Maelstrom Pulse in BGx
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on Nov. 26, 2015, 7:51 a.m. by ChiefBell
In my opinion, Maelstrom Pulse is the closest card to being cut in BG/x decks. Whenever I cast it in my deck, it's usually 3 mana for a simple 1-for-1.
The occasions in which it kills a planeswalker like Jace are obviously valued, and the situations in which it nets a 2-for-1 are also well appreciated. The problem from my perspective is that these occasions are rare - so rare that I've considered just running another Path to Exile or some other card.
So, what's your opinion of Maelstrom Pulse?
- Do you think Maelstrom Pulse is necessary in the current meta?
- Have you have more good than bad experiences with it? Or more bad than good?
- Which matchups deteriorate when you remove Maelstrom Pulse from BG/x?
- Should it become a sideboard card for Tron or planeswalker heavy decks, and instead be replaced with a typical sideboard card that you put in the main, like the 4th Thoughtseize or maybe Golgari Charm?
- What would you replace it with?
Uhhh Abrupt Decay?
It does almost every single thing you listed there, except Karn.
My problems are as follows: drawing that 1 maelstrom pulse against Tron doesn't happen. It just doesn't. Especially not on turn 3. Also if they play Wurmcoil Engine your shiny Maelstrom Pulse isn't useful. So that pulse is useful against one deck, in one situation, if you draw it. That's pretty weak - especially when Tron isn't even that huge in the meta.
Bogles - rather play Golgari Charm and Abrupt Decay. Besides it's not a tier 1 deck we see often.
Tokens - rather play Golgari Charm and sideboard in the masses of board clear we have. Again, it's not tier 1, we don't see it often.
So this is the thing. Abrupt Decay kills vial. It kills lili. It kills auras. And there are other cards we could include that do more. Golgari Charm kills elves and early game bogles and tokens. It also kills enchantments against bogles and tokens too!
There are more cards that are less catch-all but do a little bit more of everything. And I say this because a lot of the time Pulse does nothing.
November 26, 2015 9 a.m.
So we need to balance the potential upside of playing against Tokens, Bogles, or having it on T3 against Karn, against the potential downside of it just being clunky and bad.
And I can't figure this out.
Because the upside is there and does happen. But it doesnt happen often.
And how much more often would we just want another path or some protection for our creatures? Or a 2 mana answer to enchantments etc.
November 26, 2015 9:05 a.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #5
But put aside those examples, it also hoses bigger creatures in topdeck mode (which decay can't do) or a possible Ugin (which Path can't do). It's like an additional copy of every killspell in your deck that sucks early on but literally saves games later on. The catch-all aspect is, I think, very important for GBx to have, even if it's a one-of. And just from personal experience, I've played a bit of GBx in my own time, and I've never been disappointed to draw that card.
Also, Lingering Souls is a rather big thing these days.
November 26, 2015 9:10 a.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #6
I think my preferred choice would be either play two of them, or none of them. You're either going for a quicker but slightly more risky deck, or a slower but slightly more robust deck. I guess that it also depends on wether we're talking Junk or Jund. Jund I would probably play none. Junk I would without a doubt play two.
November 26, 2015 9:14 a.m.
I'm often disappointed to draw it, but then again I remember the times I topdeck it when staring down a Primeval Titan too. So I'm very mixed.
I looked at Golgari Charm and thought that there were many situations where it would be safer to include that. It's not as great late game but in the early game it does work against so much stuff.
Then I looked at Dromoka's Command and again thought there were many situations where it was a safe include. Certainly against burn, control playing Keranos, and other stuff.
Maelstrom Pulse, to me, is the high risk, high reward include. There are a lot of decks where I just dont want to see it at all. But then there are some times where it's super good.
November 26, 2015 9:16 a.m.
firecast92 says... #8
you just cant expect to play midrange against tron and win, you play goyf and your opponent plays wurmcoil. The only reason midrange has still presence in tournaments is the fact that tron gets filtered out by the aggro decks like affinity, infect, boggle, rdw, merfolk, naya for which you have answers. this is why Abrupt Decay is so much better/ you just hope you wont play against tron
November 26, 2015 9:19 a.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #9
It's interesting how you think of it as "high risk, high reward", because that's exactly how I think of every other cheap removal. The risk is that the threat can't be decayed, or pathed. The reward is that you gain massive tempo if you manage to do it.
In comparaison, Pulse has a low risk (you can hit everything) but often a low reward (it's just really slow).
November 26, 2015 9:19 a.m.
