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ROGUE PLAY A Big, Very Big B.U.G.

by Nafiz Erman

Hello dear readers; it's once again Tuesday and it's once again time for another Rogue Play. Last week in this article, I presented you some really cheap casual Standard decks and we all had a lot of fun on a really low budget. This week, however, Rogue Play will be all what it is under normal circumstances. Meaning a place to ponder some new but serious rogue ideas for the chosen format (which happens to be Standard this week).

Regular readers do know that from time to time I manage to come up with some really good rogue decks. But they also do know that from time to time I get seized by the appeal and charm of some netdecks. And which one will it be this week? A pure home brewed rogue deck or a cutthroat netdeck?

The answer dear readers, is neither. And both. This week I'm doing something new. This week I'm taking a netdeck and turning it into a rogue deck. Too confusing? Don't worry, I'll go step by step and it'll make sense shortly.

 

STEP ONE - NETDECKING

I always follow the Standard meta. The big boys are always there and they are most of the time boring and monotonous, but it is also possible to come across something fresh and interesting. And recently I met this deck called  Turboland which caught my attention immediately. For those who are not familiar with it, here's the known version:

 

So this is the deck that made me say "wow". The strategy of the deck is to mana ramp early with those tons of mana ramping cards you see in the deck, stay alive with Time Warps, and finally bring in a big, very big Avenger of Zendikar with big, very big Plant tokens.

This is a very nice deck but after a few test games I saw that it has some serious flaws. Zero removal isn't very comforting and zero life gain is equally horrible. Yes it mana ramps incredibly fast but there were times I ended up with tons of lands in front of me but nothing to play in hand. So I decided to work on this list a bit. I tried many cards and built many different versions but then I came up with the brilliant idea(!) of combining this deck with another one I was already working on since the release of Rise of the Eldrazi.

 

STEP TWO - HOME BREWING

After the release of the Rise of the Eldrazi, I shared a few rogue decks for Standard I had in mind with you in this article. And one of them was a Black/Blue/Green (read=B.U.G.) deck. The whole idea started like this: What happens when I build a deck around the best planeswalker in the format (that being Jace, the Mind Sculptor) and the best removal spell in the format (that being Maelstrom Pulse)?

+

=

A Big, Very Big B.U.G.

And so I started working on decks but the results weren't very satisfying. I tried Lorescale Coatl with Jace, I tried shroud Sphinxes, I tried more aggro with Abyssal Persecutor, landfall with Ob Nixilis, the Fallen... none worked as I hoped they would. And just when I was about to give up the idea, I decided to combine this idea with the Turboland deck.

 

STEP THREE - THE DECK

So I had a netdeck in front of me and a rogue deck idea in progress. And now the next step was to decide what to keep from the Turboland deck and what not to keep. I was basically adding Black to that deck and four of Maelstrom Pulse were automatically in. But what else? I tried many cards, mainly creatures, but then found out that I was needing Black only for removal; Turboland's creature package was already perfect.

Of course I tried many options but finally decided to use one card that may not make sense a lot to most of you. I decided to add four of this below card to my deck:

Why this one? First of all because it is "one stone two birds". Or when played while the opponent has only one creature on table, it then becomes "one stone one Time Warp". Then it gains you life. Of course I'm aware that Green and Black have tons of useful cards to gain life but I found out that I wasn't needing any of them. I only had a few slots empty and the cards for those slots had to have multiple uses. And just because Consuming Vapors is both removal and life gain, and just because it does those things twice, it became an auto four of for me.

I then added a few other Black cards to the sideboard but maybe at this point I should show you the final version. Here's the deck:

 

This is how I combined Turboland with my beloved deck. As you see it has the most important parts of Turboland in it, but it is much more than that and also much better than that.

And finally a few words about the sideboard: Adding Black gave me Duress and Consume the Meek. And instead of Negate, I chose to go with Countersquall. Negate is easier to play than Countersquall, but Countersquall has a better game text. Finally Terastodon was in to fight those pesky decks with many non-creature permanents such as planeswalkers, and Jace Beleren was in (obviously) to fight other decks with Jace, the Mind Sculptors.

