Hi everyone and welcome to another addition of a Caveman's Look. I've finally found some time to write this article and play some magic! So over the last couple of months I had not have the time to do much of either. You see the wife works at the school so she gets the summers off. In turn that means we do more family orientated activities. So between that and work I simple did not have enough hours in the day to everything. Sadly I went ahead and let my magic time go down to minimal. So instead of the usual article of me giving you a deck list with match reports to back it up I am going to let you into my mind a little and show you what I'm thinking of brewing.
With all my time being used up and not allowing me to play some magic I still could not just stop thinking about it. I still kept up with M11 and would look up some of the top decks. So with all my time off I have started to, luckily for you, brew up some decks. Now I can not say these decks are going to be format breaking or is an idea that no one has yet thought of but I can say that I've been thinking a lot about what I'm putting down on here. I am going to give you a list that I would play if I didn't have to worry about cost of cards. Than I am going to try and make a more budget friendly deck. So enough chitter chatter lets get into some magic!
First off everyone knows Mana Leak has been reprinted. Right? Well if you did not know and have been living under a rock IT Has. With the reprinting of Mana Leak and the printing of cards such as Jace's Ingenuity and Sun Titan there has been a surge of UW Control. These decks have started moving away from the "tap out" version to more of a counter version. Even here on our very own PureMtgo.com there has been a lot of interest on this archetype. I can only explain the deck so much so here is a sample deck list:
So as you can see this is a potent list running some of the most powerful cards in the format. Cards such as the lovable Jace, the Mind Sculptor. This deck does not stop there it goes ahead and include not two different planeswalkers but four of them! Having blue of one of its main colors has made this deck almost completely immune to Spreading Seas. So in light of these kind of decks I decided to start thinking of a card that was reprinted in M11.
This card in my eyes is perfect to combat control seeing that they only run 6 creatures. Then I started to think well what else does control have problems with? Then it came to me discard! I know since when I first started playing magic I started with a mono black deck list that would go:
+ 
+ 
+ 
That play right there would a lot of times leave a control deck cripple by either ripping the mana out or taking the counters out of their hand before they even have a chance to deny you of playing a decent and fun game of Magic. Well you say we do not have Dark Ritual or Hymn to Tourach. Sadly this is true but even a turn one Duress can really hurt your opponent. And then if you could keep up this assault for a couple of turns and then drop down a threat like lets say ummm.....
Well then you probably would have your opponent on the ropes. Abyssal Persecutor is the perfect creature, in my eyes, to delivery that knockout punch to a Control player. So far we have this as our list:
So at least we have a starting point. I think we still need some more discard and some ways to get rid of Abyssal Persecutor so we can win the game. First we will take a look at the discard options we have:
Mind Rot- Three mana to take two cards isn't the worst discard I've seen but I think we can do a little better.
Blightning- Good only Blightning. What more can be said about this both loved and hated card? It takes two cards and deals three damage. That is like throwing a little salt on the cut. OUCH
Inquisition of Kozilek- Rise of the Eldrazi brought us this new addition and I think it has potential. I certainly did not like when people played this card against me.
Liliana Vess- Definitely an anti-control card, this planeswalker might gives us an edge to fight of Jace.
Guul Draz Specter- Now that Hypnotic Specter is leaving standard this seems like an obvious replacement.
Liliana's Specter- Liliana's upgraded Ravenous Rats could work netting us a classic two for one.
So out of these options I think I'm liking the following:
I picked Inquisition of Kozilek because a majority of decks now a days run a lot of three cmc cards so I should have my pick of what I want. So now that we know what we are going to use to frustrate our opponent, lets look for ways to "off" Abyssal Persecutor.
Gatekeeper of Malakir- This card can be great if we were going mono black. So seeing that we are gonna play Blightning I do not want to be stuck with this card in my hand and not being able to pay his kicker.
Terminate- A two cmc removal that will take care of pretty much any threat. Seems like a great choice.
Consuming Vapors- This card could definitely work. Killing something and giving us a little life bonus could be nice.
Sarkhan the Mad- Adding another planeswalker that can turn my Persecutor or any other creature I play into a 5/5 dragon is cool.
For removal I think we have some really good choices. Having black as our main color there should be no shortage of good removal and I think we can see that here. So here is what I chose, remember Jinxed Idol can be used to get rid of our Persecutor as well.
Now that we have included Sarkhan the Mad we need some more creatures to help abuse our new ally. So this is what I looked at:
Bloodghast- We can sacrifice him to get use a dragon then bring him back with a swamp or any land for that matter!?
