Abusive Surveillance, Volume One

Standard GingerSquatch93

SCORE: 64 | 56 COMMENTS | 7082 VIEWS | IN 28 FOLDERS


-Arcanity- says... #1

You'd definitely want four copies of Doom Whisperer in this deck, and probably one Dream Eater. In the main deck, I'd run a lot more hard removal like Cast Down, Price of Fame, and Vraska's Contempt. Cut Unexplained Disappearance. For the sideboard, it's good to run Ritual of Soot to fight aggro, and Negate to fight hardcore control. Play a single Unmoored Ego at most. 90% of the time, it'll be a 0 for 1, which is basically like taking a mulligan in the middle of the game. I've been playing around with surveil too, and this is what I have after doing some testing and tuning: All Hail Surveil

October 7, 2018 2:44 a.m.

-Arcanity- says... #2

Also, this deck needs at least 24 lands to function consistently, as your avg. CMC is at 3.

October 7, 2018 2:46 a.m.

Skyler1776 says... #3

Why is Enhanced Surveillance in the Sideboard? Also, given all the surveiling, consider Search for Azcanta  Flip?

October 7, 2018 9:20 a.m.

-Arcanity- As for the CMC, I feel like that is skewed upwards by the deck builder counting Discovery/Dispersal as an 8 mana card. Unexplained Disappearance is going to get cut in favor of Price of Fame eventually, but a soft bounce has worked well so far. And this one is built completely around Surveil, if a spell doesn't surveil or receive a benefit from, it's not getting played.

Skyler1776 It's sided mostly because I don't plan on games going long enough for me to benefit from that, though I did want it available if I absolutely need it to close out later games. Additionally, Lazav needs target creatures in the yard in order for his ability to be used. Azcanta is definitely going to be considered though, even though I had originally planned this to be entirely in GRN in order to get as much continuous playability out of it, unaffected by rotation.

October 7, 2018 4:59 p.m.

Skyler1776 says... #5

Search doesn’t rotate

October 7, 2018 5:57 p.m.

-Arcanity- says... #6

About the cmc, i know that its skewed up due to Discovery / Dispersal being a split card (and also Creeping Chill actually being free), but having that in mind, it still would be a 2.5-2.8 cmc deck, which means that it will need at least 23 if not 24 lands. Also, thing is, in this deck, would you rather play a good card without surveil, or a bad card with surveil? Having efficient removal is really necessary. And Doom Whisperer

October 7, 2018 11:59 p.m.

-Arcanity- says... #7

doom whisperer is really great in this deck. (the first comment got cut off for some reason)

October 8, 2018 midnight

DragonKing90 says... #8

-Arcanity-: if Unmoored Ego is a "0 for 1" for you as much as "90% of the time", you're playing it very wrong. its not a mainboard card meant to just wildly guess card names. you play it in the sideboard for after you know what the opponents win condition is.

October 8, 2018 12:30 a.m.

-Arcanity- couldn't agree more that Doom Whisperer will be great in here, unfortunately I haven't been able to trade for one and buying three to replace Nightveil Predator is rather expensive. Thing is though, I've Turn 5'd people with this thing with only 4 mana on board, so right now it's running fantastic. That being said, they will be added once I acquire them.

DragonKing90 exactly how it's meant here. I can absolutely main board it if I wanted to, but that would lean more towards a "cruel control" version of this deck as I would target lands and mana screw them early on.

October 8, 2018 1:27 a.m.

-Arcanity- says... #10

DragonKing90 GingerSquatch93 Of course Unmoored Ego is a sideboard card, but that doesn't stop it from being a 0 for 1, especially in Standard. Sure, you're removing your opponent's best card, but so what? You're down one card and three mana and they're not (cards in libraries don't count because players don't have direct access to it (which is also why milling the opponent is useless unless you're in a mill deck, but i digress)), which is a huge tempo loss. And all "good" decks are very well able to kill the opponent efficiently with more than just their best card. The only time cards like this shine is in strict combo matchups, where the opponent's got almost no backup play (or a very ieffective backup play). And tell me, have you ever see a card like this in a Modern tournament, where it should have plenty of targets? No (unless you count Surgical Extraction, which is mana-free). And why? Because hate cards are more efficient. But I degress again with the hate cards. Now, in Standard, there's literally only one combo deck that MIGHT be competitive: the Thousand-Year Storm deck, and it's unsure whether it'll even become a real thing, plus it does have a backup plan. Oh, and actually, Unmoored Ego is ALWAYS 0 for 1, it's just that 10 percent of the time you'll run into a combo deck where casting it actually helps you.