And so there I was with a very powerful netdeck/rogue deck hybrid. It was now time for the next and final step.

 

STEP FOUR - TESTING

I took the deck to the Tournament Practice Room and started playing. Below you'll see some game reports. They all were played in the Tournament Practice Room. So take those game reports for what they're worth.

Anyway, here I go.

 

Game 1:
Opponent: angelsabre
Playing:  Polymorph

Our game starts and for sometime I don't understand what my opponent is playing. He plays Red and Blue, plays Spreading Seas onto my Drowned Catacomb and burns my Lotus Cobra but just when I think that he's playing a Pyromancer Ascension deck, he plays a Goblin Assault and surprises me.

I destroy his enchantment with Maelstrom Pulse, play my Jace, the Mind Sculptor and continue mana ramping until I eventually play my Avenger of Zendikar who creates seven Plant tokens. At that point he hopelessly bounces back my Jace but I play him again, cast a Rampant Growth and attack with my creatures. My opponent sees no way out and concedes on turn eight.

Sideboarding:
-4 Consuming Vapors
+4 Duress

My first action for game two is a turn one Duress which reveals two Goblin Assaults. My guess is that he's playing a strange form of Polymorph and discard one of his enchantments. He then plays a Mountain and I immediately turn it into an Island with my Spreading Seas. The next turn I try to Duress him again but he has Deprive which counters my spell and returns his Mountain back to his hand.

While we fight over my Duresses, I continue mana ramping and bring in my Jace, the Mind Sculptor. My opponent then plays a Khalni Garden and only then I fully realize what he's up to. Apparently he was mana screwed in game one. My opponent then plays his Goblin Assault. In the meantime my Jace continues arranging the top of his deck and eventually sends a Polymorph to the bottom of it. I then destroy his enchantment with my Maelstrom Pulse and after I reach to seven mana, I play my Avenger of Zendikar. I feel better now because I have my 5/5 Elemental in play and unless my opponent has two burn spells in hand, he will stay on table. He doesn't have anything to kill it but he finally plays his Polymorph; and no it isn't an Eldrazi. It's Inkwell Leviathan.

The bad news for me is that his monster has shroud so I can't bounce it back with my Jace. But the good news is that my Plant tokens are fat enough thanks to a couple of Rampant Growths I played earlier and I finish the game right after my alpha strike.

Game: 2-0
Overall: 1-0

It's important to start to a new journey with a win, and therefore this win made me happy.

 

Game 2:
Opponent: adonis2k
Playing: RDW w/Green 

My opponent in this game plays an interesting RDW variant; all the usual Red suspects are there but he also plays a few Green cards to mana ramp. As I said, it looks interesting and let's see how this one will turn out.  Actually game one isn't that interesting at all. I quickly mana ramp first into a Jace, the Mind Sculptor and then into an Avenger of Zendikar. My opponent sends a huge Fireball to my Jace which thankfully can't kill him but after my Avenger of Zendikar enters the battlefield, there isn't much he can do. He plays a few creatures which I kill either with Maelstrom Pulse or with Consuming Vapors, and finish the game with my army of tokens. Sideboarding:  No changes. This time my opponent has a better starting hand and brings me down to one life in only a few turns. A huge Plated Geopede, one 7/1 elemental and two Lightning Bolts are all involved in this. In the meantime I mana ramp pretty fast into an Avenger of Zendikar and without much hope I play it and pump my tokens.

During my opponent's turn he surprisingly plays nothing and I punish him in one single strike for not being able to deal that last point of damage.

Game: 2-0
Overall: 2-0

After bringing me down to one life, I bet getting killed in one single strike was the last thing my opponent was expecting. But this is Magic and this is the power of Avenger of Zendikar.

 

Game 3:
Opponent: zantoklaw
Playing: Bant

My opponent starts the game with a first turn Noble Hierarch followed by a second turn Sea Gate Oracle, and I kill them one by one with a third turn Consuming Vapors. Then the next turn I play my Oracle of Mul Daya and my opponent plays his Lotus Cobra. Apparently we both want to play some big dudes and it'll be interesting to watch which one of us will be triumphant.