Reassembling Skeleton- Another creature that will keep the pain coming.
Hoarding Dragon- A dragon that will tutor up our Idol could be nice.
Tuktuk the Explorer- Since the release of this guy I have wanted to try him out. I could sac him to our Jinxed Idol or Sarkhan the Mad and get a bigger goblin out of it. Sounds like a good trade.
Cunning Sparkmage- This hasty pinger is nice to get rid of pesky creatures like BoP or Lotus Cobra.
I really like all of these creatures but I do not think I will be able to fit them all in the deck. Lest look at what we got so far.
Now I know we our well over on cards for our 60 but I like to look at all my options than start to cut. So after I cut some of these guys we start to have a list that looks like this:
We only have room for 22 lands they way it sits now but I think I want to go old school and try slinging with a 62 card deck which would allow me to run 24 land. I think the cards in this deck list have a lot of synergy with each other. The interaction with Sarkhan the Mad and with all of the creatures just seems to be perfect. I also added the two equipments to make all of our creatures a formable threat. The Basilisk Collar also allows Cunning Sparkmage to eliminate any threats our opponent throws at us. I'm only running one Liliana Vess because she can not protect herself and she isn't that great when your opponent has no more cards in hand. So now with the main deck is in its final stages we can start looking at the mana base. I already stated I would be running 62 cards with 24 lands. These our the options I am looking at:
Dragonskull Summit- Black and Red mana that can come into play untapped is good.
Tectonic Edge- We aren't running any LD of any sort so this will help get rid of any Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle and try to keep control off of too many lands.
Lavaclaw Reaches- Mana fixing and another way to attack our opponent should be useful.
Terramorphic Expanse- The classic mana fixer.
I did not want to add fetch lands due to the fact that there is not one that can give me the choice between a Mountain or Swamp. I think 4 Tectonic Edge due to all the man lands and for Valakut. So here is the final list in all of its glory:
Here are the prices from ww.MTGOTRADERS.com as of 8/16/10 for your reference:
4 Terminate $0.25 $1.00
4 Tectonic Edge $0.35 $1.40
1 Basilisk Collar $3.75 $3.75
4 Lavaclaw Reaches $2.75 $11.00
4 Abyssal Persecutor $9.25 $37.00
2 Tuktuk the Explorer $0.10 $0.20
4 Reassembling Skeleton $0.15 $0.60
4 Bloodghast $2.50 $10.00
3 Cunning Sparkmage $0.20 $0.60
3 Jinxed Idol $0.20 $0.60
2 Duress $0.04 $0.08
2 Inquisition of Kozilek $0.35 $0.70
4 Blightning $0.12 $0.48
1 Liliana Vess $1.50 $1.50
3 Sarkhan the Mad $5.75 $17.25
1 Sword of Vengeance $0.60 $0.60
4 Dragonskull Summit $1.00 $4.00
Total $89.76
So this deck isn't the cheapest but is by far not the most. In fact its only $20 more that what it would cost you to buy a single Jace, the Mind Sculptor. I hope to try to get some testing in with this deck as soon as possible. I personally still need a couple more cards to complete the list but I think it has a lot raw power and even more synergy to make it a real threat. Before I go I am going to leave you with a more budget friendly version.
First lets take a look at what cards I think would be considered out of budget for a "Budget" player. For starters Abyssal Persecutor is at $9.25, for most that is on the high end for a single card so were going to have to try to find an alternative. Next on the axe list would sadly be Sarkhan the Mad. Too make it even more budget friendly I would also cut Lavaclaw Reaches. After adding these together it comes out to a whooping $65.25! That is more than 2/3 of the cost. Granted doing this we are taking out the main threats of the deck but maybe we can find something else to fill in the voids.
After looking at the options I would replace Abyssal Persecutor with the more wallet savvy Guul Draz Specter. The specter may not pack the same punch as the persecutor but he will keep with the discard sub theme. Sarkhan the Mad will be replaced with three Liliana Vess. Liliana Vess ability to make an opponent discard a card every turn is really useful. She can also tutor up the perfect card if your in between a rock and a hard spot. I think Lavaclaw Reaches could be replaced with just your basic mountain or swamp but for me I would switch in (Akoum Refuge)s. You never know the one life could really help out. Plus you would still get the mana fix. So here is the budget list:
After these couple of changes we have managed to drop the price of the deck significantly. How much you ask? You really want to know? Really? Oh, okay I'll tell you... $28.71 Now that is not too bad at all if you ask me. If you want to drop the price even more you can try to replace Bloodghast with something. That would drop the price by another $10.00!
