Metagame Madness 

In the last few weeks since the MTGO Dev team enabled replays, I have diligently gathered a report of the decks people are playing. We will get back to this towards the end of the article along with the details, but the main point is that aggro decks are dominating since the dreaded Necro-Spike deck was neutered. With that in mind, and a few horrible performances trying out new decks such as Bant with Winter Orb and The Classic Storm, finally forced me back to home plate with a familiar deck:

Aggro Loam

 

Creatures 4 Dark Confidant 4 Tarmogoyf 4 Countryside Crusher 12 cards Other Spells 2 Terminate 4 Mox Diamond 2 Seismic Assault 2 Devastating Dreams 4 Chalice of the Void 4 Burning Wish 2 Pernicious Deed 3 Life from the Loam 1 Demonic Tutor 24 cards

Lands 1 Overgrown Tomb 1 Volrath's Stronghold 3 Taiga 4 Wooded Foothills 3 Forgotten Cave 1 Badlands 4 Wasteland 1 Mountain 2 Bloodstained Mire 1 Forest 3 Tranquil Thicket 1 Barbarian Ring 25 cards Sideboard 1 Devastating Dreams 3 Engineered Plague 2 Jund Charm 2 Zuran Orb 1 Nostalgic Dreams 2 Krosan Grip 1 Life from the Loam 1 Worm Harvest 1 Hull Breach 1 Chainer's Edict 15 cards

This deck is the culmination of squadron of fine players from the Legacy circle found at The Source. However, Classic is not Legacy, so I made adjustments. For instance, Demonic Tutor is not legal in Legacy while it is in Classic. 

The Aggro Loam deck game plan is fairly simple: play a large guy, do something marginally broken with lands, and swing for the win. However, the game plan can be highly versatile with the addition of Burning Wish. From the sideboard, we have Edicts, artifact and enchantment removal, swarm spells, sweepers, and a mega-Regrowth. 

The deck is not concerned with playing 1 casting cost spells such as Duress, Raven's Crime and Thoughtseize although such versions exist to great results. My reasoning for omitting such cards is to be able to play a much more disruptive card: Chalice of the Void. This can does more to stop my opponent from playing Magic than any of the targeted discard can do. A short list of cards that Chalice of the Void stops: Kird Ape, Wild Nacatl, Lightning Bolt, Duress, Swords to Plowshares, Relic of Progenitus, Spell Snare, AEther Vial, et al. 

Round 1 - sandydogmtg playing Affinity (2-0)

Game 1: I'm on the play with 2 lands and a Mox Diamond in my hand, along with 4 two-mana plays: Tarmogoyf, 2x Burning Wish, and Terminate. I accelerate into 2 mana and play a 1/2 Tarmogoyf. My opponent plays Great Furnace, Ornithopter, Ornithopter, Frogmite. Yikes big turn, better watch out for Arcbound Ravager. I draw a land, which helps things out, and Terminate the Frogmite to get +3/+3 on my 'Goyf then swing for 4. Sandydog casts another Ornithopter and passes, telegraphing that he's lacking blue mana but with three cards in hand. I Wish for Life from the Loam so I can get some more cards and find a land to match my newly drawn Mox Diamond. Swing for 4, go. 

I play a fetchland from hand and return it and a cycling land back to my hand with Loam. I cycle the Tranquil Thicket into the juiciest card in my deck with mana to cast it: Pernicious Deed. Pass the turn at 11 life. The best my opponent can do is play a land, cast a 1cc artifact, and swing for the win. Luckily, he only has another Blinkmoth Nexus and Skullclamp, sacs the Clamp and 'Thopter to bring me down to 1. Close call, too close in fact. I should not have swung with the Tarmogoyf. All my fetchlands are dead lands, so I dredge Loam to get back my cycler and draw a blank card. Pass the turn so I can Deed his Ravager when he attacks. Fortunately, he doesn't have any cards to play, so ships it back to me. I still have Devastating Dreams, the mana to cast it, and Life from the Loam to recover. When I cast Devastating Dreams for 1 to remove the threat of Blinkmoth Nexus attacking for the win, he scoops. Phew - that was a close call. Pernicious Deed rocks against Affinity! 

Sideboard: -4 Chalice of the Void -2 Dark Confidant +2 Krosan Grip +2 Jund Charm +2 Zuran Orb 

Game 2: He concedes after a mulligan to four doesn't stick. I get a freebie. 

Round 2: AndersT - Elves! (2-0)

AndersT always plays the Elf deck, so I know to look for key cards in this matchup: Chalice of the Void, Devastating Dreams, and Pernicious Deed. 