Then for a few turns we kind of keep the status quo. He plays a Sphinx of Lost Truths and I kill it, and my opponent uses his Oblivion Ring on my first Oracle of Mul Daya and Bant Charms the second one. He then plays another Sphinx which shares the same fate as the first one which is being pulverized by a Maelstrom Pulse. After that my opponent decides to raise the level of pressure on me and plays a Ranger of Eos who fetches one Noble Hierarch and one Scute Mob, and the bug quickly starts getting out of control as I have no removal in hand. I play my Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Brainstorm with him. I know he's going to die but maybe he will give me some removal to deal with the bug. And just as I hoped! My Jace gives me my third Maelstrom Pulse before dying, but I avenge him the next turn by killing the real big bug. I then play my Avenger of Zendikar but it gets exiled with a Path to Exile. Oh well, at least I have my tokens and they will buy me enough time.

After a few turns of chump blocking, I finally draw my Jace, the Mind Sculptor and thanks to my Plant tokens blocking the way, my opponent can't reach him. I Brainstorm a few turns until I find my other Avenger of Zendikar. My Jace eventually dies to a flying 4/4 Celestial Colonnade but I finish the game quickly after that with my army of Plants.

Sideboarding:
No changes.

My opponent starts the game with a Noble Hierarch and plays his Ranger of Eos on his third turn. I play a Lotus Cobra, then play another one and play my Oracle of Mul Daya; I have my Avenger of Zendikar in hand and if everything goes well, I will play him on my next turn. I do play my big Elemental creature the next turn, but lose both him and my Oracle of Mul Daya after that; a Bant Charm and a Path to Exile ruin my plans.

A second Ranger of Eos join the battle on the other side of the table revealing one Noble Hierarch and one Birds of Paradise. Apparently my opponent has something big in hand and I soon find out what that is; a Martial Coup.

It's now the beginning of my sixth turn and I face five angry 1/1 soldiers whereas I have only two lands in hand. Thankfully my opponent is at six life at that point and I have one Creeping Tar Pit on table. I just need to stay alive for two turns to finish my opponent and hopefully he doesn't have any instant speed removal in hand.

With these thoughts in mind, I draw my card and it's surprisingly an Avenger of Zendikar; okay a change in the plans then.

I play my Elemental creature, pump his tokens and end the game the next turn.

Game: 2-0
Overall: 3-0

 

Game 4:
Opponent: phebo
Playing: Vengeant Jund

My opponent in this game is playing a deck I like a lot; Jund with a splash to White for Ajani Vengeant. I played this deck a lot back in ALA Block days, so I know how deadly it can be. Besides, my opponent is playing is an upgraded version and not that old ALA version I used to play. So I know that I have to be extra careful in this game.

The game starts and my opponent thankfully has a slow start to the game. The only bad thing about Vengeant Jund in Standard is that it requires you to play a lot of "enters the battlefield tapped" lands, so that you can fix your mana. And that fact is an advantage for the opponent during early turns. But mine isn't a fast deck either and I also spend those early turns with Rampant Growths and Explores.

The first real action happens on my opponent's turn five and he brings in a hasty Goblin Ruinblaster blasting my Creeping Tar Pit. Thankfully I have enough fetchlands and fix my mana, and never miss it. Then my opponent hits the "Push Even Harder" button and brings in first his Garruk Wildspeaker and then his Sprouting Thrinax. To be honest, things don't look too bright for me.

I have to deal with three planeswalkers. How lovely!

I try to stay alive with two Consuming Vapors' I play one after another, but now I face Ajani Vengeant on the other side of the table. Oh and if you think that's all, then please allow me to tell you that Sarkhan the Mad joins the party shortly after Ajani's arrival and now I have to deal with three planeswalkers. Great! The situation may seem hopeless, but I have no intention of giving up. I play my first Avenger of Zendikar and hope for a land to pump my tokens. Instead, my opponent attacks with his 5/5 Dragon first and then nukes the table with a Day of Judgment. That was truly unexpected I must admit. Since when does Vengeant Jund plays Day of Judgment?