I hope you like the deck lists and have the cards to put it together and start stomping UW control! Be sure to let me know what you think in the comment section. Until next time see you later.
Mtgo: RCueva
Email: Cuevacustoms@yahoo.com
16 Comments
Nice casual article. I like how you explain your strategy in designing the deck, and then offer affordable alternatives. I like the deck idea too, so I tried it. Well, a close variant of your econo version.
I worked mostly with cards I already had in my collection, rounding out some numbers with affordable cards from MTGOTraders bots.
4 Akoum Refuge
4 Blightning
4 Cunning Sparkmage
1 Dragonskull Summit
2 Duress
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Jinxed Idol
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Liliana's Specter
6 Mountain
4 Reassembling Skeleton
7 Swamp
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Terminate
4 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Tuktuk the Explorer
I took this list for a whirl in the casual room on MTGO.
I faced a not-so-refined Jund deck in game 1. Not exactly a test of this anti-control strategy. I got the Skeleton Idol silliness going, but a Platinum Angel spoiled the fun as I failed to draw removal for it before it crushed me. My opponent had some Unearth and Gravedigger action in this game, making me wonder if a couple Bojuko Bogs would be a welcome addition to the list.
In my second game I faced a Naya Allies deck. I kept a hand with two Idols and just one creature (not Skeleton). I died around 7 turns later without ever having found another creature. Admittedly, my list is creature-lite, but this was a bad example of how the deck works. It's also a good example of how NOT to make mullgan choices.
UW Merfolk came to play in G3. I had to mulligan a no land hand and kept a hand with two swamps and a Tectonic Edge. Sadly, I mistook the Edge for an Expanse while all my spells were red. I drew more swamps and red spells and choked on some sea food.
I dropped 3 basic lands to add 2 Bogs and a Savage lands. I wasn’t happy with any ideas I had for adding more creatures, so I jumped back into the action with just the mana tweaks.
My fourth game was against a Grixis Cemetery Reaper deck. Bogs seem like a good idea again. I get my colours, creatures, and Idol, so the deck works as planned. Double Idol with Skeleton active and removal spells too makes for a soft lock!
Game five sees me challenge a UG Spider Umbra deck. I keep a hand with just Bog and Expanse for lands. I do draw lands, but they begin tapped and I am slow to get rolling. I do get rolling though, and get the skeleton Idol trick going. A TukTuk token holds his River Boas off while the Idol pecks away at the score. Then my opponent puts Spider Umbra on a little Faerie. The little dude pecks away at my score and draws him cards as I draw 5 lands and 1 insignificant creature over the next 6 turns. He finds his Spreading Seas and the Boas and Faerie finish me off. No bolts, and just one Terminate I used earlier during my slow start.
Granted, the deck is casual and designed to tackle UW control, but I sense I’m having one of those days when nothing will go right for me in Magic, so I end this at 1-4.
Well I am glad you tried it for sure. I think you are right on where you had a day where nothing goes right
I've been playing a Black-Red Abyssal Persecutor deck to really nice results in the causal room. In the TP room it does OK, but clearly isn't T1. Anyway, a couple of comments based on my experience with that deck.
First, I don't see the need for such an anti-control focus for a causal deck. Something like RDW or any aggro creature deck should beat this deck... and that's what you see in casual 7/10 times. I'd much rather run lightning bolt than discard that is for sure. rpitcher's results are kind of what I'd expect to consistently happen.
Second, removing the Lavaclaw Reaches is a huge mistake. That card kills control. They can't counter it, they can't DoJ it, it kills Wall of Omens, etc. I understand that we all live with budgets for cards, but seriously, invest in good lands. You will never regret it.
Third, I've tried Sarkan the Mad and I just don't like the card that much. I'd rather play some combination of Chandra Nalaar and Liliana Vess. People outright laugh at you when you play these PW's and think they suck but they can and sometimes do dominate a casual game.
Finally, no Persecutor deck is complete without fling. Attack for 6, fling for 6 ends A LOT of games.
My list:
4 Goblin Guide (aggro beats)
4 Hellspark Elemental (aggro beats)
2 Chandra's Spitfire (testing how good it is)
2 Vampire Nighthawk (a little life gain goes a long way)
4 Abyssal Persecutor (aggro beats)
2 Inferno Titan (just awesome... all the titans are)
3 Fling
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Terminate
2 Comet Storm (Earthquake is usually better, but rotates soon)
2 Searing Blaze (run mainly because of Spitfire)
2 Chandra Nalaar
1 Liliana Vess
7 Mountain
8 Swamp
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Lavaclaw Reaches
3 Tectonic Edge
"...You don't want to play another boring match against do you? " - REALLY? Before the article even begins - may be a new error record :)
Some tournament report with the deck would be excellent. Keep working on it, you forget pithing needle. But with GW Mana Ramp on the rise there's that to deal with too. Like the article!