Game 1: I'm on the play again, and open a grip that contains: Chalice of the Void, Life from the Loam, Demonic Tutor, Dark Confidant, and 3 lands. Keeps! Play land go. He goes (Forest), Elf go. I draw a Mox Diamond, which gives me some acceleration for later, but for now it will wait. Chalice for 1 and pass the turn. Anders plays a Elvish Visionary and attacks for 1. I draw Seismic Assault, play my Mox discarding the last land I have, Loam to bring back 2 lands, then play Demonic Tutor for Devastating Dreams to kill his lands and pint-sized army of pointy eared (Forest) lovers. At this point I have access to five mana, so I play Seismic Assault which is both a win-condition and a board-control element. I nuke his mana elf and pass the turn. This point I essentially won, but I need to make it official, so I cast Devastating Dreams next turn to 'Geddon his side of the field and get a concession from AndersT. 

Sideboard: -2 Terminate -1 Countryside Crusher -2 Pernicious Deed +3 Engineered Plague +2 Jund Charm 

Game 2: I board out (Pernicious Deed) since I want the permanent answers of Chalice of the Void and Engineered Plague to stick around. He starts off with (Forest), Heritage Druid. My opening hand consists of broken cards, and I manage engineer a plague specifically tailored for those Forest loving hippies. (2 Mox Diamond, 3 lands, Engineered Plague) Unfortunately, Anders plays the bane of graveyard strategies: Relic of Progenitus. It will be an uphill battle to win with Tarmogoyf which I still have in my hand. I draw Life from the Loam which gives me an engine to start digging, getting back 2 cycling lands. I only cycle one immediately to protect Loam from being exiled.**
 

**Dear Wizards of the Coast,

As a tournament player, I wish to express my disappointment that the Wishes will no longer save me from the crippling effects of graveyard removal once the M10 rules change takes effect. Relic of Progenitus and Tormod's Crypt essentially received a power level errata to permanently neuter Wish strategies in Eternal play. As I play in tournaments, the Wishes only have one function: fetch sideboard cards. While this provides versatile play, being able to Wish for cards that are Exiled is still within the flavor of the card.  From the flavor perspective, I should be able to wish for spells (cards) that do not exist (outside the game) or that have been forcefully removed from my knowledge (exiled). The graveyard serves to give me a memory of that spell, and once it leaves I still know that it existed, so why am I punished from not being able to access it again?

Back to the game, I dredge Loam to keep my yard stocked and try to force Anders to pop his Relic. Pass the turn as I still want to save Loam from being exiled. At my end step, Anders Naturalizes my Engineered Plague. On his turn, my opponent cycles an Elvish Visionary and passes back tapped out. I cycle a land into Jund Charm, giving me an option to instantly fry the elvish hoard should he attempt to go off. I neglect to Loam since I will need three mana to cast the Jund Charm, and I play Tarmogoyf instead to focus on the offensive. Anders casts another elf and passes. I draw Tarmogoyf the Second during the end step.  I dredge Loam to beef up the Lhurgoyf, spilling a Dark Confidant, Chalice of the Void (2nd time this happened) and a land. I Loam back 3 lands and attack for five leaving mana back for Jund Charm. Anders tries for the combo by casting Earthcraft, but those pesky green critters find a death by fire instead of harmonizing with the earth. I neglect to Loam as there are no targets and I have two cyclers in my hand, but I draw Barbarian Ring which is a nice finisher/spot removal. I cycle the lands into non-cycling lands, and play a fetch to thin out my deck. Swing for another 5, and go.
 

Luckily, my mad wits are abounding yet again and I engineer a lovely plague for Anders' tree and nut loving companions. The pair of 'Goyfs plink away at Anders to put him at 7. Unabated, he begins his mesmeric Earthcraft to summon a fresh hoard of elves to greet my minuscule giants. Fortunately for me, he only calls upon four elvish friends to his side and a Relic of Progenitus. Firing back, I produce a Chalice of the Void to stop his cheap tricks, and attack with my angry pair for four, putting Anders at a precariously low three life. A Viridian Shaman destroys the Chalice and the elvish hoard retaliates for three, putting me at a healthy 14. The 'Goyfs attack, and Anders blocks with the Shaman and pops the Relic to shrink my Tarmogoyfs yet again. A Wasteland revives their spirits and turns them into 1/2s, but one of them falls to the Viridian Shaman. A freshly drawn Dark Confidant joins the 'Goyf and I pass with my opponent at two life. Now all I need is Threshold to enable the Barbarian Ring to finish Anders off. Anders turns his team sideways in the hope to race, and then casts 2 more elves to act as speed bumps. The Dark Confidant sells good secrets however, and gives me a Burning Wish and I get a Devastating Dreams to finish my (Forest) loving opponent. 

