Is Appetite for Brains a mainboarder?
Standard forum
Posted on Feb. 8, 2013, 6:16 p.m. by Chrisbox
So I've been thinking about things that beat B/R fast aggro decks, and one of the first counters that comes to mind is Slaughter Games . However I feel like mainboarding that card is not as good as Appetite for Brains , what do you guys think? Are they both sideboard cards? mainboard appetite?
Bah I made a huge mistake when making this thread. I ment as if I were the one playing B/R aggro and things that beat me such as Supreme Verdict Thragtusk etc. So to counter those things would I use the cards stated in the thread.
February 8, 2013 6:49 p.m.
No. As an aggro player, you need to have the most potent hands as possible. Adding things like Appetite for Brains (espec. mainboard) simply dilutes your deck and slows your deck down. With B/R Aggro your goal is to win, not to render your opponent ineffective.
February 8, 2013 11:14 p.m.
lol I saw red and black, I am so sorry CrimsonKing.
That comment is directed at Chrisbox.
February 8, 2013 11:15 p.m.
This is very true fireteam. But I feel like an early game pressure im applying against decks running Thragtusk is taken away by him, and if theres an easier way to deal with that besides Appetite for Brains or Skullcrack I must know.
February 8, 2013 11:24 p.m.
@Chrisbox You should have won by turn 5...If that AfB was a Searing Spear etc. you might have won faster. Not to mention, if you face another R/B Aggro (which is very possible) you will be very behind on tempo.
February 8, 2013 11:34 p.m.
The quickest I have ever won with any R/B aggro is turn 6, and that is with a legit god sauce perfect hand. What combo have you seen R/B run that wins at turn 5 vs.other good decks in standard right now, because that sounds a tad absurd.
February 8, 2013 11:39 p.m.
T1: Rakdos Cackler unleashed.
T2: Ash Zealot , swing for 4. Opponent is at 16.
T3: Lightning Mauler , Stromkirk Noble soulbound, swing for 7. Opponent is at 9.
T4: Falkenrath Aristocrat , swing for 12, opponent is at -3.
...and if I did the math right, you could have cast Searing Spear turn two instead of Ash Zealot and put them at zero on turn four. Or you could have played Stromkirk Noble turn one and it'd be a 3/3 at the start of turn four.
But as for the topic, it really depends on your meta. Sometimes you just don't have room in the sideboard and need Appetite for Brains in your main. If that's the case, you're going to cast it on turn three or four before they're able to cast Thragtusk , Restoration Angel , Supreme Verdict , etc. and depending if they have ramp. If they haven't cast Farseek or mana dorks, you won't cast Appetite for Brains until turn four or five (depending on if you're playing or drawing).
February 9, 2013 2:54 a.m.
Sweet-Nightmare says... #11
I ran Appetite for Brains mainboard for a while, but just so I could look at thier hands for a boarded Slaughter Games . Duress does the job as well.
February 9, 2013 4:46 a.m.
I played my friend Rakdos deck at a tourney once, and I would have to suggest going with Slaughter Games . It's harder to cast, but so much more effective (assuming they don't have a copy of the card on the field already).
It takes out:
So it takes out a lot of hard to deal with cards so you never have to face them.
At the same time, slowing down your deck just to cast Slaughter Games can hurt you. I played against a UW flash deck, and I managed Slaughter Games both GoST and Snapcaster, and I still lost because he board wiped me, and killed me with tokens from Moorland Haunt .
February 9, 2013 6:59 a.m.
@sylvannos I never doubted that It was possible to win by turn 4-5, I'm well aware of the damage rakdos can deal. But I asked what combo have you seen do it, considering every deck in standard right now will have some form of a slow down or control for you by turn 4-5, or even a creature on on field.
February 9, 2013 1:26 p.m.
@shinakoX2 Yea slaughter games is a really good card. Im still trying to measure the upside to mainboarding appetite over slaughter, or slaughter over appetite etc, or just sideboarding both. I feel like its come to the point where my black/red wont win without some form of extra removal.
These are my current decks : Preying on the Meta deck:burnt-toast-rakdos
I feel like the only way I beat thragtusk/board wipes is with an appetite or slaughter games, please feel free to check it out guys and let me know how I can improve on this issue, as much as I love just dropping creatures and facerolling it wasn't getting the job done without removing their control/life gain, hence the slaughter games and appetite.
February 9, 2013 1:32 p.m.
@Chrisbox
It's not really a combo. It's just how fast Rakdos is right now. Even with a creature on the table, you can still hit it with Searing Spear , Pillar of Flame , Thunderbolt , etc. etc. Not to mention, a Hellrider with a creature or two every turn before it can set you up for three to five points of damage easy once it comes into play and attacks. Plus Thundermaw Hellkite on turn five if they're still alive...
It's not only possible to kill someone on turn four or five with Rakdos, it's one of the reasons you play Rakdos. Against Zombies that's horrible at blocking? Or Rites that will either play mana dorks or just ramp into Unburial Rites ASAP and not play creatures until turn four or five? Or game one vs. a control deck that doesn't know you're playing Rakdos and keeps a slow hand? It's not that uncommon for Rakdos to win before turn six.
And so the question at hand is: should the Rakdos player skip casting their creatures to cast Appetite for Brains on turns three, four, or five (depending on if they're playing or drawing)? Does Appetite for Brains accomplish anything in game one before sideboard that's worth taking a creature or burn spell out of the main deck?
So unless your local meta has control/tempo/midrange/rites all over the place and few people playing aggro (and I mean like, out of 50 players at a FNM, there's six aggro decks), it's really not worth running Appetite for Brains mainboard.
ChiefBell says... #2
Aggro deck will be running a ton of 1-3 cost cards and very few 4 drops or greater. Appetite for Brains would not be good. Duress may be better, out of the two.
February 8, 2013 6:42 p.m.