Well deluxeicoff what can I say... You caught me with my pant down.
Chardone I see what your saying, sepecially about the lavaclaw reaches, but the oly problems I have with you list are that:
a.) 4 Goblin Guide (aggro beats)
4 Hellspark Elemental (aggro beats)
Stopped by wall of omens.
b.) Your decklist, while nice, is more traditional then what I wanted to do.
Thanks plusua. Do you mean GR mana ramp?
Its very true that some of the aggro creatures have to get sided out against control since they aren't ideal by any stretch. But don't discount doing 4-6 quick damage if they don't have a turn 2 wall in game ones. Or being able to reload if they wrath the board.
As to your second point, I totally see that when you compare your final budget list to mine. My comment/list is really intended to contrast with the non-budget draft list you posted. The one that runs Abyssal Persecutor and Sarkhan the Mad.
Wow, tough audience here it seems.
I took RCuevo’s article to be about a casual deck using the Idol. Yes his title is about beating UW control, but that can still be considered casual, as losing to UW control in casual becomes less than fun in a hurry.
I know this brings up the age old debate about Magic always being about winning regardless of the setting (casual or competitive). As a former “Pro Tour Wannabe” who has downgraded his seriousness to “Magic Enthusiast”, I am a believer that there is a lot of fun to be had with decks that have not (and will not) show up in any important Top 8 lists.
Yes, ChardOne’s BR aggro list is a better competitive deck than the BR Idol lists RCuevo inspired me to try. ChardOne’s list is NOT an “econo” Jinxed Idol deck, though. It’s that sort of deck I wamted to try. Casually.
I enjoyed RCuevo’s deck idea enough to try it out myself, as reported in my earlier reply. I felt I had some tough luck when I tried it, so I came back to the drawing board today. Admittedly, my list needed work, so I tweaked it with some new ideas and took it to the casual room again.
Here’s my current list:
3 Act of Treason
3 Akoum Refuge
2 Bloodhusk Ritualist
2 Bojuka Bog
3 Cunning Sparkmage
2 Dread Statuary
2 Duress
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Jinxed Idol
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Liliana's Specter
5 Mountain
2 Pilgrim's Eye
4 Reassembling Skeleton
7 Swamp
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Terramorphic Expanse
3 Tuktuk the Explorer
3 Viscera Seer
I believe I have made the list without any M10 or Alara block cards. That’s just a nod towards the fall rotation, not that rotation matters for a casual deck in August. I’ve also continued to ignore money cards. Obviously a better deck can be made with “better” cards. I often prefer to play deck with no rares or Mythics in the casual room, but Jinxed Idol being a rare keeps me from doing that in this case.
Obvious additions are Viscera Seer and Act of Treason. I felt the Seer added some value to the Skeletons and gave the deck some much needed manipulation. Then, of course, Act of Treason seemed realistic with all the sac outlets available.
The new Bloodhusk Ritualist replaces Blightning, in a way. With the Idol plan, it’s nice to have creatures to do the work of sorceries. This explains my Pilgrims Eyes as well, which help ensure plenty of mana in this mana heavy deck.
In my first game with this new list, I faced an interesting mono green ramp deck. It featured all the expected green Mythic bombs. The Oran-Reif land kept my pinger from dealing with many tokens, and tokens are strong against an Idol strategy. Fortunately for me the ramp strategy is a bit slow, and massive green mythic creatures make good targets for Act of Treason. Act of Treason works both with and against the Idol strategy, with it becoming a pseudo Terminate when your opponent controls the Idol. I squeaked out a win a turn before massive green dudes would have overwhelmed me.
My 2nd game with the new list was against a UG deck I wasn’t able to identify. My opponent mulliganed twice and scooped moments after my first turn Duress. You know; the kind of luck I had the other day.
My next game was against a noobish GW creature deck. It hurt me with main deck Naturalize, but balanced things out with main deck Angel’s Feathers and Holy Strength. Skeletons can hold off lots of green dudes while pingers deal with little fliers. Eventually, resource advantage action pulls me to victory.
