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By: Lord Erman, Nafiz Erman
Mar 09 2010 3:03am
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ROGUE PLAY 
Seven Deadly Sins
Part II 

by Nafiz Erman 

Hello dear readers and welcome back to Rogue Play. First of all, in case you missed the first part of this article, here's the link:

Seven Deadly Sins, Part I: Gluttony

What I'm basically doing here these days is to take a sin each week and build a Tier-1 deck around it. Last week my sin was gluttony and the deck was the new post Worldwake version of Eldrazi Green.

For this week I wanted to build something really strong. I wanted to play the best cards in Standard and by "best" I really mean the best and the most powerful. Baneslayer Angel? Surely yes but not enough. Jace, the Mind Sculptor? Of course him too but not enough. Iona, Shield of Emeria, Lotus Cobra? Hell yes but not enough.

As you see, this week Enough is Not Enough for me. And as you can also see, this week's sin is Greed.

 

SIN #2:

Okay I'm going to talk about greed in Magic and my aim is to build a really greedy and successful deck. Successful Tier-1 decks in Standard can be build for reasonably lower budgets these days but no; this week I'm not in that mood. The deck I'm going to play this week should be greedy in every way; it should have most of the money cards in it, it should play more than a few colors (four colors to be exact), it should have the fetchlands to support that many colors and also the cards I'm going to play should be big and flashy.

If you think for a second, you'll also realize that this isn't an easy task actually. Big and flashy creatures from many different colors should come together and form a deck so good, that is able to beat the main contenders of Standard. It should be a deck that can beat Jund, Naya, Mono Red, Boros, vampires etc... Definitely not easy.

But thankfully I have something in mind. Actually I have a single card in mind that will make everything possible. I will take it and build my whole deck around it. Curious? Can you guess what it is?

Click here to see the card.
 

So it's a trap! A nasty trap that will help me cheat my monsters into play. I am actually talking about a Dark Bant Summoning Trap deck. You know, generate fast mana, cast a few early creatures to keep the opponent busy, arrange the top of your library with Jace, the Mind Sculptor and when the time is right play your Summoning Trap to get you the creature of your wildest dreams!

The deck I have in mind to do all those things is this one:

Enough is Not Enough
A Standard Constructed deck by Nafiz Erman
Creatures
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Lotus Cobra
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Baneslayer Angel
3 Rhox War Monk
3 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
2 Iona, Shield of Emeria
24 cards

Other Spells
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Summoning Trap
4 Path to Exile
12 cards
 
Lands
4 Seaside Citadel
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Marsh Flats
6 Forest
4 Plains
3 Island
1 Swamp
24 cards

Summoning Trap

 

Please look at how greedy this deck is. The maindeck has no Commons (basic lands don't count) and it has only a few Uncommons; one being a very expensive Path to Exile. The rest is almost only Mythic Rares. To be exact, the deck has seventeen Mythics (two more are in the sideboard)! So yes, this is the deck one should play if the theme is "How to build a greedy deck in Standard".

If you don't own any of the cards and if you are going to build this deck from the scratch, then I can easily say that you're in trouble. Well, actually not you but your wallet is in trouble. Because according to www.mtgotraders.com, this deck's cost was $542,70 when I was writing this. So yes, we're really talking about greed here.

Author's Note: At the end there's also a budget version of this deck which will be more than enough to kick some butts in the Casual Room. Game reports included!

Okay, we did enough talking. Now it's time for the deck itself to talk. 

The game reports begin...

Now!

 

GAME 1:
Opponent:
 sliiker
Playing: Boss Naya

Game one is actually a very short game. We both start with Noble Hierarchs and he then plays a Bloodbraid Elf who reveals a Stoneforge Mystic who fetches a Basilisk Collar. On my turn four I play a Baneslayer Angel which my opponent exiles with a Path to Exile without knowing that he's actually mana ramping me with his Path to Exile into a Summoning Trap.

