New Ideas for Parfait!!!

[Anonymous]

I've been playing around with some cards in Parfait and am looking for some feedback on them...

Cataclysm - Hurts you, but can help against keeper and academy... more versitile than wrath of god, but not as good...

Planar Birth - People have been complaining about how they never get wrath in aggro matchups, or how they can't reuse it. This is how the abyss decks came around. This card is great against aggro, but fails when trying to kill a morphling and such.

Defense Grid - Great vs. Control if you can get it out.

Eye of Singularity - I was looking around for a white blood moon and stumbled upon this... could be useful... but hurts your Mesa.

Equipoise - Like a balance thats an enchantment! Well... not nearly as good... but has potential!

If you have any other suggestions don't be afraid to post them below! Lets try and find some new killer parfait cards!

[Anonymous]

Well with two tourney reports with two top 4s with parfait with abyss.  I'd have to say that abyss is a good new idea.

I ran one empyrial armor in mine originally as a joke "its my card against parfait's worst enemy, time limits!"  but it won me a game so it isn't too bad.  I don't recomend more than one, if any.

Ivory tower has been great for me in parfait.  I run 4 over the orim's chants.  The chants wait in the sideboard.  Tower plus taxes equals good!

[Anonymous]

thanks for the input whitetrash! And i agree, Ivory tower is an amazing card (i personally play 2 main) but orims chants are indespensable against control decks. They help you get in that early humility. I personally kepp at least 3 main. But i have read your reports, i it looks like the abyss might turn into the next blood moon! Good work!

[Anonymous]

Thanks a lot.  I really appreciate that.

I agree that orim's chant is never a dead card and it is always useful in some way, I just found that 4 towers main, while sounding insane, was awesome in reality.  

I find that the chants were the the first thing I board out vs almost all matches except control.  That's why I figured they would be better in the sideboard.

[Anonymous]

On the topic of Ivory Towers and Orim's Chants...

Running one Tower is sufficient, as you can find it with Enlightened Tutor if you really need to, and you're likely to draw it using the Tax/Rack combo anyway.  More than one tower tends to be overkill against the decks you want it against.  Things like Sligh...  And that's really it, seeing as green has Naturalize and Suicide has some severe hand rape. The extra spots can support more things helpful in the metagame, something like Swords to Plowshares to combat Dragon or Mask, and perhaps Claws of Gix to combat Keeper's Allay.

Orim's Chant I don't like.  It's sideboard, against monoblue control.  And never sees play ever besides that one matchup, which is already favorable because of Argivian Find and friends.  However, maindecked Abeyance is MUCH better.  If nothing else, it at least 'cycles' to find something better.  It can even buy you a turn against Sligh (stops Chain Lightning for a turn, for example), which is usually all you need to find Story Circle, Zuran Orb, whatever.

On a side note, how many people are maindecking Jester's Cap now?

[Anonymous]

I suppose its up to your metagame, but there is no way I'm going to cut the Chants in mine. With all the control running about, game 1 is sometimes all I get to play. Thus, I need that win. Which is almost unattainable without MD chants.

One question I have for everyone is if they feel the need for Ivory Mask? Most Parfait players seem to have either dropped it entirely, or replaced it with Aegis of Honor. Have you kept it, or done one of the above?

[Anonymous]

I have kept the ivory mask because my meta has a lot of discard, burn and player targeting crap...

I Switched from 1 tower to 4 and its helping a ton.. The chants never were needed, game one, cept for the few matches i wanted one, but i could side them in, and the towers delayed my death long enough to get a couple silver bullets.

There is little comtrol in my meta, and when i played them before, with chant md i never drew them but i could drop enough threats to get something through.

About running 1 tower, although tax/rack does give you insane card advantage, you don't get  them every game so relying on that and the 1 tutor does not always work.

[K-Run]

About Ivory Tower :

I run one MD and one in my sideboard. That seems to be enough, with all the creature-kill and the circles.

