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By: AndreaFonseca, Andrea Fonseca
Dec 21 2009 11:56am
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Welcome to Mind Block Part 2.

During the first part I've talked about my UWr list:

 
VS Boros:

 

 Their main plan is to kill faster than you can take control of the board. Goblin Guide and Steppe Lynx do a pretty good job at that unless you have Burst Lightning and Journey to Nowhere. They don't have Mind Sludge so you can tap out relatively safe if you take account of their burn spells like Punishing Fire,(Burst Lighting) and sometimes Runeflare Trap after board. Kill everything on sight and you shouldn't have any big troubles.

Sideboard plan:

-2 Devout Lightcaster

+1 Kor Sanctifiers
+1 Burst Lightning

The sideboard plan is fairly easy, since your main deck is already down on beating them you just take out the 2 irrelevant cards for an addational removal spells and the Kor that besides destroying Journey to Nowhere,Trusty Machete,Adventuring Gear or Zektar Shrine Expedition it can still block Goblin Guide and Steppe Lynx and still live to tell the tale.

Runeflare Trap Brave the Elements Kor Sanctifiers Conqueror's Pledge

Most of the Boros and White Weenie lists will bring in always the Kor Sanctifiers because it can deal with Journey to Nowhere and Spreading Seas and Luminarch Ascension. While White Weenie almost always side in more Brave the Elements if they already don't have the 4 of them to dodge either removal spell or to go past your blockers. So if you're playing against White Weenie dont feel safe behind Emeria Angel and a couple of tokens because they can still go through. Game 1 if I have the possibility to trade up a Devout Lightcaster for a Steppe Lynx fog I usually do it because it will have no further influence later in the game and trading 2 or even 4 damage for a dead card is usually worth it. Be careful about Conqueror's Pledge. They save it up post or main board to rebuild after your wrath effects, you can try to bait it out but it will usually cost you some additional damage that can build up to an unrecoverable situation later in the game. 

Runeflare Trap can do a lot of damage if you don't foresee it. Tapping out for your kickered Sphinx of Lost Truths means that even if they don't have 6 mana they can still get you with the trap for 5 or more damage depending on how many cards you have in hand. I agonized over sideboard plans until I actually understood that they are the ones who have to come up with something. I actually thought about Felidar and the white Expedition to gain some life but it basically just turns on their Punishing Fire. Against straight mono red Spell Pierce is good because it can get their big and medium spells:

Zektar Shrine Expedition Elemental Appeal Spire Barrage Burst Lightning

But it may also be a blank if they have the creature draw:

Goblin Guide Plated Geopede Goblin Ruinblaster Obsidian Fireheart

The Obsidian Fireheart if unanswered for a turn can screw the game because even if you deal with it after he fires up one of your lands the damage is gonna be done anyway and you're on a race against your own land plus the adversary. One of the things about this matchup is also know when to race.Because if you sit back and relax eventually they will kill you. When you can start swinging you must go for it unless of course it leaves you unprotected against Elemental Appeal and such. But if you are still high on life and he has 1 or 2 cards in hand you can go for it since you won't win the game any other way. If you have Journey to Nowhere and Burst Lightning in hand and Goblin Guide or Plated Geopede to deal with use always the Journey to Nowhere, because later your Burst Lightnings can deal with Elemental Appeal,Zektar Shrine Expedition and Obsidian Fireheart. Depending on the popularity of this deck you can try to use some slots and maybe try some cards:

Sunspring Expedition Kor Skyfisher Pitfall Trap Felidar Sovereign

Gaining some life could get you out of burn range and Kor Skyfisher and Pitfall Trap can also be used against some other matchups such as boros or White Weenie. 

Queue nº1: Vs Vampires:

 

 
Queue nº2: VS Vampires:

 
I've been toying around with the sideboard a lot and I have a current list of cards I may include:

Hedron Crab Spell Pierce Luminarch Ascension Kor Skyfisher

As you have seen the matchup against vampires is usually in your favor, but it all comes to the Mind Sludge play, if they have it and if you can counter it.The rest of their cards you can deal with. 