On my opponent's turn five he once again attacks with his creatures but I play my nasty trap and get me a Sphinx of the Steel Wind. My opponent concedes in despair.

Sideboarding:
-2 Iona, Shield of Emeria
+2 Novablast Wurm
Normally this type of decks play two Day of Judgments in their sideboard but my version has Novablast Wurm instead of it. What can I say; I'm experimenting!

My opponent start the second game with a second turn Stoneforge Mystic who fetches a Basilisk Collar as usual. I have a rather slow start to this game and play a third turn Rhox War Monk which surprisingly manages to stay on table. My opponent then plays a Bloodbraid Elf and the elf berserker gives him his second Stoneforge Mystic who also gives him his second Basilisk Collar.

On my fourth turn I first attack with my rhino monk as none of his creatures are equipped at that moment and then bring in a 3/3 Knight of the Reliquary who dies to a Lightning Bolt immediately; just as I feared.

On my opponent's turn he first attacks with his two Stoneforge Mystics and his Bloodbraid Elf and then brings in his own Knight of the Reliquary. He's stuck on three lands at that point and instead of equipping his creatures with his collar, he prefers to play creatures (which is the correct decision).

As you can see on the left, he's creatures are beginning to swarm me and I don't like this. I must do something and do so very quickly.

On my turn I first attack with my Rhox War Monk and gain three life. Then I play my Plains and my Baneslayer Angel; this should hold him for a while.

But no, my opponent sends my angel to a Journey to Nowhere, equips his Bloodbraid Elf and attacks once again with all what he got except his 4/4 knight.

I'm in serious trouble.

The next turn I top-deck a second Baneslayer Angel and immediately play her. At that point I have a useless Jace in hand as I have only one Island on table, a Novablast Wurm which I can't play because I still need one more mana for it and also a Summoning Trap. Luckily for me, my angel stays and she slows down my opponent just as I hoped.

A few turns later at the end of my opponent's turn, just when his side of the table is crawling with creatures, I play my Summoning Trap and it gives me another Baneslayer Angel. On my turn I first top-deck a mysterious card which puts an evil grin on my face, then attack with both of my angels, play a second Rhox War Monk and pass the turn holding that mysterious card in my hand.

Seeing both of my Baneslayer Angels tapped, my opponent knows it's now or never. He attacks with his 9/9 Knight of the Reliquary and his Bloodbraid Elf, and both are wearing a Basilisk Collar. At that point I decide to reveal that mysterious card I have in hand and it turns out to be a very nasty surprise for him:

My opponent immediately concedes.

Game: 2-0
Overall: 1-0

A 2-0 win against the "boss" of Standard is a very good start indeed.

 

GAME 2:
Opponent: thrice2214
Playing: Eldrazi Green

It's a strange feeling to fight against the very deck I was praising last week. But that I have sympathy for Eldrazi Green doesn't mean that I will show mercy to it! <enter evil laughter>

So our first game starts and I start it with a first turn Noble Hierarch. The next turn before playing a land, I first play my Lotus Cobra and then play my fetchland, get White mana, crack the fetchland, get Green mana and tap the Island; welcome aboard Mr. Rhox War Monk! My dear opponent is still at one land and I have three creatures!

The next turn I bring in a Knight of the Reliquary and then a Baneslayer Angel. All of a sudden my opponent's elves start looking tiny to him and he decides to concede... a little bit too early in my opinion but that's his decision.

Sideboarding:
Nothing.
 

He starts this second game with a second turn Nissa's Chosen and then plays a third turn Elvish Visionary. I have a rather slow start to this game and the first creature I bring in is a third turn Knight of the Reliquary.

During his next turn my opponent casts his Nissa Revane and she, as usual, calls a follower of hers to her aid. I answer that move with a Jace, the Mind Sculptor and we start fighting for my Jace.

