I mentioned in a previous article that I had been playing Koros and Vampires in Zendikar Block Constructed. They were the most budget friendly decks for me to build, having a bunch of the essential pieces from various drafts. Instead of spending my fixed MTGO income on drafts and sealed events as I had previously done, I instead invested money into singles to be more competitive in Zen Block and Standard. Since I decided to invest in Zen Block cards, these will mostly retain value over the course of the year. I keep up on the prices of cards quite a bit and intend to trade some of them away as I see fit. Limited has and will always be my favorite format but after going on a luckless streak of money cards in drafts and playing particularly bad and then opening an Oath of Druids and Mox Diamond during the same draft in the Nix Tix Tempest block a few weeks ago, I decided that I had lucked out and was done drafting for a while. I haven't followed through with this as much but I have cut down the drafting a bit and am trying to focus on playtesting and playing in more daily events.
I had most of the pieces for the Eldrazi Deck and started testing it. I won a few 2 mans and then decided to take it into a Daily Event, in which I went 2-2. I intended to write an article on it last week but after another writer published a similar article about Eldrazi, I decided to scrap it. I started playtesting U/W control and liked the deck better than the Eldrazi. I had been getting a bit sick of playing Eldrazi as I, like most players, had been toying with them in one form or another since ROE was released. I took this deck to the Tournament Practice Room and played against almost nothing but Eldrazi decks with some Koros sprinkled in. I then proceeded to play in a two man and lost a close game against Koros and decided to take the deck into Daily Event because it just felt like a better value to me.
The core of the deck is basically the same from player to player, with card quantities varying. Most players opt for 4 Jace; I didn't have another one and after buying 2 fairly recently, I did not have the money to buy another. Everflowing Chalice is a card I would need further testing with because I have never been particularly happy drawing it. The acceleration it provides when playing it during turn 2 can help you get Jace out a turn earlier and but more often I would rather keep the mana open for Spell Pierce or Deprive. I included 4 Cancel in the maindeck and these were effective against the Eldrazi matches I played in the practice room but against a more control heavy field I would probably substitute for more Deprive maindeck. Bringing the extra lands into your hands with Deprive is disadvantageous, especially with the come into play tapped lands and as a side note I think I am happy to see Mana Leak being reprinted (although his has nothing to do in this particular format). My sideboard was all over the place. Spreading Seas is effective against Manlands, Eldrazi Lands, and can even be effective against UGR in denying their green or red sources. Pitfall Trap is effective against an aggressive Steppe Lynx or Plated Geopede, as well as being effective against manlands or Kozilek. The Vapor Snare was for Eldrazi or a Malakir Bloodwitch. Kor Firewalker was for Koros and Red Deck Wins which I don't believe are showing as much lately. Kor Sanctifiers help in the mirror after they board in their Luminarch Ascension as well as getting rid of (Journey into Nowhere) and Everflowing Chalice which both U/W and Eldrazi run. Lets take a look at the matches.
Match 1 vs Mono Red
Game 1
I start on the play with a tapped Sejiri Refuge while he plays a Goblin Bushwacker. He attacks, taking me down one, plays a Mountain and a Kiln Fiend. I play a Plains, cast Everflowing Chalice for 1. He attacks for 2 and casts (Zetkar Shrine Expedition). After debating whether or not to Day of Judgment, I cast a Sphinx of Lost Truths. He casts a Kargan Dragonlord. I attack with the Sphinx and decide to cast Day of Judgment. not wanting to possibly get hit with a Smoldering Spires and then a double pumped Kiln Fiend from burn spells. He casts another Kargan Dragonlord which is followed with a Jace who bounces Kargan and a Gideon a turn later.
There is no replay for this game. I am on the play and cast a turn two Wall of Omens. My opponent follows up with a Wall of Omens as well. I hit an early Emeria Angel making lots of bird tokens and win in a few turns, countering a Day of Judgment.
A turn two Luminarch Ascension on his side isn’t good news for me. I manage to cast a fourth turn (Elmeria Angel), his Luminarch Ascension with 3 counters on it at this point. He casts an Emeria Angel on his turn. I target it with a Journey to Nowhere the next turn, play a land making an additional bird, attacking for 4 each turn. I hope my hand full of countermagic can finish the game. Any land nets me another bird, a Fetchland is optimal here. I Spell Pierce a Gideon next turn. and Deprive a Sphinx the following turn. He’s down to two life and I can win next turn but he activates Tectonic Edge on my Celestial Colonnade, casts a Day of Judgment which I Deprive but he Spell Snare’s in response. I draw nothing and die under an army of 4/4 Angels. One more land a few turns earlier would’ve allowed me to deal him lethal with one additional bird. Kind of disheartening.