Round 3: Matkel - Zoo (2-0)

Game 1: Matkel starts off with a Taiga + Kird Ape. My hand is just as nice, with a Mox Diamond, 3 lands, Terminate, Countryside Crusher, and Dark Confidant. I need to find some more business cards, so I play Dark Confidant as bait, setting up a wicked turn 2 Crusher. Matkel fires a Jet of Magma at the dark wizard, which is fine by me, since it saves me two damage. I draw a medium sized Tarmogoyf and play him, hoping to draw out a white removal spell. When Matkel attacks, I promptly block hoping to draw a 2-for-1 on his removal. He complies and we're both with 3 cards in hand, while I have 3 mana. I draw a Mox Diamond, allowing me to cast a Countryside Crusher while keeping a fetchland to pump in case of red removal. Matkel summons a team of Wild Nacatl and a Grim Lavamancer to get his battlefield started off again. 

 Sideboard: -2 Dark Confidant +2 Zuran Orb 

Game 2: I'm on the draw with two cycling lands and a Mox, but with Devastating Dreams and Life from the Loam, thus I keep. It's actually ok to keep this kind of hand, even though it's slow. I'm up against Zoo, so the Dreams are really important here. Matkel starts with a classic Taiga, Kird Ape. 

Round 4: Bear Named Snuffy - Aggro Loam (2-1)

In the mirror matchup, there are only a few key elements to ensure victory:

1. Getting Life from the Loam active.

2. Keeping alive a Terravore or Countryside Crusher.

3. Drawing Seismic Assault.

4. Mana advantage.

Game 1: Bear starts with a land and Mox Diamond, then playing Life from the Loam to recover mana. I go for the card advantage angle, and cast a first turn Dark Confidant to restock my hand. Bear repeats his first turn play to get more land. I, on the other hand, go for a fast Crusher after swinging for two with Dark Confidant. If the Countryside Crusher lives to untap, I've already won. My opponent casts Tarmogoyf to act as a wall, but I luckily draw a Burning Wish and use it to Chainer's Edict the green monster, then attack for 8. My opponent repeats my play with the same Wish target, but I sacrifice the Dark Confidant, leaving me with a 6/6 Crusher that can easily meet lethal. 

Sideboard: -2 Devastating Dreams +2 Jund Charm 

Game 2: I sideboard incorrectly, forgetting to board out Chalice of the Void and it comes back to bite me in the early game as I draw it turn 3. Bear gets a Leyline of the Void out to stop my graveyard shenanigans. Not much happens in this game as he's able to dominate every play with his active graveyard. 

Sideboard: -4 Chalice of the Void +2 Krosan Grip +2 Devastating Dreams 

Game 3: I start on the play with a first turn Dark Confidant. I also have Loam in my hand with some cyclers, so this should end pretty quickly. Luckily, Bear doesn't get Leyline of the Void, and laments that fact that he didn't mulligan to get it on his first turn. The key play for this matchup is to not get hated out with Wasteland, thus always fetch basic land when you can manage the colors. Bear goes (Forest), cycle, go; so it looks like I'm in a good position. I turn the cycler and Life from the Loam into 3 more lands, but even thought they are land cards, they are mana advantage for later. Volrath's Stronghold and Tarmogoyf join Bear's battlefield on his turn, and that's the end of the game. On my turn, I reveal Countryside Crusher with Dark Confidant, play it, then Wasteland my opponent's Stronghold. I have a mana advantage of 2 as well as a Countryside Crusher on the battlefield. Bear tries for Duress, but it whiffs and the game is done. Countryside Crusher grows large and swings for 8. My opponent concedes as I have a soft-lock with Wasteland active. 

Round 5: Wizard not of the Coast - Zoo (0-2)

Game 1: I'm on the play with 2 cyclers and a land, Tarmogoyf, Terminate, and Chalice as relevant cards. I start off with a (Forgotten Cave) tapped and say go. My opponent plays the classic Taiga, Kird Ape opener. I draw Mox Diamond, which I play, removing the shock land, and cast Chalice of the Void for 1. Wizard swings with Kird Ape, then plays a fetchland and passes the turn. I draw Burning Wish and hold back the Terminate, which kills the Kird Ape at the end of Wizard's turn. This makes my ‘Goyf a 3/4 and puts it out of Lightning Helix range. I a third cycling land, and am forced to play it for mana along with Tarmogoyf. She plays a land and passes. I draw a fetchland, and cast Burning Wish for Loam to start getting cards in hand. She casts her own ‘Goyf to stall mine then passes. I draw a fetchland, cast Dark Confidant as I'm at 15 life, then pass the turn. My opponent plays land #6 and passes. I reveal a second Dark Confidant (which is marginal in this matchup), and play a Wasteland to cut off her nonbasic mana sources. She casts Qasali Pridemage, attacks with an Exalted Tarmogoyf, which I double block and kill. The Pridemage nukes my Chalice, which lets Wizard cast two Mogg Fanatics. I'm at 12 at this point with Dark Confidant still on the table. Draw Tarmogoyf on my turn, cast it, play another land and say go. My ‘Goyf takes a Path to Exile, and I get another land out of my deck. I start to play Wasteland recursion to cut off her mana sources and play the second Dark Confidant. She passes without playing a card. I reveal another fetchland with Dark Confidant, then go for more Wasteland fun. Wizard responds with a Fireblast hard cast, putting me at 5. I do a lot of diggin in the next few turns while she waits for Dark Confidant to slowly kill me, and by the time I start to draw into business spell I'm at 1 life and Fanatic finishes me off. 