Eventually my opponent wins this fight and kills my Jace and brings in a Garruk Wildspeaker, another Nissa's Chosen off of his Nissa Revane and a Great Sable Stag... did he just sideboard this elk against me or was it always in his maindeck? I think I will never know the answer.

At that point I decide to do something and play a Baneslayer Angel.  

But my opponent is in a hurry and sends his own Garruk Wildspeaker to the graveyard by using his ultimate ability. I don't die after that attack thanks to the lifegain from my Baneslayer Angel but I'm not in a good shape either. One turn later I first attack with my Baneslayer Angel and kill his annoying Nissa Revane and then play my second Baneslayer Angel.

My opponent draws his card, probably doesn't like what he sees and concedes.

Game: 2-0
Overall: 2-0

Last week I was telling you how good Eldrazi Green is. Now I'm telling you something else and even showing you how to destroy Eldrazi Green. What's next week? How to destroy this week's deck? Well, what can I say; there's always a bigger fish.

 

GAME 3:
Opponent: KickR
Playing: Ascension Combo

There isn't much to tell from game one. He gets stuck at three lands and not even his Ponder and Divination and Treasure Hunt save him. He eventually plays his fourth land but that's too late for him of course.

Sideboarding:
-3 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
+3 Acidic Slime

Game two is also not very different for my opponent even though he doesn't have any mana problems. The only thing worthy of mentioning is that I'm having this crazy second turn play once again in this game.

It's Lotus Cobra first, then a fetchland, and a Rhox War Monk. Everyone can play a second turn Rhox War Monk but not many can add a Lotus Cobra to the mix as well.

Even though my opponent plays his Pyromancer Ascension on time, I destroy it with my Acidic Slime and he cannot take the beating for too long and concedes.

Game: 2-0
Overall: 3-0

If only he didn't have mana problems in game one... If only I didn't play an Acidic Slime in game two... If only you knew the power of the dark side... Well okay, that last one was something else.

Joking aside, I know how annoying those Pyromancer Ascension decks can be. I'm quite happy that I didn't give that chance to my opponent in this match.

 

GAME 4:
Opponent: TimmyDactal
Playing:  Mono Red

I start the game with a Noble Hierarch and she gets Lightning Bolted. I play a second one next turn and she gets Burst Lightninged. Okay, obviously there will be no fast mana for me in this game. Then my opponent plays first a Ball Lightning and then a Hellspark Elemental; a strong signal saying that whatever I'll do, I must do fast.

The next turn I bring in my Jace, the Mind Sculptor and look at his top card which is a Mountain. I put it back on top and pass the turn. My opponent's next move is to unearth his Hellspark Elemental but he sends his elemental not after my planeswalker but after me. My life total is going down very fast.

The next turn I first Brainstorm and then play a Lotus Cobra and then a Knight of the Reliquary. My opponent plays a Hell's Thunder and the damage from his elemental brings me in range of a single burn spell. My opponent has one mysterious card in his hand but apparently it isn't his burn spell.

The next turn I Brainstorm again and then attack with both of my creatures. My opponent knows(!) that I have one single instant speed removal in my hand; otherwise why would I attack? On his turn he first unearths his Hell's Thunder and plays his mysterious card which happens to be a Goblin Guide; he most probably thinks that I may kill one of his creatures but not both and thus the game is over.

The game is not over as it turns out that the card I'm holding in my hand is not a removal spell but a Summoning Trap. And the card I put on top of my library with my Jace on my previous turn happens to be something very nasty:

Ouch! Of course he concedes at that point.

Sideboarding:
Nothing.

I have a very slow start and also get stuck with two lands. That's not a good thing against such a fast deck and he totally punishes me for that. First a Hellspark Elemental, then the same one again after being unearthed plus a Ball Lightning bring me down to seven life. After that it's a Lightning Bolt and a kicked Burst Lightning.

I know that RDW sometimes can have this crazy draw and this was one of those games.

