blockers.

Even though Savageborn Hydra gave me tons of trouble, I still would have to say it's not a very good card in standard right now. Putting a lot of resources into a creature that can't protect itself seems ill-advised in a meta full of Hero's Downfall and Doom Blade. That being said, the Ghor-Clan Rampager bloodrush onto a double-striker is nasty to go up against. I also would like to see some sideboard information from psychoza illustrating what is for what/what should be removed as I had a really hard time figuring that out.

If you would like to be the next deck chosen for me to go up against, please leave it in the comments below. Have advice? Share it! Have ideas? Let me know! Complaints? Hit me with them. Feedback is great and I want to strive to make quality material for you all.

Over the past few weeks I have grown tired of my current deck. Or, perhaps, I've grown tired of losing more often than winning and having the same excuses (i.e. mana-screw, they got lucky, it was a bad matchup). Maybe it IS a bad matchup. But do you know why? I think my deck just isn't very good in the current meta. I'm still trying too hard to be G/W aggro while not being G/W aggro so as to be unique. And with that, I lose a lot of power. That isn't to say Conclave-Counter-Cutter (a.k.a. Archangel of thune, tempo-breaker, a.k.a. Weenies of Thune) is a bad deck -- it's just not winning enough for me to be happy. And so, I think I'm going to retire the deck and begin anew, looking for the hidden gems of G/W. I won't rest until I've found a breakthrough!

Oh, and by the way? I think I may have. But it's still a work in progress and there is much testing still to come. The results (if they are positive) will be coming up in a special deck article soon. I hope you're looking forward to it!

The Question of the Week!

What I'd like to ask you all this week is for your opinion on the new article style. that is, playtesting prior to writing to get a better understanding of the matchup. while this does mean you won't be getting the same sort of thought processes as before, it does mean more logical decision-making. Please let me know!

Magic Trivia

last installment I asked you all what the very-well-known precursor to Duskmantle Seer was. The answer? dark confident. The person who guessed this correctly first was chiefbell. Grats! Also, points to unforgiven_II for his answer. :P

This time we're going to take a good hard look at the "bloodrush" mechanic first introduced in Gatecrash and later expanded on in Dragon's Maze. The mechanic itself can be quite hard to deal with for the receiving player. "Oh you're letting my Hound of Griselbrand through? Alright I bloodrush 2 Ghor-Clan Rampager on him. GG?" The question I have for you is this: How can you counter bloodrush? Take some time and think about it.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support. And as always, thanks for reading!

-- Spootyone --

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