[Decklist] New School Aggro-Control Meets Old-School Hate

[mtg_player_2004]

The deck, named Hsif (fish backwards) relies on maindeck hate and can turn to a more conventional permission deck after sideboarding, therefor it is sort of played backwards from fish, hence the name.

"Hsif.dec V1.o"

Hate (6)
3 [card]Back to Basics[/card]
3 [card]Null Rod[/card]

After Fact or Fiction was restricted and BBS disapeared among the ranks of trix and skyrocket, [card]Back to Basics[/card] rarely saw play.  However, with almost all decks relying on either 4 manabase (Tog), special lands (Dragon, Workshop, 3-4 color Combo), this deck is still perfectly viable in fish, and is well worth the trade off losing Fire/Ice and with Null Rod maindecked, the loss of gorilla shaman is durable.

Draw (8)
4 [card]Standstill[/card]
1 [card]Mystical Tutor[/card]
1 [card]Deep Analysis[/card]
1 [card]Merchant Scroll[/card]
1 [card]Ancestral Recall[/card] (proxy in budget)

Even without attack lands, Standstill still seemed like the best card drawer in this deck.  I am still testing out [card]Curiosity[/card] and [card]Accumulated Knowledge[/card] and would like input on this.  Other than that, and the rest are typical blue draw.  I figured Fact or Fiction ca be just as useful as [card]Deep Analysis[/card], but against a deck heavy with counters you will quickly change your mind, but I may replace the analysis with a [card]Fact or Fiction[/card].  I left out the [card]Brainstorm[/card]s because I couldn't find room for them, and the deck doesn't have many dead cards in a powered environment.  I was gonna leave out the merchant scroll -or- mystical tutor

Utility (4)
3 [card]Powder Keg[/card]
1 [card]Time Walk[/card] (proxy in budget)

Typical.

Counters (8)
4 [card]Force of Will[/card]
4 [card]Mana Drain[/card] (proxy in budget)

With back to basics maindecked, the [card]Stifle[/card]s don't seem neccesary.  Originally I ran 3 drains and 1 misdirection, but decided it wasn't reliable enough in just 1 copy.

Creatures (12)
4 [card]Spiketail Hatchling[/card]
4 [card]Cloud of Faeries[/card]
3 [card]Morphling[/card]

I know, I know, morphling, too old to keep up in T1 these days, right?  Well, it works pretty well with landstill, which lets me get out enough mana for it, and I didn't want to rely just on weenies.  It also can get me out of tough situations, it can handle karns and juggernauts.

Land (23)
18 [card]Island[/card]
4 [card]Wasteland[/card]
1 [card]Strip Mine[/card]

18 lands seem to be enough, and they can't really fall victim to back to basics.

Sideboard (15)
3 [card]Anull[/card]
3 [card]Tormods Crypt[/card]
2 [card]Misdirection[/card]
2 [card]Stifle[/card]
1 [card]Hydroblast[/card]
1 [card]Blue Elemental Blast[/card]
1 [card]Powder Keg[/card]
1 [card]Back to Basics[/card]
1 [card]Null Rod[/card]

Other considerations include [card]Daze[/card], Nev's Disk, and [card]Chalice of the Void[/card], but I can't find room.

[firebird365]

Hmm.. first: <obligatory> Your [card] tags aren't working. </obligatory>

Second, this looks like Fish. Honestly, it does. I think that B2B is a bomb, but putting it in a Fish deck improves the matchup that it's designed to beat - control or combo - and weakens the deck (by removing the option of 2 colors) against aggro.

Also, Keg is too slow in the deck. It's supposed to help vs. Aggro, but the real "aggro" in the environment is Oshawa (or Madness); you'll be dead before you can take out an Arrogant Wurm with Keg.

[Zherbus]

(I fixed your [card] tags. Carry on.)

[mtg_player_2004]

Thanks for fixing the tags.

That's a good point about the kegs, although I see more sligh and weenie (as I mentioned in earlier posts I play mostly vs scrubby decks if I play irl at all) so the kegs are more helpful.  All I can say is that to beat Oshawa I have to rely on countering the threats in time to drop a morphling, but if you see a lot of Oshawa or Show and Tell type decks, then Waterfront Bouncer is most definetly an interesting card to run, providing it will only stall for a few turns to draw up a morphling or counter, it's the best I can think of.  I would've included it at least in my SB if I saw more bulky creature decks.

Then again, when as aggro-control ever really had that great of a chance against aggro?  And since when has aggro become very prominent in T1?  The closest thing to aggro I see being played is usually a workshop deck which is easily shut down by B2B and null rod, and aggro-control which this deck can usually keep up with in time to drop a B2B and laugh at the other player who thought splashing red and white would be such a great idea .