After that I play my second Avenger of Zendikar and pass the turn. My opponent first creates a 3/3 Beast token with his Garruk Wildspeaker on his turn, leaves a land of mine tapped with his Ajani Vengeant who reaches to seven loyalty after that, and plays a Goblin Ruinblaster who is immediately turned into a Dragon by Sarkhan the Mad. Hmm... I better do something or the situation will get out of control pretty soon.

During my turn I first play an Oracle of Mul Daya and she foresees(!) that I will draw a land on my next turn. I have no intention of waiting, and play that land from the top of my library and bring my tokens to the size of 1/2. I attack with everything I got to Ajani Vengeant who must be killed now. I eventually kill him but lose my Avenger of Zendikar and one token in the meantime. Ah well, casualties of war. At least Ajani is gone.

My Oracle of Mul Daya tells me that the top of my library is an Avenger of Zendikar which is good news and so I pass the turn. The next turn my opponent doesn't do anything significant and on my turn I play my Elemental, play two lands from the top of my library thanks to my Oracle of Mul Daya and directly attack to my opponent and finish him instantly. Oh God, I do love Avenger of Zendikar! Sideboarding: -1 Avenger of Zendikar, -1 Lotus Cobra +2 Terastodon

My opponent starts game two very aggressively and plays not one, but two Putrid Leeches. But as you do know very well dear readers, I'm a very cruel mage and I take great pleasure watching them both die to my Maelstrom Pulse as shown on the left. This is so cruel and I so very much love doing it! After that my opponent calls Ajani Vengeant to his aid but I decide to ignore him for a while; those two Maelstrom Pulses in my hand give me a strong feeling of confidence and I concentrate on fixing my mana.  His Ajani reaches to critical level soon and I kill him. Then another one comes down and I kill him too. In the meantime I finish my mana ramping and I'm ready to rock. I have two cards in hand and they both are Avenger of Zendikar. I pass the turn with an evil grin on my face which disappears immediately after getting hit by a Blightning.

But then my Oracle of Mul Daya whispers to my ear that the next turn I will draw my Jace, the Mind Sculptor. This is good news and I play him when there is nothing else left on the table and quickly start fatesealing my opponent. My opponent answer my Jace with his Sarkhan the Mad and it becomes a real Duel of Planeswalkers after that. Jace, the Mind Sculptor vs. Sarkhan the Mad!

I first Brainstorm for a while with my Jace until I clear the table from my opponent's creatures and then start playing my own creatures. Sadly my opponent casts his Day of Judgment and after a while we again stare at a clean table. It's once again Jace vs. Sarkhan. And right at that point I realize that I can actually win with my Jace.

I continue fatesealing and send very dangerous cards to the bottom of his library which includes two Bloodbraid Elfs. I allow him to play his Putrid Leech because I have three(!) Consuming Vapors' in hand. His Sarkhan the Mad doesn't do anything useful and sits like a duck on the other side of the table while my Jace, the Mind Sculptor is in some serious business.

After a while I bring him to twelve loyalty and win the game with his ultimate.

Game: 2-0
Overall: 4-0

This was a very good game and a very satisfying win.

 

Game 5:
Opponent: Yaksha
Playing: Mono Green Elves

So we start and after only a few turns I realize what kind of a deck I'm facing; it's a Mono Green Elves deck. I kill my opponent's creatures he played during early turns with Consuming Vapors, build my mana base in the meantime as I always do with this deck, but then my opponent brings in a Coat of Arms and surprises me. I was expecting an Eldrazi Monument but it happens to be Coat of Arms. To be honest, I even wasn't aware that that card was in Standard.

But the best thing about Coat of Arms is the fact that it makes my Consuming Vapors even juicer. A second one kills two more Elves, and I bring in my Jace, the Mind Sculptor after that. My opponent summons a big fat Joraga Warcaller onto the battlefield and after Brainstorming with Jace, I find my Maelstrom Pulse and kill him.

The next turn I play my Oracle of Mul Daya and she reveals that I have an Avenger of Zendikar on top of my library. With no creatures on his side, my opponent decides to concede.