And so we move onto game three which turns out to be even shorter than game two. Check the screenshot below to see why:

Well, that's what happens if you let Lotus Cobra live.

Game: 2-1
Overall: 4-0

This was another satisfying win.

 

GAME 5:
Opponent: abstrakt66
Playing: Valakut Combo

My opponent in this match is playing Valakut Combo but there is a problem in the first game for him; he cannot find his Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle. Oh and he has another problem too; I have one of those nuts draws of mine. Game ends very fast as you can see below:

Sideboarding:
-2 Iona, Shield of Emeria, -1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
+3 Acidic Slime
I knew that both Iona and my sphinx are excellent creatures against a  deck but I most definately needed Acidic Slime and couldn't figure out what to cut, so I left them outside the deck because of their high casting costs.

In game two he's the one who has the nuts draw and I'm the one who has mana problems. My early creatures get hit by a Chain Reaction and even though I manage to play two Lotus Cobras after that, my opponent manages to bring in an Avenger of Zendikar and starts pumping his plants as you can see on the right. I see no point to continue and concede.

The final game starts and we both have a rather slow start to it. I first play a third turn Rhox War Monk and my opponent is busy with arranging his manabase as usual. But on my fourth turn I bring in a Jace, the Mind Sculptor and after that the game becomes very interesting.

I first bring my Jace to five loyalty to protect him from a Lightning Bolt. I have two Acidic Slimes at that point and there is no sign of a Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle... yet! I play a second rhino monk and start hitting as hard as I can.


I have been plant-ed!!

My opponent plays his Oracle of Mul Daya and finally manages to get him his Valakut and immediately after playing it he kills one of my Rhox War Monks. The next turn I destroy his Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle but before his annoying land goes to the graveyard, my opponent cracks his Khalni Heart Expedition which has ten counters on it and kills my other Rhox War Monk too. The next turn he also casts his Chain Reaction leaving no living thing on table... other than my Jace, the Mind Sculptor.

At that point I decide to go for an alternate win and start pumping my Jace. And I actually manage to win with my Jace!

Game: 2-1
Overall: 5-0
 

I heard stories of people actually winning by Jacing(!) but that game was my first time. Oh and in case you wonder: Yes, it felt good!

 

GAME 6: 
Opponent: ravage007
Playing: Boss Naya

I lost the record for game one but all I know is that I lost it.

Sideboarding:
-2 Iona, Shield of Emeria
+2 Novablast Wurm

I start the game with a third turn Jace, the Mind Sculptor but this time my Jace's lifespan is very short and he becomes the target of an Oblivion Ring the next turn.

My opponent then manages to bring in a Stoneforge Mystic who fetches a Basilisk Collar and also a Cunning Sparkmage. Well, a deathtouch pinger is bad news for me and in a few turns he kills all I have on table. Then an Ajani Vengeant joins him and things get even worse.

I finally get rid of his pinger with a Path to Exile and even bring in a Baneslayer Angel; only to see her getting exiled with a Path to Exile. I have seven lands at that point and have two Sphinx of the Steel Winds in hand but before I can draw my eighth land, my opponent's Ajani goes ultimate and ends the game; at least for me.

Game: 0-2
Overall: 5-1

This wasen't even close. But at least I know I can beat this deck as shown in "Game 1" above. Apparently I can win against it but not always.

 

GAME 7:
Opponent: zippozippo
Playing: Valakut Combo

I have a very slow start to this game and the first creature I play is a third turn Rhox War Monk. As usual and as expected, my opponent spends the early turns with arranging his manabase. I attack with my rhino monk, play another one but his recurring Punishing Fire gets quite annoying. At that point I also find out that my opponent is playing a different kind of Valakut Combo; a Bloodbraid Elf cascading into a Hellspark Elemental is not something you'd expect from an average Valakut deck.


"Good Game"? Apparently not yet.