Btw it might actually be modern playable since you can target lands with it (tron, Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle).

October 8, 2018 5:05 a.m.

BUDGETIDEAS says... #11

-Arcanity- the decks average cmc is 1.36, or 2.1 if you discount the lands. 22 lands is a fine amount for this deck. Also great deck!

October 8, 2018 5:47 a.m.

DragonKing90 says... #12

-Arcanity-: Unmoored Ego will not "always" be a "0 for 1". that statement was just silly. and regardless of backup win-cons, being able to use 1 card to get rid of 4 copies of one of the opponents win-cons is good regardless. it gives your other removal a better chance to deal with those other win-cons. but it is too slow to use against tron. it would only help if you're on the play.

October 9, 2018 10:15 a.m.

-Arcanity- says... #13

DragonKing90 first off, about Tron: if they don't always have all the pieces on turn 3. Else no one will play Blood Moon as Tron hate.

Secondly: two for one means that you're spending a card and your opponent is not losing any cards. That is card disadvantage. Unmoored Ego can be a good sideboard card, but you should play 1 copy at max, because tell me, in what meta matchup would you play the card post-sideboard? Let's see: Boros/Red aggro/Mono-green Stompy: while you're spending a turn to cast Unmoored Ego, they're hitting you to death. Dimir/Golgari Midrange: what card will to take with it? Vraska? Doom Whisperer? Well they still out value you with other cards and spells even when you take their most powerful card. Control: okay, taking Teferi makes sense, but can't you just use removal to kill it so you're not down any cards, because with all their card draw, they can find their other win-cons? Slesnya Tokens: What do you take?! The deck doesn't rely on any single card.

And these are all the tier 1 decks in GRN Standard.

October 9, 2018 10:38 a.m.

-Arcanity- says... #14

*i meant 0 for one, not two for one.

October 9, 2018 10:38 a.m.

DragonKing90 says... #15

-Arcanity-: yeah i know what "0 for 1" means. you're still wrong.

October 9, 2018 10:46 a.m.

DragonKing90 says... #16

-Arcanity-: oh and btw, the reason people play Blood Moon against tron is not because tron "cant always get the lands assembled by turn 3" (they very consistently can) but rather its because Blood Moon is still useful AFTER the lands are assembled. Unmoored Ego is only useful BEFORE the lands are assembled. so comparing Unmoored Ego to Blood Moon is entirely innacurate.

October 9, 2018 10:55 a.m.

-Arcanity- says... #17

DragonKing90

About Tron: If a Tron player assembles the lands on turn 3, there's a high chance that they can just stick a Karn or some other powerful stuff and Blood Moon isn't enough to prevent that. But we digress with Tron.

Now back to the main thing.

"you're still wrong." "you're still wrong." "you're still wrong."

Amazing argument. That's basically what everyone says when their argument is failing. You say you know what 0 for 1 means, but what you said before clearly shows that you don't. And I have given you evidence of why Unmoored Ego is not useful in Standard right now, and there's nothing you can say because it's the truth. But you don't want to admit that you were wrong. I'm open to new ideas, but only if your argument is valid. "you're still wrong." is not.

October 9, 2018 9:40 p.m.

DragonKing90 says... #18

-Arcanity-: my argument is not failing in the slightest. i clearly do know what "0 for 1 means". Unmoored Ego is NOT always a 0 for 1, because there is a very real possibility it gets cards out of your opponents hand. thats just a simple fact. therefore, i was entirely 100,0000% correct when i said you were wrong. because you were. saying "unmoored ego is always a 0 for 1" is just blatantly false. you have provided zero evidence whatsoever that Unmoored Ego is not good in standard. it will be, plain and simple. saying "you're still wrong" is 100% valid. if YOU aren't smart enough to make the card work, then thats on you. if you really think Unmoored Ego isn't good simply for no other reason than because a single copy of it won't remove 100% of a decks win-cons in every single match up, then you're playin the entire game very wrong. if i'm playin green stompy and name Steel Leaf Champion, thats 4 less big beaters to worry about, leaving Cast Down open to destroy OTHER creatures. or you name the hexproof beaters that Cast Down can't kill. name Nullhide Ferox or Carnage Tyrant. learn how to play BUx control kiddo.