Sideboarding: -1 Avenger of Zendikar, -2 Spreading Seas +3 Consume the Meek My opponent starts very aggressively to the second game and dumps his hand to the table in a few turns. One Maelstrom Pulse kills two Arbor Elfs and one Consuming Vapors vaporizes two other elves but I still hear the clock ticking. I have my Consume the Meek in my hand but I need one more mana. On my turn I eventually draw it but sadly it's a Creeping Tar Pit and it enters the battlefield tapped.  At that point I hope that my opponent doesn't have a Coat of Arms or Overrun in hand because I just need to survive one more turn. Sadly my opponent has his Coat of Arms in hand and his elvish hoard finishes me mercilessly. So we move onto the final game and it's almost a carbon copy of game two. He starts with a bunch of elves, I mana ramp and then cast one Consuming Vapors which kills two of his elves. Then he plays his Nissa Revane and I kill her with Maelstrom Pulse. He then dumps all he has in hand in one single turn thanks to his Elvish Archdruid and even plays his Coat of Arms.

But the difference between game two and this one is the fact that I have my mana ready for my Consume the Meek and I cast it and kill all his elves.

It's coming.

From there winning is a piece of cake.

Game: 2-1
Overall: 5-0

 

Game 6:
Opponent: orangejesus
Playing:  Control

My opponent in this game plays a  Control deck and this is a typical game between a Control deck and a Midrange deck. Early turns my opponent plays his Spreading Seas', his "enters the battlefield tapped" lands and his Wall of Omens', whereas I play all my mana ramping cards and my own Spreading Seas'. Then my opponent plays two cards that surprise me; Luminarch Ascension and Emeria Angel.

Neither of them mean much to me because I play my Avenger of Zendikar the next turn. There is only one card at that point that I'm fearing and it's Day of Judgment but my opponent doesn't seem to have it in hand and he passes the turn without doing anything significant. On my turn I first kill his Emeria Angel, then pump my tokens and then attack. I can't kill my opponent and he has now another chance to find his Day of Judgment.

My opponent plays first a Wall of Omens, then plays another one and then types "oh there it is". Unfortunately for him, he doesn't have enough mana to cast his Day of Judgment and so our first game ends.

Sideboarding:
-4 Consuming Vapors, -4 Spreading Seas
+4 Duress, +4 Countersquall

Game two starts just like game one but there is one difference; this time I bring in a third turn Jace, the Mind Sculptor and he singlehandedly changes the course of the game. I first fateseal with him but after my opponent plays his Emeria Angel and starts creating his army of birds, I start Brainstorming with him. Thankfully for me I manage to bring in an Avenger of Zendikar on my fifth turn, and my army of Plants prevent my opponent from attacking. 

After a few turns I decide that it's time to do something. I first kill all his birds with a single Maelstrom Pulse and then attack with everything I got. My opponent's walls prevent me from killing him and I once again start thinking of a nasty Day of Judgment. But this time I'm prepared; I first Duress my opponent and see that he has a lot of nasty cards in hand but no Day of Judgment. Then I fateseal with Jace and make sure that he doesn't get one.

With no way of killing my army entirely, my opponent tries to survive and plays another Wall of Omens and creates another Bird token. On my turn I once again pump my tokens first and my opponent concedes right after the attack.

Game: 2-0
Overall: 6-0

 

Game 7:
Opponent: eatofthedead
Playing: Mono White

I start the game with a second turn Lotus Cobra and my opponent plays his Plains' and his Pilgrim's Eye to get more Plains'. At that point it's clear that I'm facing a Mono White deck with some Emeria, the Sky Ruin action.

Speaking of action, my third turn is full of it! I first play my second Lotus Cobra, play a fetchland, do my mambo jambo with my snakes, and then first play Explore and then Spreading Seas and then my Jace, the Mind Sculptor. That's a lot of cards for one turn and considering it's my third turn, I once again find myself impressed by the power of Lotus Cobra. Sadly the lifespan of my Jace is way too short and he becomes the target of my opponent's Oblivion Ring. One of my two cobras dies too in the meantime but I bring in my Oracle of Mul Daya. I hold an Avenger of Zendikar in hand but I know that my opponent has at least one mass removal in hand, and therefore don't want to overextend. Therefore I Maelstrom Pulse his Oblivion Ring, get back my Jace, and continue like that for a while.