We keep battling and after a while my opponent eventually activates his volcano and starts killing my creatures. I bring him to two life and play my Sphinx of the Steel Wind as you can see on the left. At that point I think that the game is surely decided but my opponent has other plans.

He first casts Punishing Fire targeting my Rhox War Monk and then plays a Mountain and kills it. Then he plays a Harrow and kills my sphinx as well. Wow, that was a nice play I must admit.

He then unearths his Hellspark Elemental, plays a Hell's Thunder and deals me seven damage. Thanks to the life I gained earlier with my two Rhox War Monks, I'm still over twenty life after this attack but I sit with a lonely Path to Exile in hand and I definately don't like the way this game goes.

Three turns later I finally draw something useful; I draw my Jace, the Mind Sculptor, immediately Brainstorm and get me a Summoning Trap. My opponent plays a Goblin Ruinblaster and blasts my Seaside Citadel and brings my Jace to one loyalty. I don't care about him that much at that point and Brainstorm again the next turn.

My opponent steps up the pressure and plays a Hell's Thunder and together with his Goblin Ruinblaster he sends his two creatures after my Jace, the Mind Sculptor. At that point I play my Summoning Trap and get me a nice Sphinx of the Steel Wind but a Harrow out of nowhere once again ruins my plans; at least I exile his Hell's Thunder with my Path to Exile and make sure that I never ever see it again.

This first game doesn't know to end and my opponent who is still at two life since the last ten or so turns doesn't know to give up! I play a 9/9 Knight of the Reliquary and this time I'm sure that the game will end. But once again I'm wrong. This time my opponent casts a huge Comet Storm and kills my huge creature and also deals me a huge damage. I'm at seven life and I begin to sweat.

The next turn I play my second Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Brainstorm again and then play a Noble Hierarch and a Lotus Cobra; not the creatures I would want to see this late in the game. But surprisingly after drawing his card, my opponent concedes. Well, to be honest after all that fight that was unexpected.

Sideboarding:
-2 Iona, Shield of Emeria, -1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
+3 Acidic Slime

Game two is also a very long and an interesting game. But the whole long story short, it comes down to a situation where I find myself without any creatures once again and the only being alive I have is a Jace on table. At that point I decide to go for "jacing" once again.

I come close to finish my opponent by "jacing" but twice he hits my planeswalker with a Lightning Bolt. Finally after many turns, he draws his Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, plays all his Harrows he kept in hand for so long, cracks his Khalni Heart Expeditions and kills me in one single turn.

We move onto game three and it quickly turns into another epic battle. We spend the early turns as usual; I play my mana creatures and my opponent builds his manabase and kills my mana creatures in the meantime. On turn five I bring in a Baneslayer Angel and my opponent immediately plays his Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle after that. But I'm prepared to this and play my Acidic Slime and get rid of it; only to face a second one the next turn!

My opponent kills my smaller creatures but luckily for me can't find a solution to my Baneslayer Angel. This time I have no desire to turn this one into another long game and at the end of his turn I play my Summoning Trap and get me my Sphinx of the Steel Wind. And the game ends after that.

Game: 2-1
Overall: 6-1

I had huge fun in this game. My opponent obviously was an excellent player and even though he lost, I know he had fun too. In my book this is the exact definition for epic battle.

And my game reports end here. I know that seven matches aren't enough to declare a deck as the best deck of the format but obviously I have no such intention. But those game reports are useful as they give you an idea what this deck can do and how it works against several of the Tier-1 decks of the format.

 

THERE IS ANOTHER WAY
The Budget Enough is Never Enough

Okay just above you saw how really greedy you can get in Standard. Normally my articles end after my game reports are finished and then I say goodbye. But this week I can't do that. I know very well that there are only a few players out there who can afford to build the deck above. The high price tag makes it unreachable for many. So what now? What good is showing you dear readers something you can (most probably) never play?

And therefore I have this second section.

Now what can you do if you liked this four color Summoning Trap deck? How can you turn it into a budget deck? Which cards can be replaced with which cards?

