Best way to beat white Death and taxes?

Deck Help forum

Posted on July 13, 2017, 11:05 p.m. by Domzig138

Could use some card suggestions

Bulldawg1310 says... #2

Not sure what colors youre playing, but against any taxes deck, whether its eldrazi taxes or mono white, control, control, control. Play Inquisition of Kozilek Thoughtseize Fatal Push Dismember you get the idea.

July 13, 2017 11:13 p.m.

Domzig138 says... #3

I play a blue black deck he wrecked me 2-0 he played some card so i couldnt search my library then path to exiled my creatures and played some double strike protection from black creature. Thanks for the help i appreciate it

July 13, 2017 11:20 p.m.

Domzig138 says... #4

Your suggestions make sense, i hymn to tourach'ed him and he got really upset so messing his hand up turn one should wreck him

July 13, 2017 11:21 p.m.

Bulldawg1310 says... #5

You are referring to Leonin Arbiter and Mirran Crusader blue black should have a solid matchup against D&T. What are you running?

July 13, 2017 11:31 p.m.

Domzig138 says... #6

Its not really anything specific its got Psychatog, Shadowmage Infiltrator, Hypnotic specter, Terror, hymn to tourach and a bunch of card draw but he made all of my spells cost more and had the protection from black so that made psychatog useless. Id never played against D&T before untill today and he had Mutavaults that he kept beating me down with

July 14, 2017 12:05 a.m.

Domzig138 says... #7

Also his deck was 500$ mine was not even 100 i think my most exspensive card is a single Vampiric tutor. I just needed ideas on how i can go back and wreck him

July 14, 2017 12:09 a.m.

Domzig138 says... #8

I noticed game one i played a Royal Assassin and after reading it he went out of his way to bury it and he hated being hymned and having terror used on him, ill make a different deck just to beat him if i have to, Hand destruction and Creature removal should do the trick

July 14, 2017 12:13 a.m.

Bulldawg1310 says... #9

I think his deck was probably a little more expensive than that even. If ya wanna compete against top tier decks ya gotta invest. Otherwise you'll probably lose. Its one of the downsides to being a homebrewer. The cards i suggested in the first comments are gonna run ya about 150-200 bucks. Since youre in blue black already, and ya really wanna beat him, id consider looking at budget versions of either mill, or deaths shadow. But bidget versions of these decks are still gonna be 3-400 bucks because of proper land base. I can help with card selection for either, but its gonna be up to you on whether or not you wanna drop the coin on em.

July 14, 2017 12:16 a.m.

Bulldawg1310 says... #10

Yeah, based on what youre tellin me, youre gonna need alot more in your deck. A 3 drop that does very little, such as Royal Assassin isnt a good at all. Consider instead Vampire Nighthawk still a three drop, but flying, deathtouch, these are huge mechanics. Ultimately, like i said it's probably gonna cone down to your budget.

July 14, 2017 12:20 a.m.

Domzig138 says... #11

I have a legacy burn deck but im not sure thats fast enough, and i did play another match against him using my friends 20$ mill deck and he did actually have a hard time with it, i never beat him but i got close milling him and swinging with jaces phantasm. Trust me if i could id invest allot more this guy is like 50 he never actually built a deck doesnt even know what his cards do he just threw hundreds of dollars on the counter and said give me a deck, got all the foil lands and everything. Just makes me want to use old neglected cards and hate him out. I appreciate you allot, those cards you suggested are exspensive but the inspiration is just as valuble now at least i have a strategy

July 14, 2017 12:23 a.m.

Domzig138 says... #12

I might try my burn deck but run Artifact Blast for his Aether Vials and collateral damage to sack my creatures before he can path to exile them, my worry is a burn deck depends on math and once he makes a lightning bolt cost 2 mana im screwed

July 14, 2017 12:27 a.m.