My opponent on the other hand brings in some flyers but I kill them with Consuming Vapors and also turn his Emeria, the Sky Ruin into an Island. After a while I play my second Oracle of Mul Daya and try to bait him; my hope is that he spends his mass removal on my elves and my snake, so that I can bring in my Avenger of Zendikar. My three mana creatures lower my opponent's life total to six and just when I start dreaming of wining this game with them, my opponent finally clears the board with his Martial Coup. The good news at that point is that I hold one Maelstrom Pulse in hand. But the bad news is that my opponent knows this (thanks to my oracle revealing it earlier) and that he is a smart player; I say that because he leaves one untapped Plains meaning he has one Path to Exile in hand.

And I know that the moment I cast my Maelstrom Pulse, he will exile that token and save his other tokens. He may be bluffing of course but I don't want to risk it.

So instead of my Maelstrom Pulse I cast my Avenger of Zendikar and as expected he casts his Path to Exile before my Plant tokens reach to a bigger size than 1/2. Then my opponent brings in his Kor Skyfisher who saves his Emeria, the Sky Ruin, but this time I decide it's time to take that risk and cast my Maelstrom Pulse. My spell resolves and kills his tokens and all of a sudden it becomes my six 1/2 tokens against his 2/3 flyer, and so the first game ends.

Sideboarding:
-4 Lotus Cobra, -1 Avenger of Zendikar, -1 Consuming Vapors
+4 Countersquall, +2 Terastodon

Probably leaving all my Lotus Cobras out was a big mistake but I so badly wanted my Countersqualls and just didn't know what to cut.

Game two starts and my opponent magically plays three(!) Emeria, the Sky Ruins whereas I just don't even draw one single Spreading Seas. His early Lone Missionary and Kor Cartographer deal more damage than I anticipate, and his Pithing Needle renders my Jace, the Mind Sculptor useless. I eventually get rid of his annoying artifact and play my Jace and even counter his Oblivion Ring but a second Pithing Needle enters the battlefield and once again my Jace, the Mind Sculptor becomes a useless card.

My opponent by the way never misses a land drop and quickly reaches to seven Plains... with three Emeria, the Sky Ruins on table! And just when I think how I will get rid of his creatures coming from the graveyard, he surprises me (in a bad way) and plays his Iona, Shield of Emeria naming Black and quickly ends the game. Game three is a very fast game and a very nice game; for me of course! I start with a second turn Rampant Growth, a third turn Oracle of Mul Daya and a fifth turn Terastodon and destroy three of his Plains'. He has one Pithing Needle on table at that point set to Jace, but I just don't care about it at that moment. After I cripple his mana base, I immediately Maelstrom Pulse his Elephant tokens and the game becomes a really one sided one. I attack every turn and my opponent chump blocks with his Kor Cartographers and his Pilgrim's Eyes. Those creatures help to strengthen him his mana base and he even plays his Emeria, the Sky Ruin. But I have no tolerance for it now and destroy it with my Tectonic Edge and finally finish the game with my gigantic Elephant after countering a final attempt to kill it with a Day of Judgment.

Game: 2-1
Overall: 7-0

I added Terastodon specifically against decks with lots of planeswalkers but apparently it is also good against other decks as well. Nice!

 

CONCLUSION

I am very happy the way the deck performed. Surely there are better decks out there than the ones I played against, but this 7-0 record is a very good start in my opinion. Maybe after a bit more intense testing, this deck can become something really serious.

I definitely like Avenger of Zendikar centric Turboland deck but in my opinion this version is a better one. So if you too liked this version, start testing it. At least you can play a few games in the Tournament Practice Room to see for yourself what this deck can do until M11 comes. Speaking of which...

 

NEXT WEEK ON ROGUE PLAY
My Magic 2011, Part I

So finally it's time. A new core set is around the corner and for the first time in history, we will have two core sets in Standard. We shall see how this will turn out. And next week I will do the first part of my set review and try to evaluate the new cards as well as the old ones from this new core set. Next week it'll be White, Blue and Black.

Thanks for reading.

See you online
Nafiz Erman, aka Lord Erman