Looking to take Ponza competitive...
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on Sept. 13, 2018, 10:45 a.m. by StoryArcher
This is absolutely my favorite style of deck and I'd like to take it seriously competitive without necessarily carbon copying someone else's card list. I've decided to go heavier on the removal aspects, making up for fewer creatures with some recursion effects via Stampeding Wildebeests and being able to go get what I need when the time is right with Primal Command. I'd be very interested in anyone's serious thoughts on the archetype and this deck/approach in particular. If you think that there is a card that I'm lacking, please let me know what you think I should remove to make room for it and why. If you're curious about the reasoning behind my various choices, I go into detail in my deck description.
I've had a lot of success with this deck early on, but I'm stepping up in competition and I'm interested in learning about as many facets of this strategy as possible from those who've played it or played against it. Thanks in advance!
Mwonvuli Takeover
Modern
SCORE: 1 | 156 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER
StoryArcher says... #3
clayperce, thanks for the link - you'll probably laugh, but I've never been on reddit once in my life. Do they have a mechanism for linking decks for reference like they do here?
September 13, 2018 3:28 p.m.
You bet, and no worries! You can just drop in the url and it'll link automatically. Alternately, you can fancy it up, using a very similar syntax as here. For example ...
[Mwonvuli Takeover](http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mwonvuli-takeover/)
... works the same there.
They're rolling out a new look-and-feel too, but not everyone has it, so you may actually have acceess to the 'Fancy Pants Editor' (rather than old Markdown editor), which has buttons that make linking and other formatting tasks much easier.
September 13, 2018 3:59 p.m.
DragonKing90 says... #5
one card that i would highly recommend in ponza that i usually don't see, is Shivan Wumpus. with turn 1 Arbor Elf and turn 2 Utopia Sprawl, you can play Shivan Wumpus while still on turn 2.
September 13, 2018 10:49 p.m.
DragonKing90,
FWIW, I'm not a fan of Shivan Wumpus at all. Like you say, it's pretty amazing when we're ahead, but it's an absolutely horrible topdeck when we're behind on board. At that point, our opponents are more than happy to sac' a land and keep beating us to death ... happily knowing that our next draw is going to be just as bad as this one.
September 14, 2018 8:30 a.m. Edited.
StoryArcher says... #7
DragonKing90 & clayperce, I'm of two minds about Shivan Wumpus - I like it more than most people do, but its drawbacks are worth noting, including the fact that it dies to pretty much any removal there is and doesn't do anything upon coming into play, which would be a plus for this deck. I could definitely see including one in the deck as an option to fetch out with Primal Command, but that makes the chances of getting it in that opening draw that much less likely.
I have made significant changes tot he deck based on more research, sound advice and a very successful evening of play last night. Please check it out.
September 14, 2018 9:13 a.m.
DragonKing90 says... #8
clayperce: if you're playing land destruction properly, then your boardstate shouldnt "be" behind.
StoryArcher: "dies to removal" is never a valid argument, or Tarmogoyf would never be played.
September 14, 2018 2:24 p.m.
StoryArcher,
Let me just add: Shivan Wumpus has never seen play in a deck at Competitive REL in any format. Idk why ... maybe it's because win-more cards are generally bad? Maybe it's because there are at least 25 other 4-drops that are demonstrably better in a Ponza deck?
Or maybe it's just because DragonKing90 hasn't had a chance to play it at Competitive REL yet ... ;-)
September 14, 2018 6:39 p.m. Edited.
StoryArcher says... #11
Wanted to let you (and others) know that I took much of the advice found on those Reddit forums and put them to use. I've significantly updated the original deck (check it out) and I'm going to be trying it out tomorrow night. Just need to come up with a handful of Trinispheres...
clayperce says... #2
StoryArcher,
I'll give the deck itself a look, but my real advice is to post the deck over on the PonzaMTG subreddit. We have a flair specifically for Deck Help posts, and you'll get a ton of advice from some VERY good players.
Good luck (and good skill) with the deck!
September 13, 2018 2:29 p.m.