October 9, 2018 9:52 p.m.

-Arcanity- says... #19

DragonKing90

Are you literate?!

Unmoored Ego says "That player shuffles their library, then draws a card for each card exiled from their hand this way." So if you exile a card from their hand they get to draw another one.

And look at your argument above. First off, you said the card was not good against Tron on the play cuz you can only play it after turn 3. And the Stompy deck can play steel leaf champ on turn two with a Llanowar Elves on turn 1. And taking a powerful creature from their deck wont matter much because you're spending a card and a turn to cast Unmoored Ego, while they can play other threats. The stompy deck has more threats in it than any deck can answer if it happens to draw them all. So it's a lot more effective to use a general removal spell to kill whatever creature they actually have, rather than taking away cards from the library that they very well may not draw. And you're saying that I provided no evidence that Unmoored Ego isn't useful in the current Standard? I literally listed all the tier one decks in Standard and analyzed why other options are more effective.

Btw, dude, it's UBx control, cuz the colors r always named in clockwise order. Also when you play a deck like that, you use discard spells to get rid of hexproof threats from the opponent's hands, since they dont leave you down a card.

Also, you can't be 100,0000% correct. That is not logically plausible, my friend.

October 10, 2018 12:13 a.m.

DragonKing90 says... #20

-Arcanity-: taking a powerful creature from their deck "doesn't matter"? are you high? and btw, "BUx" is still correct. you really gonna sit and nitpick the order of the colors like it matters? it doesnt. discard spells remove threats from hand, Unmoored Ego takes all copies of the threat from the deck. a smart player would use both. and you know darn well what i meant by "100,000% correct". so pitiful and pathetic you have to nitpick the stupidest things when you know you're wrong.

October 10, 2018 10:45 a.m.

-Arcanity- says... #21

Ok, so you think you're right, huh? Then you give me evidence. Give me statistics. Have you ever seen a card name removal spell played as a FOUR OF in any tier one deck?

Btw, my boi, for how long have you been playing the game?

October 10, 2018 9:04 p.m.

Alright -Arcanity-, here's the deal: Unmoored Ego is in the sideboard to deal with A)big annoying combos that I don't want to have to deal with or B)shenanigans that can't be countered and/or can't be nuked, see Carnage Tyrant. It is there to deal with things that can cause me problems, however, since not all decks cause me problems and I'm able to run them over before they're really going it's not in the mainboard. It is there as a roadblock to whatever their primary plan is and force them to shift plans, while mine goes on, relatively undisrupted because by the time I have to cast Unmoored Ego, I'm already rolling and I'm keeping them from disrupting my game plan. Alternatively, as I've said both here in the comments and in the description, I can tear lands out of a mana-intensive deck, which gives me an advantage.

This deck is by no means meant as a Tier 1 Standard deck, I have neither the money nor the patience for that. It is meant as a fun deck that abuses a mechanic to the nth degree and still wins games. You're entitled to your opinion about it, but at the end of the day it's just your opinion. But what do I know, I've only been in since Odyssey.

Archiving prior comments.

October 11, 2018 3:38 a.m. Edited.

-Arcanity- says... #23

Btw GingerSquatch93 I wasn't asking you for how long you've been playing. I was asking DragonKing90.

October 11, 2018 4:25 a.m.

ShiningSpear says... #24

I'd consider moving Sinister Sabotage to the sideboard in favor of Thief of Sanity. This seems like a deck that wants to be actively playing things on turn 3.

Also, get you a Field of Ruin or two. Azcanta is a problem, and with Selesnya being a real threat, you'll want to have something for Adanto as well.

October 11, 2018 7:26 a.m.

ShiningSpear, I love Thief of Sanity. I think the effect is awesome and the art is abjectly terrifyingly awesome but it doesn't fit what I want to do with this deck. I am definitely considering a Field of Ruin though.

October 12, 2018 3:05 a.m.

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