My usual sideboard plan against vampires is:

On the Play:

-2 Rite of Replication
-3 Emeria Angel
-2 Into the Roil

+1 Burst Lightning
+2 Devout Lightcaster
+4 Spreading Seas

On the Draw:

-3 Emeria Angel
-1 Rite of Replication

+2 Devout Lightcaster
+1 Burst Lightning
+1 Kor Sanctifiers

Depending on whether they play out Carnage Altar or not you can swap a Day of Judgment for the Kor Sanctifiers on the play. The matchup plays fairly nicely with Journey to Nowhere and Burst Lightning dealing with their early threats. I initially used Spell Pierce in the sideboard and I bought it in against Mind Sludge but they where an unused slot most of the time. Their removal is usually cheap and ineffective against you. The worst card besides Mind Sludge against you is Carnage Altar. It can help them play out the 1 threat per turn strategy and still dodge any Rite of Replication shenanigans with Malakir Bloodwitch. It also refuels their hand against you, rending your Journey to Nowhere and Devout Lightcaster almost useless. 

Spreading Seas is the card I had more problems with. I'm not sure its good enough to warrant a main deck set in,because its actually just good against 2 decks, being those Valakut and Vampires. And even against Vampires its only good if you play it out on turn 2 and sometimes on the draw on turn 2 is just doesnt nothing if they have another land in hand. Thats why I think that sideboarding them in on the play against vampires is the right call:

Bloodghast Vampire Hexmage Gatekeeper of Malakir Mind Sludge

Spreading Seas on the play actually messes up any of their turn 2 plays and can do some damage later in both the Gatekeeper of Malakir and mising a card from Mind Sludge.There are a couple of sideboard cards that they can use against you that are not as common as the others but may still be trouble, like Halo Hunter to deal with Emeria Angel and Desecrated Earth. Quest for the Gravelord , Soul Stair Expedition and Carnage Altar are more of the standard choices since they help them win attrition wars and make your removal and mass removal less effective.

Quest for the Gravelord Soul Stair Expedition Carnage Altar Desecrated Earth

I've heard people say that Kor Skyfisher is a good addition to this deck either maindeck or sideboard and especially against vampires. First I want to show something:

Disfigure Feast of Blood Hideous End Gatekeeper of Malakir

This is the removal plans for the Mono Black deck, some of the only play 2 of these and some play them all between sideboard and maindeck. Kor Skyfisher actually dies to each one of this.The only exception being Disfigure unless in combat,but then again if the Skyfisher isnt there to block than what good does it do? The other downside about Kor Skyfisher is the obvious drawback of having to return a land to your hand. If you're trying to ramp your way out to 5,6 and 7 mana, taking a turn to play a creature with a shooting target on his had isnt actually good. A sideboard change I'm still wanting to do is to swap those Demolish for some other cards that can help either against Vampires or the mirror match. 

 As I was talking about new sideboard plans I really wanted to get some feedback about what you think, and I hope you'll join me for the next and last part where I cover the remaining matchups and sideboard plans with the rest of the archetypes.

See you soon,

Andrea Fonseca

5 Comments

"So here u have!"the broken by Anonymous (not verified) at Mon, 12/21/2009 - 18:56
Anonymous's picture

"So here u have!"the broken english actually makes it better lol.great vids.this deck should get even insaner{?,is that a word} with some number of worldwake jaces

I'm sorry for the english as by AndreaFonseca at Mon, 12/21/2009 - 18:58
AndreaFonseca's picture

I'm sorry for the english as always, I actually try to improve it with the comment left here. Yeah, jace will surely be a nice addition to the deck, but its such a tight decklist I could never cut anything.lol

I think worldqueller could be by me, myself and i (not verified) at Mon, 12/21/2009 - 19:42
me, myself and i's picture

I think worldqueller could be a good fit in that deck. It takes care of a lot of problems, and can lock out a game sometimes. The only noncreature in the deck is journey, so it wouldnt be a problem to use its abilities. And a 4/4 is pretty good too.

good stuff by JustSin at Mon, 12/21/2009 - 20:00
JustSin's picture
5

i liked this as much as the first, you did a great job of getting the deck and matches broken down

Like the deck by Darthibanezdude (not verified) at Wed, 12/23/2009 - 18:20
Darthibanezdude's picture

I really like this deck. I have been wanting to put together the standard version of this deck, but do not currently have the funds for it. Ajanis, Elspeths, and Baneslayers, oh my! I just priced this one out and with the cards I already have it is extremely reasonable.