Sideboard: -4 Dark Confidant +2 Jund Charm +2 Zuran Orb 

Game 2: Wizard starts off the game with heavily mulligans into a Leyline of the Void. I wasn't expecting this from a Zoo deck that can't cast it, and I lose to it before I can assemble an answer. Her first turn play was Taiga, Kird Ape which didn't help matters either. 

I make T8 as second place, and I'm paired up against AthosTheMusketeer with his slimy Merfolk deck. 

T8: AthosTheMusketeer - Merfolk (1-2)

Game 1: I somehow think we still have one more round before top 8, so I keep a marginal hand with not enough mana. I start off with Tranquil Thicket, and have Wasteland in hand, but never draw a black or red source before things get too heavy. Athos casts back to back to back Standstill after a first turn AEther Vial. As I can't sit and wait for a school of fish to build, I have to play through the Standstill, netting him heavy card advantage while I fail to draw decently. Sometimes, this happens with a deck filled with bombs. I scoop on the third consecutive Standstill. 

Sideboard: -1 Dark Confidant -4 Chalice of the Void +3 Engineered Plague +2 Jund Charm 

Game 2: I draw a hand with 5 lands, Loam, and Seismic Assault. If I can resolve Seismic Assault, I'll be ok in this match. He starts off with an AEther Vial. I draw Dark Confidant off the top and play it to draw out counters. It resolves, so something fishy must be happening with Athos' hand. He skips his second land drop and plays a second AEther Vial. I confirm my suspicion that he kept a marginal hand that relies heavily on Vial. I play a Tarmogoyf to bait out any counters, but he doesn't stop the 'Goyf. He misses his third land drop as well, so now I can resolve the Seismic Assault. At the end step, I cycle a land to draw Jund Charm, which means I can just attack into his blocks should they jump out from his hand. I go for Assault anyway but he Force of Wills it, pitching (Merrow Reejery). Swing for 5 with ‘Goyf and Dark Confidant. On his turn he plays Wasteland and casts (Controlling Instincts) on my Tarmogoyf. I shrug it off as I've got a good bit of control, swing with Dark Confidant and cast Loam getting back a black mana land that was (Wastelande)d during my upkeep. At the end step, Athos Vials in another (Merrow Reejery) and on his turn casts Standstill. I break the Standstill and cast Countryside Crusher which doesn't meet a Force. Athos Vials in another Reejery, and attacks with two 3/3s into my fresh Crusher. I block one, and then cycle a land to survive damage. Athos scoops on this misplay and we go to game 3. 

Game 3: I open with 2 Mox Diamonds, 3 lands, and 2 Tarmogoyfs. Looks like a keeper. I play 3 mana on turn 1 and cast Tarmogoyf to avoid being Dazed. Athos casts a turn 2 AEther Vial and passes. I cycle at the end step into Jund Charm, which will help fight off the stinky fish. I draw Dark Confidant on my turn, cast it and pass. Athos plays Wasteland and casts Standstill to gum up the battlefield. I have a 1/2 ‘Goyf and Dark Confidant versus his single Vial and 3 lands. I reveal Seismic Assault from Dark Confidant, and draw Demonic Tutor. I attack and pass back to Athos. He plays Wasteland and ships it back to me. I repeat the same moves after revealing Countryside Crusher and drawing a second Jund Charm, when Athos Vials in a Sygg, River Cutthroat to block my Dark Confidant. I break the Standstill to pump the Dark Confidant, but that leaves me Dazed and confused, and so my Confidant dies, Sygg draws Athos a card, and Tarmogoyf crashes in for three. Now Athos acts by summoning a school of fish in quick succession utilizing Reejerey’s trickery against my lonely Tarmogoyf. At this point, Jund Charm can no longer kill a single Merfolk, so it is now just an expensive pump spell. I draw a second Seismic Assault, making my average mana cost of cards in hand equal to 2.7 with 3 mana on the battlefield. Sensing defeat, I try to mount a defense with a second Tarmogoyf, but Merrow Reejerey does his Magic and taps my blockers to make the school of fish lethal. 

Bonus Section: Classic Daily Events Metagame from June 13 - June 21