Game 3
I start off with a turn 2 Luminarch Ascension. He casts a turn two Luminarch Ascension as well. I am able to counter a kicked Kor Sanctifiers turn four but I draw no more countermagic. I play a (Sphinx of the Lost Truths) turn five, keeping a Jace, another Sphinx, and a Colonade. He plays another kicked (Kor Santifiers), destroying my (Luminarch). I play a Jace and brainstorm. He plays an Emeria Angel and cracks a fetch. I bounce the Luminarch Ascension with Into the Roil but he follows up with a Gideon and another Luminarch Ascension and I’m dead a few turns later.
Match 3 vs U/W Control
Game 1
The computer lost game 1 and I can't for the life of me remember what happened. My opponent conceded early after I brainstormed with a turn four Jace and his turn five came up with no answers. I guess he had a poor hand.
He plays a Halimar Depths. I play Celestial Colonnade. He plays Plains and casts a Spreading Seas on my Celestial Colonnade. I play a Plains and cast a Luminarch Ascension. He plays a Tectonic Edge and has no turn three play. After some thought, I Spreading Seas his Tectonic Edge, giving him double blue mana but wanting to preserve my lands as two of them were nonbasic at this point. He follows up with a Luminarch Ascension which I destroy with a kicked Kor Sanctifiers. He plays a Jace and brainstorms. I attack Jace with (Kor Santifiers) bringing Jace to one loyalty. He brainstorms again and concedes with my Luminarch at 3 counters.
Match 4 vs U/G/R
Game 1
I feel nervous going into this match, especially after quickly checking my opponent's previous game and learning he is UGR. U/W is a poor match against UGR and I need some luck to win. He’s on the play with a forest and I start with a (Seriji Refuge). He plays an Explore and he plays a Raging Ravine. I play a Plains and Wall of Omens. With no double blue, I play an Everflowing Chalice for 1 and a Tectonic Edge. He plays a Jace, brainstorms and passes. I draw another Plains. He plays Explore, brainstorms and plays a kicked Goblin Ruinblaster, killing my (Sejirri Steppe). I play a Halimar Depths, seeing 2 Plains and a (Sejirri Steppe) on top. He plays another Ruinblaster and although I should play out the rest of the match to try to get additional clues about his deck, I concede discouraged.
I start with a (Sejirri Steppe) while he plays Raging Ravine. I play a Celestial Colonnade. He plays Halimar Depths. I play (Sejirri Steppe). He attempts an Explore which I Spell Snare. He plays another Raging Ravine. I play another Sejiri Steppe. He plays a Forest and considers casting something, tapping out and decides against it, passing the turn. I play a Luminarch Ascension and pass. I was debating on whether or not to board these in post game 1 but figured I would because save for his finishers, most of his creatures were able to be blocked by Wall of Omens which I kept in for the extra card draw. I play Tectonic Edge and aim it at his Halimar Depths. I was thinking about this play for a while before making it. With two Raging Ravine this didn’t seem like the right play at the time but I wanted to deny him double blue mana for Jace and for Sphinx of Lost Truths. This paid off immediately when he plays an Oracle of Mul Daya and casts a Kazandu Refuge off the top. His next two cards shown are exactly what I wanted to deny, Jace and Sphinx. I play another Colonnade. He attacks with a Raging Ravine and Oracle of Mul Daya. I draw a Jace, play it and brainstorm, find exactly what I need, casting a Journey to Nowhere on the Oracle and keeping a Tectonic Edge for next turn. He decides to attack me with the Raging Ravine instead of Jace, bringing me from 10 to 4. I brainstorm again, playing a (Gideon). He casts a kicked Burst Lightning which I Spell Snare. I Brainstorm again, getting two more counterspells and counter a Sphinx of Lost Truths on his turn, making two angels at my EOT. I attack with the Gideon and Angels and finish the game.
Game 3
He’s plays a turn 2 Explore, playing an extra Island. He explores the next turn as well but doesn’t hit a land. He's stuck on three lands and his fourth turn consists of playing an unkicked Goblin Ruinblaster. My first 4 turns consist of me putting 1 Colonnade and 3 (Seriji Steppes) into play. Next turn I put an Emeria Angel and then a Marsh Flats, peeling it for 2 bird tokens. He plays a Lotus Cobra and misses another land drop. I play a Gideon, forcing his (Goblin Ruinblaster and Lotus Cobra to attack. He plays a kicked Ruinblaster and destroys my Colonade, attacking with 6 power at Gideon.I attack with Gideon and my fliers, bringing him down to three. With Deprive, Into the Roil and Spell Pierce in hand, I’m ready for any play he can make. He concedes.
Conclusion:
Overall, I was happy with my play and did get lucky in a few games, especially against UGR in the last round. UGR didn't seem to be on the radar much a few weeks ago but it has gained popularity recently, making it the top deck at the moment. This is because of it's strong matchup against the rest of the field. It provides burn and mass removal in the form of Chain Reaction for aggressive decks along with acceleration, land destruction and card filtering. I may take a closer look at UGR for my next article or I may tinker around with the U/W list to make it stronger against UGR.
