SilverBlack Nemesis is a series on Gatherling.com that is based on the Legacy SilverBlack format. Never heard of Legacy SilverBlack? Check out the Construction section! Legacy SilverBlack is a wide open format with a lot to offer. The buy-in price to build a deck is reasonable and there are a lot of viable options for what can be played. Jund, Madness, Mono Black Control, Infect, Tokens, Affinity, Hexproof, Red Deck Wins, White Weenie, Goblins, Elves, Counter-Top, Thopter-Sword... it's all here and viable to play! Legacy SilverBlack may have the widest selection of viable decks of any format. Have an old favorite you don't play anymore because it cycled out of standard or isn't viable any longer in regular Legacy or Classic events? Maybe Legacy SilverBlack can breathe new life into the deck! Check out the Construction section for deck building details.
For those of you who are not familiar with Legacy SilverBlack here is a recap on the format:
First let's talk about how the format is constructed. SilverBlack events are so aptly named because only Uncommon (Silver Logo) and Common (Black Logo) cards of any given card set are legal. Deck sizes are what you would expect, a minimum of 60 cards in the main deck and either a 0 card or 15 card sideboard. And of course, as the name Legacy SilverBlack indicates, we are using the Legacy card pool.
The ban list for this event consists of 17 cards:
From left to right and in alphabetical order the banned cards are:
Last week's event winner was MTGO Player Quick who played his Team Italia deck to a first place finish. This deck was a ruthless discarding machine of destruction as it waded through the field burning its opponents out and beating them down with spirit tokens. It was Quick's second win in a row as he took a first place win a week earlier with Counter-Top.
Team Italia
1st Place - As Played by Quick at SilverBlack Nemesis 1.01
I have been a little surprised that no one played a Goblin deck in the two Legacy SilverBlack events that we had thus far. So this week I wanted to introduce the archetype and see if I could prove that it is viable. A few years ago (back in 2006) there was a popular extended deck that was called Dirty Kitty that I liked. The deck was also adapted to Peasant by MTGO player KingRitz who took a slightly different approach removing most of the creatures for a more combo appeal. This is my adaptation of the Dirty Kitty deck list, although it is missing one of the most important pieces since Empty the Warrens is banned in the Legacy SilverBlack format. Nonetheless, I believe that the fecundity engine and the Goblin tribe are strong enough to make the deck list viable without it.
My round 1 opponent was playing a burn deck with Chandra's Spitfire. The deck is fast when it gets what it needs, however as the video shows is prone to some sluggish moments. I was able to take advantage of these sluggish moments to post the win, but it was harrowing at times. Especially when there is a Spitfire on the board as the Spitfire can act as a lever for any direct damage that gets through before the attack phase. And if you don't have an answer for it, the game can come to a dramatic end.
Mono-Red Spitfire
As played by MTGO Player drizzt_cd at SilverBlack Nemesis 1.02
In round two I faced BoozeElemental who has been on a terror over the last week with his Thopter-Sword deck in Classic Heirloom on Gatherling.com. as he posted an event win, now he takes aim at Legacy SilverBlack with a similar list. This adaptation the deck for Legacy SilverBlack is every bit as potent as his Classic Heirloom version. I was able to take advantage of board as his list was very light on creatures. Goblin Lackey really shined in game 1 as I was able to drop creatures on to the battlefield unchecked and free each turn. He was able to side in an answer for Lackey for game 2, but I was able to side in my Thopter-Sword package and take the game over, finally causing him to concede late in the match.
UB Thopters
As played by MTGO Player BoozeElemental at SilverBlack Nemesis 1.02
My round 3 opponent was punkid_41_86 who was playing a very nice Affinity deck that I felt was a really nice meld between the Pauper Affinity decks and the Legacy Affinity decks. I think he put a lot of thought into what the best cards would be for the Legacy SilverBlack format and the deck really shined on the night. He loaded up the list with more creatures than normal to try and harness the power of Cranial Plating, which is probably the strongest card in the deck. I had three grueling back and forth games with him that were both fun to play and interesting to watch.