JexInfinite says... #10
In Jund, Maelstrom Pulse is significantly better than it is in Abzan. Abzan has Path, which just removes everything, but Jund has Bolts and Terminates, so when someone lands a biggish creature, you're relying solely on the Terminates. Pulse hits a heap of annoying cards, and that versatility is what you need in Jund.
November 26, 2015 9:46 a.m.
Depends on how many terminates they run. If they run 3 terminates then its equal to the number of paths we have.
November 26, 2015 9:55 a.m.
I never played BGx, but I played Tron. And I really don't remember how many times I played a threat (Karn, Ugin, Wurmcoil...), my opponent destroyed it with a Maesltrom Pulse and won the game after that. Oftenly, when they did destroy Karn with a Maesltrom Pulse, I just played another Karn/Ugin/Ulamog right after and won. In that point, I agree with firecast92. Maelstrom Pulse might increase chances of BGx against Tron, but actually, it's very hard to win this match-up with or without it. However, I don't know if it's worth for killing Primeval Titans, etc.
November 26, 2015 10:01 a.m.
I might just test Abzan Charm for a while.
It hits troublesome creatures and allows me to draw cards which isnt bad.
I wanted to try Painful Truths but I like the Abzan Charm gives me a bit more flexibility.
I do fear Tokens a bit but I have a lot of sideboard hate for that.
November 26, 2015 10:30 a.m. Edited.
Wizard_of_the_Broke says... #14
Meanwhile, two Relentless Rats decks cycled in the distance... your move, BGx.
November 26, 2015 1:08 p.m.
Jamesfurrow says... #15
Pulse is a strong card and it is more necessary in jund then abzan. Pulse can kill Tasigur, the Golden Fang where Abrupt Decay and Lightning Bolt can not (unless your willing to lose a creature and be 2v1) pulse can deal with black white tokens and can get around hexproof clauses if you also control such a creature or permante. For the fact it is sorcery it suffers but as a 2 of im many lists I feel pulse is a good game 1 card that you toolbox out for game 2-3 due to the fact you have better awnsers in your sideboard
November 26, 2015 2:07 p.m.
I'd never cut Maelstrom Pulse in either 
deck, especially Jund. How are you going to answer a Master of Waves? Or a Karn Liberated? Or a swarm of Spirit tokens (which is relevant in the Abzan mirror/pseudo-mirror)? Sure, it's a 1-for-1 for 
, which isn't always the best deal, but it's the 1-for-1 that gets you where you need to be, almost no questions asked. Think of it this way - Vindicate is almost universally considered to be too good for Modern, and it's a 1-for-1 at 
. What matters is how "good" your 1-for-1 is.
November 26, 2015 6:26 p.m.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #17
I'd say definitely don't cut Pulse. I don't have a ton of experience with BGx (I haven't played it against decks other than my own), but in my deck (grixis midrange) I am forced to run a handful of strange 1-ofs because I don't have access to unconditional removal like Maelstrom Pulse. Almost exclusively because of Master of Waves, I have a 1-of Go for the Throat instead of the 4th Terminate. I even have a 1-of Echoing Truth because of tokens and enchantments. To have a chance in a number of matchups that possess almost unanswerable threats for my deck, I am forced to run bad and inefficient removal spells. And it makes a difference. Merfolk has gone from nearly unwinnable to unfavorable, but not terrible, because I added a few non-red removal cards. If my colors had some form of unconditional removal, I would play it, but I don't have that option, unfortunately.
Although your deck does have more versatile removal than mine through Abrupt Decay, unconditional removal cannot be overlooked. Don't go out and run 4, but a 1-of belongs.
November 26, 2015 8:31 p.m.
gnarlicide says... #18
Along with the other cards that have been mentioned that pulse kills, I contend that you should ALWAYS include 1 in your 75 for cards like Tasigur, the Golden Fang or Gurmag Angler. It definitely adds another clean answer to those cards.
And I should also mention that in the BGx mirror, it takes care of multiple goyfs, which Joe Hererra found out the hard way at the last IQ I attended.
November 26, 2015 8:46 p.m.
gnarlicide says... #20
Doesn't matter when I have tasigur and olivia on board
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #2
It definitely should not be cut. It's the only card that kills anything guaranteed. Destroying AEther Vial G1, Lili in the mirror, Karn, the auras in Boggles (usually a 2-1 there), etc... is invaluable, and this is the only card that gets it done, no drawbacks, no questions asked. Sure, most of the time it's a 1-for-1 that costs 3 mana, but I urge you to think of it in a different sense: it's a Vindicate that can't blow up lands but wipes out tokens/other shenanigans.
November 26, 2015 8:53 a.m. Edited.