First let's take a second look at the super-uber greedy version of this deck once again and then we can start talking:

Enough is Not Enough
A Standard Constructed deck by Nafiz Erman
Creatures
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Lotus Cobra
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Baneslayer Angel
3 Rhox War Monk
3 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
2 Iona, Shield of Emeria
24 cards

Other Spells
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Path to Exile
4 Summoning Trap
12 cards
 
Lands
4 Seaside Citadel
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Marsh Flats
1 Verdant Catacombs
6 Forest
4 Plains
3 Island
1 Swamp
24 cards

Jace, the Mind Sculptor

 

Let's start with mana. Seaside Citadel will stay; I think everyone can afford it. The six fetchlands in the original build will be Terramorphic Expanse and Bant Panorama in our budget version. Then we will replace Noble Hierarch and Lotus Cobra with Birds of Paradise and Llanowar Elves. I know that Birds of Paradise isn't very cheap but let's face it; if you wish to play Magic, even casual only, then you should own this card. Maybe now it's the time.

Okay the mana base is complete. Next we will talk a little bit about the creatures. Replacing Baneslayer Angel is easy; we have a fine "replica" of hers called Battlegrace Angel. And then Knight of the Reliquary will be Rhox War Monk and those three Rhox War Monks in the original build will be Mycoid Shepherd. Oh yes, we will gain life like crazy!

For our main fatties I have Terastodon and Sphinx Sovereign in mind. You can replace them with anything you'd like but I chose those two.

And finally Jace, the Mind Sculptor will be Ponder and Path to Exile will be Journey to Nowhere. Summoning Trap stays of course.

And when put together, all those cards look like this in an actual deck:

Budget - Enough is Not Enough
A Standard Constructed deck by Nafiz Erman
Creatures
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Rhox War Monk
4 Battlegrace Angel
3 Mycoid Shepherd
3 Terastodon
2 Sphinx Sovereign
24 cards

Other Spells
4 Summoning Trap
4 Journey to Nowhere
4 Ponder
12 cards
 
Lands
4 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Seaside Citadel
2 Bant Panorama
7 Forest
4 Plains
2 Island
1 Swamp
24 cards

 
Summoning Trap

 

First the price breakdown:

NAME QUANTITY UNIT PRICE TOTAL PRICE NOTES
Birds of Paradise 4 $2,00 $8,00 M10 version
Llanowar Elves 4 $0,03 $0,12 M10 version
Rhox War Monk 4 $0,12 $0,48 -
Battlegrace Angel 4 $0,60 $2,40 -
Terastodon 3 $0,25 $0,75 -
Mycoid Shepherd 3 $0,40 $1,20 -
Sphinx Sovereign 2 $0,90 $1,80 -
Journey to Nowhere 4 $0,08 $0,32 -
Summoning Trap 4 $0,20 $0,80 -
Ponder 4 $0,05 $0,20 M10 version
Terramorphic Expanse 4 $0,05 $0,20 M10 version
Seaside Citadel 4 $0,20 $0,80 -
Bant Panorama 2 $0,03 $0,06 -
    TOTAL $17,13  

Not bad, huh?

To show you what this version is capable of doing, I went to the Casual Room and started playing a few games. Here's what happened in those games:

 

GAME 1 - Opponent: Prinnydood - Playing: Budget-ish Bant

I start the game with a second turn Rhox War Monk thanks to my first turn Birds of Paradise, and then the next turn I bring in two Llanowar Elves'. I attack with my rhino monk twice and just when I begin to think that this will be easy, my opponent plays a 4/4 Knight of the Reliquary and then a Battlegrace Angel.


Dude, where are your lands?

He attacks with his previously played Bant Sureblade as a 4/3 first striker with lifelink but I do my Summoning Trap trick and it gives me my Terastodon. I blow up three of his lands, give him three 3/3 elephants and then kill his attacker.