Affinity
As played by MTGO Playerpunkid_41_86 at SilverBlack Nemesis 1.02
In round 4 I faced ztrmanwho is slowly becoming one of my Nemesis here in this Series as I dropped matches to him here in Round 4 and in Round 1 of last week’s event. Coming into this match I was feeling pretty good and thought I had a real chance to win the event, however the lack of a board sweeper like Firespout proved to be my undoing as his fast Elvish Melody deck proved to be too much for the Goblins to handle on their own. To make matters worse I removed the Fecundity after game 1 to go with a more Creature heavy mix. Which in retrospect, I may have removed my best chances of winning as I could have cycled through my Goblins using Goblin Bombardment, sending each Goblin to his dome and having it renewed by the Fecundity. I don't know if that would have been a fast enough strategy to win, but since I pulled the Fecundity, we will never know.
Elvish Melody
As played by MTGO Player ztrman at SilverBlack Nemesis 1.02
I was again able to finish strong this week going 3-1 and taking down the #3 spot in the standings. After looking at how the event finished with Goblins versus Elves in the final match to decide the winner, I was almost convinced that this was a Legacy Tribal Wars event. But this just shows how diverse the Legacy SilverBlack format is that new decks that haven't even been played yet are winning each weeks event. Few people had answers this week for the Elves in their premier appearance, as a lack of a board sweeper can mean an early end to your game plan.
With that in mind, here is how the event finished:
Affinity has been around a while now and has seen action in almost all formats on MTGO. From Legacy, Classic, Modern, Pauper, SilverBlack, and Heirloom, this deck has made its rounds and is one of the all-time most successful archetypes in MTGO History. That being said Affinity has performed only mediocrely here is Legacy SilverBlack. Although in both of the last two events there has been an Affinity deck go 3-1, and now we are seeing a more stable version of the deck lists take shape for this format. Regardless of the form though, Affinity is one of the most played archetypes here at Legacy SilverBlack, so make sure you pack the artifact hate if you plan on joining the fray.
Affinity
2nd Place: As played by MTGO Playerpunkid_41_86 at SilverBlack Nemesis 1.02
Goblins makes its debut this week with the aid of a well-known card called Fecundity. Be sure to watch the deck tech video above along with the match videos which will show you how well this list can perform. Goblins are both nimble and powerful and have no problem sacrificing themselves for the greater cause of winning an event. Once you convince them to stop fighting for worthless causes, and get them to unite, they certainly can become a force that needs dealt with.
Jund looks like it has finally pulled together a development team in Legacy SilverBlack as Jund jumps from having a single appearance to tie for the most appearances in a single event. One of the most successful Modern deck lists of all time with the help of the Cascade mechanic and Bloodbraid Elf, the decklist can at times take on the look of an Aggro deck, and then in the next minute start looking like a control deck. The deck list features good creature control cards such as Terminate and Lightning Bolt. Can empty your hand with cards like Blightning, (Inquisition of Kozilek,) or Hymn to Tourach. And then move to beat down mode with Sprouting Thrinax, Bloodbraid Elf, and Vampire Nighthawk. Be on your A-game if you face this monster, as now that it has tasted some serious success this week with 2 of the 4 Jund lists going 3-1, you can bet it will be back again next week.
Lingering Jund
4th Place: As played by MTGO Player MarcosPMA at SilverBlack Nemesis 1.02
White Weenie is another one of those strategies that have been around with the game of Magic since it was first invented. Find a bunch of efficient, cheap, white creature cards and add some mild removal and protection cards, and you have a winner! White Weenie has now posted back to back 3-1 performances at the last two SilverBlack Nemesis events so I am sure it will be back again for more. I imagine it is just a matter of time before a White Weenie deck finds its way to an event win as is typically the case in every format that it finds itself in.
White Weenie
5th Place: As played by MTGO Player Bazaar of Baghdad at SilverBlack Nemesis 1.02
Back again this week is Team Italia, but this time its pilot adds the card advantage engine of Isochron Scepter. Now many of the same cards that wreaked havoc and wrecked opponents from the opening to the endgame can be played over and over to achieve very powerful effects. I like the fact that players are looking to use Scepter as more than an infinite counterspell engine, and branch out to actually allow the Scepter an opportunity to win the game for you. It's only loss this week was to a Jund deck, which was a strategy that was very weakly applied to Legacy SilverBlack until this week. So it will be interesting to see if Team Italia and its variants can stand up to the ever increasing Jund players and their march to the top spot.