Bulldawg1310 says... #13

also playing a legacy deck vs a modern deck isn't really fair for the modern player so id expect you to win. burn typically struggles against D&T because of Thalia, Guardian of Thraben id say best matchups against it, like I said are mill and death's shadow. most of the time there is a reason those old cards get neglected, the format is just way too aggressive and fast to sustain high cmc cards anymore without any form of control to get em on the board. I hope im helping. im getting the vibe youre an old school type player, and I don't mean to be negative or disappoint you.

July 14, 2017 12:27 a.m.

Domzig138 says... #14

No its cool, im only 24 so i cant say im old school but i do play with allot of old cards, Mana Short, Mind Twist, Fastbond. Just something about the older cards makes it more enjoyable but like you said it also makes it harder to win. I would normally never have been playing that guy but while i was looking around for some cards he asked if i had a deck he looked at it and said lets play i had no idea what he was gonna bust out. And then of course it was a foiled out used car in sleeves lol he was twice my age and didnt even know who john finkle is or what a serum visions does

July 14, 2017 12:35 a.m.

Domzig138 says... #15

I do have an Ante Deck so i cant deny the old school thing.

July 14, 2017 12:36 a.m.

Bulldawg1310 says... #16

got it. so it was more of a spur of the moment deal instead of a sanctioned match. that makes sense now. do you have a modern legal deck or do you just pretty much play casually? I know you said you have a legacy deck, does your lgs have legacy tournaments?

July 14, 2017 12:39 a.m.

Domzig138 says... #17

It wasnt sanctioned, i had a modern deck but because it could only win turn 5 or 4 max it wasnt very good and i didnt want to copy someone elses deck. Me and my friends kind of play casual, its a wierd vintage casual format we play so its not really casual, at our table you will be sinkholed and turn one can be island,brainstorm,gitaxian probe or swamp, dark ritual, hypnotic specter so its not really normal casual. Our LGS only does standard and modern which is fine i go in and buy every antiquities, ice age, unlimited or really any super old card that i can and the owner truly doesnt get it he handed me a binder of an almost complete set of ice age for free (minus necropotence unfortunatly) because i am the only human being he knows who would take it lol

July 14, 2017 12:47 a.m.

Domzig138 says... #18

But yes basically my deck was casual but a very serious casual deck, my burn deck is the only offical format deck i own and i cant go play it anyway

July 14, 2017 12:49 a.m.

Bulldawg1310 says... #19

well, whatever is enjoyable for you guys. that's the point of the game after all, having fun amongst friends. it sounds like yall have plenty of that with gitaxian probes and sinkholes getting slung around.

July 14, 2017 12:50 a.m.

Domzig138 says... #20

Its actually a girl who beats us all with terrible cards it pretty funny she plays blight, cursed land and sinkhole but then plays abyssal specter, bog rats and cyclopean mummy so when you lose you got beat by random jank. I agree it is about fun but why should the rich guy have all the fun right? Ill save up and get the cards you suggested and untill then ill just find close alternatives. I seriously appreciate the advice and help.

July 14, 2017 12:55 a.m.

Domzig138 says... #21

His deck has to damage me so if i can get out Fortune theif and Cloak and dagger it then he would be screwed so maybe ill start there and toy around till i can afford some thoughtseize and inquisitions

July 14, 2017 12:57 a.m.

Bulldawg1310 says... #22

the rich guy had all the fun because you weren't using competitive cards. its unfortunate he didn't know what he had because D&T is actually a pretty cool archetype, its one of my favorites and its been around and successful for a really long time.

sadly, we just don't stand a chance in modern without spending some money. all I play is modern and my cheapest deck is tribal elves and its still 375-425 bucks and that's without the Cavern of Souls.

I wish you luck my new found friend and im happy to help ya out anyway I can, you know where to find me. I will leave you with this last little piece of advice, and it might lead to more posts who knows, but, it is not wise to only strategize against one archetype. if you never play that guy again, your investment is worthless, however, if you do make that investment and make a blue black or even grixis death shadow deck, you can do some damage. I know you said you didn't wanna copy someone else's archetype but sometimes ya gotta, and theres always room to add your own spice to the recipe.