My fourth game was against a green deck that seemed to be all about ramping into Garruk’s Packleader and drawing into more beef. I didn’t see much more if it as the Idol deck came up rather sick. First turn Duress stole green’s ramp and saw a couple of Packleaders and some other beef. Next turn I put the Idol out due to what I had in hand: the right amount of land, Act of Treason, Seer, and Skeleton. Green scooped before I could play an Act of Treason.
I started a 5th game but my opponent had to leave before his thirds turn. It appeared to be an Ally deck, but I only saw white in the first two turns. He had a couple Allies out in a hurry, and with no removal in my hand, I was probably in trouble. Call it a draw.
A sixth game saw me up against Warp World in Jund colours. Hellkite, Siege Gang Commander. Pretty much what belongs from what I saw. The Idol deck pulled the right amount of disruption early on and Seer/Skeleton manipulation helped get there later in the game. Never found an Act of Treason or Idol this game.
I’m out of time for this afternoon. Call it 5-0-1 today?
Adrian's complaint is about the lack of proof reading. What Adrian fails to consider or doesn't care about is that English is not Rene's first language, and I guess he has started being nasty to people who fail his criteria for a "good" article on here. I have mentioned this problem to Rene myself but I guess if people read and enjoy it anyway then who cares?
what adrian also fails to consider or doesnt care about is that no one really cares about his little crusade he seems to be on anyways. Adrian, You know they always say if you dont like youre welcome to leave.
I was being a bit light-hearted with my "tough audience" comment.
I guess if you want to have articles posted, you have to expect and accept criticisms of your content and/or writing skills.
The error in the teaser line here was unfortunate for sure. Such errors bother me more in articles from "paid" writers at premium sites.
extenze | genf20
Sunday evening and I can’t stay up late enough to play the Pez Player Run Event, so I took the Idol deck to the Casual room again.
Same list as my previous reply.
The first game was against an Ally deck with at least green and white. He fixed some land and got an Ally in play as I set up with Idol and Skeleton. He paused a moment when I started with the Idol and then scooped. Premature I think.
The second game was one of those WOTC_ names with the cool Wizards flag icon next to their name. I wish I could post a video of this one as it was both fun and interesting. He ramped into a green Titan in a hurry. I had poked away with a Seer for a few turns as he hit me with a man land. When he played Titan, I had Act of Treason and the Idol in hand (along with a Specter and Mountain). I played the Idol, stole the Titan, used to it beat face and dig up some Tectonic Edges, and then sacked it to the Idol. He followed up with Destructive Force and Birds of Paradise. I only got to keep two lands in play, and chose two swamps. He used the BoP to send the Idol back to me. He was down to five life while I was around 14, until he popped a fetch land to go to 4. I played my Specter, which put him to zero cards. Specter put him to 2. He had noting on his turn, so my Specter put him to 2. He could still activate his Raging Ravine, so I couldn’t end it with Idol. Again, nothing on is turn, and when it came back to my turn he said something about not getting priority. I don’t know what he had up his sleeve, and my Specter finished the job.
Game three was against a fun looking GW token deck. I won the roll and hit lots of black mana early, allowing a Ritualist to ruin some upcoming bombs. Act of Treason with a Seer in play set my opponent back while Skeleton and Seer dug up whatever I wanted to play with. An Idol soon joined the party and my opponent scooped.
Game four had me fightning 4 Colour Greedo, right from Bill Stark’s coverage of the SCG event in Denver. There is too much power in that serious deck to expect the Idol deck to compete, but I gave it go. Sadly, the Idol deck did not come up too well, and I lost in about 12 turns. I drew Act of Treason with no sac outlet, and suffered to some Grixis style Specters while I had no removal.
Can’t win them all, but had lots of fun trying
3-1 this evening, and that’s enough for me.
I had lots of fun with this deck RCeuvo. Thanks for the inspiration!
ripitcher Im glad I was able to help inspire you. Hopefully you'll be able to tweak it enough to make it a stronger deck. When I finish getting all the cards I will be trying to get it as strong as possible as well.
Also thanks paul for the comment.
Also how do you guys like the banner by the way?
Do you mean the banner of iconic card art behind your "A Caveman's Look" title? Cool selection of art for sure.
I thought perhaps you could use card art that resembles something more "cavemanish". I'm thinking of images like Stone Giant (Alpha, Beta, Revised art), Hill Giant (Alpha, Beta, Rev, and Portal art), Craven Giant (Stronghold), Cave People (duh) (Dark art), Cave Sense (!), Ronin Cavekeeper, you get the idea :)
I guess the irony of my suggestion lies in me using a hockey goalie avatar with a name like rpitcher :)
I see what you mean by using cave people but I wanted to use black cards since I would consider myself a black mage.