Scepter Italia
6th Place: As played by MTGO Player bobafett501st at SilverBlack Nemesis 1.02
And finally in 7th place is another Jund list. This one is an ode to the more traditional Jund deck list found originally in Standard when the list first came out and dominated the Standard Scene. I like the classic look and feel of the list that features both Bloodbraid Elf and Bituminous Blast cascade cards. I am also glad to see its pilot, ChrisMH77 back on MTGO and finding his way to a medal this week.
Jund
7th Place: As played by MTGO Player ChrisMH77 at SilverBlack Nemesis 1.02
Aggro was down this week as only 59% of the field brought a deck with an aggro appeal. As well we have seen our first combo-control and midrange decks start to show up in force. White and Blue colors fall sharply this week as well while more players move to strategies that involve forests and mountains Jund. This week's metagame really was substantially different and the event proved that it is really impossible to build an effective all inclusive sideboard.
Our archetype list has changed radically since last week as more players are experimenting with new lists. As mentioned earlier Affinity and Jund both jump to the top of our list while for the first time Thopter-Sword lists are no longer the list to beat. Make sure to pay special attention to the record category of each list as simply having more gross numbers of appearances hasn't necessarily made for a winning strategy. Lists like Mono-Red burn have yet to find their way consistently to a top spot in our events, despite having a lot of players showing up with the lists. As well, not all the lists that have been successful thus far are showing up here, such as Hexproof Aura's, Goblins, and Infect that have all medaled in their single appearances. And each and every week we are seeing new and interesting deck lists show up and take these top spots.
You are absolutely correct about me being able to burn him out with the bombardment a turn ealier. I always take a less romantic (safer) approach to winning when it requires me too sac my entire board. The thing to remember is that I can burn him out with the bombardment even if he does play the Galvanic Blast since I can simply activate it in response. Of course I wasn't too worried about Galvanic Blast since he didn't have the Great Furnace in Play. What I was more worried about was because he was playing Ancient Den he may have some way of either preventing the damage or gaining life to keep from dying, and then I would be at the mercy of the shuffler to draw more Goblins before he drew another creature. And I think that scenario favors him since I don't have a single Goblin in my deck that can cover 4 life in a single turn on its own, and he already had a Cranial Plating down so any creature he draws is lethal. I knew I had the win in hand and didn't need to resort to an all out attack for the win. That is my line of thinking on it.
Nice catch though, I am glad I had a chance to explain that since I neglected to in the video. And btw, being that I am the host of the event, I do have the ability to see anyones deck during the event, I always choose not to look however unless there is a potential problem since I feel like that would give me an unfair advantage. Plus, I really prefer to be surprised as any other player would be. To me peaking would take out part of the fun.
Thanks for your comment, I am glad you liked the videos.
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1 Comments
You are absolutely correct about me being able to burn him out with the bombardment a turn ealier. I always take a less romantic (safer) approach to winning when it requires me too sac my entire board. The thing to remember is that I can burn him out with the bombardment even if he does play the Galvanic Blast since I can simply activate it in response. Of course I wasn't too worried about Galvanic Blast since he didn't have the Great Furnace in Play. What I was more worried about was because he was playing Ancient Den he may have some way of either preventing the damage or gaining life to keep from dying, and then I would be at the mercy of the shuffler to draw more Goblins before he drew another creature. And I think that scenario favors him since I don't have a single Goblin in my deck that can cover 4 life in a single turn on its own, and he already had a Cranial Plating down so any creature he draws is lethal. I knew I had the win in hand and didn't need to resort to an all out attack for the win. That is my line of thinking on it.
Nice catch though, I am glad I had a chance to explain that since I neglected to in the video. And btw, being that I am the host of the event, I do have the ability to see anyones deck during the event, I always choose not to look however unless there is a potential problem since I feel like that would give me an unfair advantage. Plus, I really prefer to be surprised as any other player would be. To me peaking would take out part of the fun.
Thanks for your comment, I am glad you liked the videos.