July 14, 2017 1:07 a.m.

Bulldawg1310 says... #23

PS I appreciate the upvotes! good lookin out. by the way, im gonna go out on a limb and guess youre a danzig fan, horns up for that! lucifuge II, how the gods kill, and Luciferi are three of my favorite albums of all time. his new one is absolutely fabulous too. so dark and heavy! A true return to form.

July 14, 2017 1:09 a.m.

Domzig138 says... #24

Thanks man much respect and appreciation and yes sir i love Danzig but my favorite is either Lucifuge or Danzig4 its a toss up i play guitar so the riff work on lucifuge is incredible but danzig4 is atmospheric and danzig uses his normal voice for the last time. Dont get me started on Samhain and the misfits either lol

July 14, 2017 1:16 a.m.

Domzig138 says... #25

PS Danzig only plays for Ante and he once took chuck norris's black lotus lol

July 14, 2017 1:17 a.m.

Bulldawg1310 says... #26

love me some samhain, mother of mercy! ive got their box set with the basement VHS tapes, pretty frickin sweet!

July 14, 2017 1:18 a.m.

Domzig138 says... #27

No way! Thats sick, i actually have the lucifuge VHS with all the music videos, must have been about 15 when i got it

July 14, 2017 8:27 a.m.

Spazik008 says... #28

Don't know if anyone mentioned this yet, but hit their Aether Vial. Most D&T players I see will keep a "loose" hand with only 1 land because they have the vial, which means they can still power out their creatures and draw gas, flooding the board with more threats than you can answer. If you can hit the vial with a Thoughtseize, Stony Silence, or Ancient Grudge, there's a good chance they're going to lose that game and snagging those free wins is ultimately the key to winning the match, because sometimes they'll have a god hand and there's just nothing you can do to stop them.

The Aether Vial is what frees up their land for Wasteland and Rishadan Port, which is a key aspect of the deck. Take away the vial and they're spending their lands to cast creatures, and they're just a creature deck at that point. And you can beat a creature deck in Legacy any day. Just throw down a Toxic Deluge and wave goodbye to a board of white weenies.

July 14, 2017 9 a.m.

Domzig138 says... #29

So could i just duress him since i dont have any thoughtseize? And then run some death mark and use dead weight on his little 2/2 creatures?

July 14, 2017 12:20 p.m.

Bulldawg1310 says... #30

Youre gonna need powerful creatures with cheap converted mana costs

July 14, 2017 1:06 p.m.

Oloro_Magic says... #31

So I play Death & Taxes in modern (and have a decent knowledge of the legacy version) a lot, when a player is playing discard like you I tend to side for being aggressive. Mirran Crusader, Brimaz, King of Oreskos and cards of the like are things I like to have when playing any sort of control (if you played Snapcaster Mage I would also use Dryad Militant). It sounds like the person you were playing was not well ad versed in Death & Taxes which is never a good sign with the deck which is my favorite legacy and modern build.

Basically, for reference when playing Death & Taxes players: the deck has two kind of modes if you will, the mono white control side and the agro side. The pilot of the deck will switch between these two depending on matchup. From what I have heard about your deck I would attempt to go agro by siding in some more Mirran Crusader, though if you are as controlling as you sound there are a large number of D&T players who will take a controlling role and deny you the mana to do anything and then slowly chip away at you. If I have read what your deck is about wrong though I would also consider going this route. Aether Vial is the single most important card in the deck allowing for interesting interactions with Flickerwisp, and endless utility. Basically, when playing an experienced D&T player be aware that they can chose to take the deck in a number of directions when facing you and especially in game two will almost always know what way they want to play.

July 14, 2017 1:10 p.m.

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