Ghost Dad's Circus Stampede
Standard*
SCORE: 71 | 64 COMMENTS | 19523 VIEWS | IN 35 FOLDERS Top 8: 05/10
Fat-Trimming for Better Longevity and Speed —March 5, 2013
Today, I've decided to try the thing I didn't think I would do, and that is to cut one of our featured star Trostani, Selesnya's Voice from the main deck. I love the Selesnya's Angels trio to death, but the card is very, very mana restrictive and it sometimes won't be able to see play on turn 4 due to the lands not being just right, which happens more often than I want to when I don't find a Farseek within turns 0-2. Also, I rarely get to populate with her as my mana will be tied up to cast better spells and I don't have the luxury of creature ramp to give me unspeakable amount of open mana. The more I thought about the card, the more I think it just has to go to make room for things that better fit the current meta of aggro and midrange where stabilizing early is the key to even have a chance at winning the matchup. Sorry, Trosty, but I'm benching you. I'm sure you'll get another shot, maybe post-rotation.
I have also decided to move Oblivion Ring from MB to SB while cutting Underworld Connections altogether, the reasoning will be revealed below.
And thus, the new cards come in. Disciple of Bolas is taking over the 4-drop slot. He is a lot less restrictive on colors and gets me the card draw to fuel my hand and the life I need to, well, stay alive. Thragtusk will usually be the target, gaining me another 5 life and drawing me 5 cards, and still leaving a 3/3 behind. This also adds another ETB creature to target with Restoration Angel and I can always bring back the tusks with Angel of Serenity if needed.
The two Oblivion Ring were a tad too slow in game 1 against fast aggro decks so I'm moving them to the 'board to side in later against things like Boros Reckoner, hard-to-remove creatures like Falkenrath Aristocrat and Olivia Voldaren, and planeswalkers.
This made room for the 25th land and a second Liliana of the Veil. She is deadly against control and can hold her own in midrange and moderately useful against aggro in game 1 (I side her out against aggro since they have way too many creatures). The 25th land is justified by the fact that I have only one way to ramp so I REALLY have to hit my lands every single turn or I risk falling way behind and losing. If I was running something like Avacyn's Pilgrim, then I might be able to get away with 24.
Sorry if I disappoint any of you, but the current meta forced my hands and I have a feeling this change will be for the better.
Trostani, Selesnya's Voice. Never forget.
This is a deck that I want to play very, very badly. I wish Magic cost less money t.t
March 4, 2013 12:25 a.m.
mrbloo1848 says... #3
Thanks, glenn69! This is probably the list I've put the most amount of effort into and I just want to see this baby place at least once at my FNM because I know it has the capability to. My documenting the changes I make also helps me keep track of why I have certain cards on the list and also helps people help me. I am glad that you are learning from what I'm doing and I hope that, like me, you will find a fun list that you just want to brew up. It's a cruel, cruel world out there in the current meta T_T.
Mekhami, if you are looking into playing and want a relatively budget deck that is guaranteed to do decent at a local tournament, try RDW. Most lists are super cheap since they run only basic lands and the only money cards are Hellrider and Boros Reckoner (the latter being a bitch to get now, glad I got a set when he was cheap) and you can even run it without the latter. Of course, the list won't be as interactive as this list, but don't listen to anyone that say "Myes, RDWs don't take skills". True, RDWs are stupidly simple. However, in order to compete with the current meta full of midrange that are great at stalling and then shifting to offense, you have to play your cards right.
I have a RDW list of my own that I used before I got this list past proxy stage: Overheat. It's pretty damn cheap for a deck that can run with the big boys. Heck, it has better FNM records than this one (so far!)
glenn69 says... #1
Really appreciate all the documentation that you are leaving for this deck. I haven't built many of my own, but I am learning from the process that you are laying out for everyone to read.
Thanks for your diligent notes. +1 for that alone.
March 4, 2013 midnight