The next turn this time I hardcast a second Terastodon and leave him with no lands. He has a gigantic Knight of the Reliquary thanks to all that land destruction but can't attack into my 9/9s. His Battlegrace Angel, however, becomes quite a nuisance after a few turns.

I play a third Terastodon and blow my own lands; I don't need any lands but I can use those 3/3s. He keeps attacking with his Battlegrace Angel and manages to lower my life total to a critical level.

A few turns later I finally manage to draw my Journey to Nowhere and exile my opponent's Knight of the Reliquary and then attack with everything I got. My opponent's life total fell to eight from thirty six and seeing no way out (as he has no lands to do anything), the next turn he decides to concede.

Game: 1-0
Overall: 1-0

 

GAME 2 - Opponent: pardic_climber - Playing:  Rock

This is a very one sided game. During the first turns I keep attacking with my Mycoid Shepherd and remove two of his blockers with my Journey to Nowheres. My Ponders always give me what I need on time and just after he casts a Diabolic Tutor and gets (most probably) something very nasty, I cast my Terastodon, cripple his manabase and the next turn cast another one and leave him without any lands and with a bunch of 3/3 elephants. And the game ends right at that point.

Game: 1-0
Overall: 2-0

 

GAME 3 - Opponent: UnunbiunScott - Playing: Mono Red

Well, for some decks, facing a first turn Goblin Guide could be a real problem; especially when he's backed up by some serious burn spells. But he's no biggie if you can bring in not one but two Rhox War Monks a few turns later. Oh them and a Mycoid Shepherd too. Wait wait wait, them, a Mycoid Shepherd AND a Battlegrace Angel as well.

Not even a recurring Punishing Fire is enough to save my opponent. My rhinos, my fungus and my angel end the game in a short while.

Game: 1-0
Overall: 3-0

 

GAME 4 - Opponent: roodinverse - Playing: Valakut Combo

I start very aggressively; three Birds of Paradise and one Llanowar Elves!!! After a while my opponent Earthquakes the table and kills my newly played Rhox War Monk and continues to mana ramp.

I draw a Terastodon at that point and smile.

I need one more mana to hard cast it and finally it comes the next turn as in Llanowar Elves. I talk to myself and say "Pass me the turn dear opponent and I'll show you the raw power of my elephant!" but no; he doesn't pass me the turn. A Comet Storm hits my side of the table killing all my mana creatures and from there it becomes a child's play for my opponent.

Game: 0-1
Overall: 3-1

It was so close!

 

GAME 5Opponent: markjw - Playing: Valakut Combo

One Valakut after another... Good, now I have my chance to take my revenge.

This time I have a better start and in a few turns manage to get one Mycoid Shepherd and one Rhox War Monk on table. My opponent is busy with mana ramping but he has a big problem; my creatures have a toughness of four and one single Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle isn't enough.

He finally gets his second Valakut just when he's needing it and first kills my Mycoid Shepherd. At the end of his turn I play my Summoning Trap and hope for something big and flashy... and I get a Birds of Paradise!

The next turn I attack with my Rhox War Monk knowing that it's his last attack and during my opponent's turn my rhino monk gets also killed by my opponent's two active volcanoes. At the end of his turn I once again play my Summoning Trap and hope for something better than a Birds of Paradise.

And this is what I get:

My opponent immediately concedes.

Game: 1-0
Overall: 4-1

That's more like it!

 

SUMMARY

Well, I can actually continue writing game reports but I think you get the idea by now. So as you see, it is absolutely possible to play Summoning Trap in the Casual Room and satisfy all your greediness. Not every deck can handle a fifth turn Terastodon or a Sphinx Sovereign; especially not those in the Casual Room.

And what about the first version? Well, you saw for yourself what it's capable of. I'm not saying that it's the best deck in the format but I'm saying that it plays absolutely the best cards of the format. And when that many great cards come together, the result is automatically something very nice.

