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By: magma728, Jake Beardsley
Sep 11 2014 12:00pm
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Tom Ross seems to be one the only one who plays the deck to consistent success even though the deck is extremely explosive.   He has single handedly put this deck on the map despite its popularity in other formats.  The deck I'm talking about is Infect, but my list is very different from the decks Tom Ross used to win the last two SCG Invitational events.  Here is Mono Green Infect.

Mono Green Infect
$95.82 as of 9/1/14
Creatures
4 Glistener Elf
4 Ichorclaw Myr
2 Necropede
10 cards

Other Spells
4 Apostle's Blessing
4 Berserk
2 Crop Rotation
4 Groundswell
4 Invigorate
2 Might of Old Krosa
4 Mutagenic Growth
4 Vines of Vastwood
4 Rancor
32 cards
Lands
12 Forest
4 Inkmoth Nexus
2 Pendelhaven
18 cards

Glistener Elf

Infect decks are based around using pump spells to deal the 10 poison damage necessary to win the game.  The appeal of these decks are their blinding speed and the cheap and relatively easy to acquire cards.  Infect can win on turn 2 in a few different ways, most of which end in Berserking a creature with Infect. You have a plethora of different pump spells that can turn any one power creature with infect into lethal with Berserk, and your opponents will have to be very careful even if you have only 1 mana available.

The deck may not see very much play on the SCG Open Series but its champion is a highly successful one at that.  Tom "The Boss" Ross has won not one, but TWO Invitationals with a UG Infect deck as his Legacy deck of choice.  Now, his deck is much less budget friendly than the list I've brought today, but the basic concept is still the same.  Play a creature with Infect early, swing, and then pump that creature until the opponent dies.  Simple, and obviously effective. Most people won't be prepared for this deck despite Tom's recent success with it. Even if they are, they will expect Force of Will, not Might of Old Krosa.

Finally, the deck can be easily ported into a Modern deck.  Infect is still a strong deck in Modern, and with a few tweaks based on legality, you can have a competitive deck in no time and not have to break the bank to do it.

Card Choices

Today's card choices are going to be the different creatures I have chosen to use to spread the Phyrexian infection, and why I chose them.

Glistener Elf

Hands down the best opening play for this deck.  This is where our turn 2 kills will usually come from, and it's the only 1 drop Infect has.  Auto 4-of.

Inkmoth Nexus

This is the only other way we can achieve a turn 2 kill, and it is very difficult to get.  The real reason this card is so good is that it is a land.  It dodges Abrupt Decay, which is one of the most prevalent pieces of removal in Legacy.  4-of.

Ichorclaw Myr

Ichorclaw is here because of how amazing it is with Rancor.  If you play Ichorclaw Myr on turn 2 and play Rancor with 2 mana available on turn 3, your opponent will have a very hard time blocking.  This is better early game then Necropede, so 4-of.

Necropede

This insect is very strong against little creatures.  It also helps if you somehow end up playing defense.  Ichorclaw is better, but Necropede is still very good.  2-of, with more in the sideboard.

I decided against running Blight Mamba because its ability is even less relevant early game then Necropede's.  We need infectors that are strong early game.  

Matchups

Esperblade: They are slower and try to attack you with a Batterskull.  The good part about that is lifelink doesn't matter.  Their counterspells, discard, and removal, on the other hand, can be issues.

In: Viridian CorrupterViridian CorrupterKrosan GripKrosan GripKrosan Grip

Out: Mutagenic GrowthMutagenic GrowthMutagenic GrowthMutagenic GrowthRancor

We need artifact hate here for Umezawa's Jitte.  Krosan Grip is especially good against Jitte because they can't respond to it.  Mutagenic has a minimal effect here because it has a low pump rate.  Rancor is also weak here because how much removal the opponents have.

Delver: Their mana denial plan is pretty weak against us, but their counterspells hurt.  Their removal isn't very good here.

In: NecropedeNecropede

Out:  Mutagenic GrowthMutagenic Growth

Necropede kill lots of things when it dies against a Delver opponent.  Mutagenic fails to save most of our creatures from Lightning Bolt, so it is not great here.

Sneak and Show: They put in creatures that can be a faster clock then we are.  That can be an issue.

In: Ashen RiderAshen Rider

Out: Apostle's BlessingApostle's Blessing

Ashen Rider is our only real Show and Tell play, and it is pretty strong in that aspect.  They don't play much removal and they aren't likely to leave an Emrakul back to block, so Apostle's Blessing goes here.

Miracles: They are slow, but the Counterbalance-Sensei's Divining Top lock is really hard for us to beat Game 1.  Sideboard helps, though.

In: Krosan GripKrosan GripKrosan Grip

Out: Mutagenic GrowthMutagenic GrowthMutagenic Growth

Mutagenic is slow, while Grip kills either piece of their lock pretty easily.

Storm: This is mostly a race, so mulliganing to a turn 2 kill isn't bad here.

In: Grafdigger's CageGrafdigger's CageGrafdigger's CageGrafdigger's Cage

Out: Apostle's BlessingApostle's BlessingApostle's BlessingApostle's Blessing

Blessing is horrendous in matchups where they don't really care about your creatures.  Cage helps against Past in Flames

Dredge: Another race.  This is also a matchup where you can probably mulligan to an earlier kill hand.

In: Grafdigger's CageGrafdigger's CageGrafdigger's CageGrafdigger's Cage

Out: Apostle's BlessingApostle's BlessingApostle's BlessingApostle's Blessing

Same sideboard plan as we have against Storm, but the Cages are exceptional here.  Blessing is almost as weak here as it is against Storm.

I hope you enjoyed seeing just how strong Tom Ross's pet deck really is.  I'd love to hear about what you think about the deck, and what deck you'd like to see next.

Jake