[Radjammin]

I think people loose site on developing Parfait.  I know I sometimes do.  No deck is going to optimal vs. every deck.  Your job is to design a maindeck that contains the most usefull and versitle cards; Cards that can help you out no matter who you face.  Your sideboard then allows you to remove dead cards from your main deck, and replace them with more hate or optimized cards.  Sometimes cards in your sideboard and maindeck may do similar things.  You might think that these should be exchanged when sideboarding.  If the effect is great enough vs. your enemy it might be a better idea to look at it as redundancy then a replacement card.

Ivory Mask.
While this card doesn't seem to do much vs. many decks, the benifits are suttle.  The reason this card is maindecked is becuase of its versitility and usefullness vs. so many decks Maindecked.  Very few decks this card is dead against, but vs. Control I tend to side it out.  While it is very far from being useless in this matchup, I find there are better cards to put my effort into play, like humility and blood moon in this particular matchup.  Vs Sligh I like to have the redundant effect of both agies and the mask.  I think it is foolish to leave in too much artifact or control hate vs. sligh when cards like agies and mask are so powerfull.  Of course this depends on the version of Sligh you are facing.

Ivory Tower.
A very versitle and effect vs. many decks, esp random aggro decks.  These cards also make a great filler maindeck card untill you are able to sideboard vs. control.  Vs. Aggro that doesn't aggressivly attack my hand they would stay in.  Hand destruction = sideboarding them.

Orm's Chant
Another usefull card, both virsitle and powerfull. In the first game they provide an effect vs. any oppoenent.  Even thought they are very effective vs. an aggressive deck, they are actually only used vs. control deck post sideboarded.  Thier ability to effect any deck is why they are choosen over Abyence, making them a better maindeck choice.  The reason 2 are in the sideboard is mainly becuase of the maindeck choice and redundancy.  Vs Aggro I find more permanent answers preferable as it cost you a card and only really buys you an attack phase, but very good pre-sideboarded vs any deck.

The only rationale to remove cards like these is if you discover cards that are more inline with the Megagame like blood moon or cards that serve a more versitle or powerfull effect maindeck, possibly claws of gix.

[Anonymous]

On the topic of Orim's Chant, I still disagree.  Abeyance stops abilities, which Chant does not (in response to your animate dead switching from Dragon to Laquatus...  How much did you float again?)  And Abeyance replaces itself in any situation.  Chant may stop an attack, but the reason Abeyance is in the build at all is because it changes the control matchup from difficult to downright simple.  Not only does it stop them for a turn from countering your stuff, but it finds you another card from which to ensure you don't die.  If you're concerned about aggro dominating, consider this.  The most common aggro deck, Sligh, couldn't care less about not being able to attack.  It carries bolts, castable on your or his turn, or in response to Chant.  Abeyance won't stop it either, but it might find that story circle, ivory tower, ivory mask, whatever.

[Radjammin]

Quote (Guest @ Feb. 12 2003,14:09)On the topic of Orim's Chant, I still disagree.  Abeyance stops abilities, which Chant does not (in response to your animate dead switching from Dragon to Laquatus...  How much did you float again?)  

 The most common aggro deck, Sligh, couldn't care less about not being able to attack.  It carries bolts, castable on your or his turn, or in response to Chant.  

Lets talk about pre-sideboard first.

During design we are tring to optimize the cards we have maindeck Having a card you can cycle early game vs. an aggressive deck is pretty pointless when you have alot of things you need to be casting.  But if you really want yoru free card, kick the chant. If you kick it vs. an aggro player you just drew a free card, as you will be around one extra turn you shouldn't be.

After sideboarding, the chant an abyences are only used against control players anyway...



In the end the chant wins in my book as it serves a purpose maindeck, giving more versitility and equal power vs. any deck.  The only arguement could be for abyences in the side but then you would have 2 chants and 2 abyences and it would cause strategy flaws. You would expect to draw one card and want the the other.  Reduntancy is your firend.

I want you to play some test matches, and remember the turns you have an abyence in hand vs. a control player and see if you consistantly have the mana to cast the abyence and the threat.  Better yet, see if you have the mana to cast the abyence and 2 threats.

This is all before he cast mind twist on you and then cards in hand really don't matter, so your cantriped card was all for nothing.