 

 

NEXT WEEK ON ROGUE PLAY
Seven Deadly Sins, Part III

And now it's once again time to say goodbye. Last week we talked about gluttony and this week we covered greed. And what's next week?

I will not tell that to you directly. But next week I will first talk about a Tier-1 deck as usual that kicks some serious butts and then I will represent you a second casual deck. Please note that it won't be a budget deck but rather a casual deck. Curious? Do you want to see some teaser? Well okay, here's a screenshot showing you what the CASUAL VERSION can do:

It seems that the proud army of Bant is on a holy crusade once again. Can you guess next week's sin by the way?

Thanks for reading.

See you online
Nafiz Erman, aka Lord Erman

9 Comments

Nice article. Did you mention by Anonymous (not verified) at Tue, 03/09/2010 - 03:51
Anonymous's picture

Nice article. Did you mention where the matches were played, whether they were tournament matches or not? I think it's significant. If you're aiming to build a T1 deck then wins against the casual room really don't count and even the tourney practice room is dubious. You should go to 2-man queues, 5-1 would truly be impressive there.

Meh by Anonymous (not verified) at Tue, 03/09/2010 - 06:35
Anonymous's picture

I'm about 40ish-15 with an allies deck in the 2-mans, it's not that much more competitive than TP. Of course, I've also gone 3-1 in a couple dailies with it, so it's not that bad. I'm surprised more people aren't running it, it's only 1bout $40 and wins against top decks. I've only lost against jund twice, and only once against vampires which was more to screw than to the deck. The only problem is it has a terrible matchup with boss Naya.

How about a decklist good by Anonymous (not verified) at Tue, 03/09/2010 - 13:28
Anonymous's picture

How about a decklist good sir.

I think Rampant Growth would by Anonymous (not verified) at Tue, 03/09/2010 - 22:31
Anonymous's picture

I think Rampant Growth would be better than Llanowar Elves in budget deck.

Match 1 - Misplays? by Anonymous (not verified) at Wed, 03/10/2010 - 00:00
Anonymous's picture

I think the Boss Naya player misplayed that last game. With Collar and Knight on board (plus a Dauntless Escort in play) he could have equipped the collar and killed any number of your creatures -- including the Baneslayer.

He simply needed to be in combat with your creatures and used the Knight's ability to fetch Sejiri Steppe granting protection from white. Alternately he could have sac'd his escort and let the collar's deathtouch deal with any one of your creatures.

Not knowing the full details, maybe there was something that prevented the above plays. But if not, seems like whoever you were playing didn't really know the deck well.

Greed by Katastrophe at Wed, 03/10/2010 - 02:14
Katastrophe's picture
5

Yup, that was greedy!

1) A mana base of mostly non-basics? Check. Although there are a surprising number of basics in there, too.

2) 5WUB, 6WWW, WUG, 3GG, and 2UU all in the same deck? Check.

I don't consider card value to be greedy so much, but you had that too. The sad thing is, 5cc was still greedier. All non-basics with the vivids and Pools, and absolutely silly things like 1UUU and 2GGG in the same deck.

Match 7 game 3 was AWESOME. As was the one time someone got mindsculpted.

Clarion Ultimatum + Amulet of Vigor = you're going to grab what? Hmm.

envy by Anonymous (not verified) at Wed, 03/10/2010 - 06:57
Anonymous's picture

envy

Re: The budget version by GrandAdmiral at Sun, 03/14/2010 - 13:31
GrandAdmiral's picture

I swapped the Sphinx Sovereign and one of the mana producers for 3x Enlisted Wurm. The Wurm has some synergy with Mycoid Shepherd.

i think next week may be by ShardFenix at Thu, 03/11/2010 - 00:03
ShardFenix's picture

i think next week may be pride....otherwise i like the budget version except for the mycoid shepherd....i may throw in some random other fatties...inkwell leviathan sounds fun